The health care swarm

Tracking the players in the debate over health care reform is just slightly less complicated than mapping DNA.

The tangle of trade groups, lobbyists, PACs and fuzzy-named organizations with undisclosed backers can’t be easily divided into Democrat vs. Republican, left vs. right or pro vs. con.

One starting point is the short list of major players. TPM offered a good summary this week, identifying six major organizations shaping the debate.

Another is the massive lobbying effort by companies and organizations with dogs in the fight. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a third of the top 20 spenders this year are in the health sector.

At Muckety, we usually aim for maps that are clear and concise. But sometimes a crowded, interlocking picture tells the story best.

Working out from the center, the map above shows major players in the first orbit, followed by large corporations with the highest lobby expenses. Swarming around them in the outer ring are the lobby firms.

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