Last night, CNN's "Campbell Brown" program examined examples of broken government -- more specifically, the revolving door in Washington, D.C. As CNN reported:

During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama repeatedly promised that if elected he would clean up the way Washington works and bar lobbyists from working in his administration.

But just weeks after Obama's inauguration, one found a job in the Pentagon.

William Lynn was confirmed as the No. 2 man in the Defense Department, a bit of a shock because he had spent much of the last decade as a lobbyist for Raytheon, the $25 billion a year defense contractor that makes the Army's Patriot missile system and the Navy's Tomahawk missile.

Government watchdog groups have said that Lynn's rise from one-time Defense Department undersecretary to lobbyist and back to government is another example of the revolving door between governing and lobbying.

"Certainly having William Lynn, who is a top Raytheon lobbyist, immediately turn around and go into the administration is the revolving door at its worst," said Melanie Sloan with the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Ideally, projects would compete for federal funding based on the ability of backers to demonstrate that their projects have genuine need and value. Earmarks undermine this by allowing powerful members of Congress to fast-track projects that would benefit their district or state. In these tough times, is Congress continuing to earmark as it has in years past?

A new report answers that question by offering good news and bad news. The good news is that congressional earmarks in this fiscal year have dropped 9% from the previous fiscal year.

The bad news? Make no mistake about it: earmarking is alive and well in Washington. A total of 9,413 earmarks were included in the 2010 fiscal year budget.

President Obama has urged Congress to improve transparency by posting all earmark requests on an easy-to-search website. It's a nice idea, but it remains to be seen if this idea goes anywhere.

This morning's National Prayer Breakfast is winding down. Even though C-SPAN chose to telecast this event, it's encouraging that they disclosed a few critical facts about the breakfast.

Whether C-SPAN did so in response to CREW's request (made in this letter) or simply acted on its own, the network posted the name of the sponsoring organization -- the shadowy and disturbing Fellowship Foundation, also known as "The Family." At a few points, C-SPAN also posted the words "not an official government event" on the screen for TV viewers to see. Up until now, many Americans have incorrectly assumed it was a government-sponsored event.

A host of media have covered the concerns raised by CREW about the prayer breakfast, including the New York Times, CNN and The Hill newspaper.

CREW's Melanie Sloan told the Times that CREW is in no way suggesting the Fellowship should not "be allowed to hold their breakfast; of course they should. The question is: Should American officials be lending legitimacy to it, giving their imprimatur by showing up."

Click here to read CREW's letter urging President Obama and members of Congress not to attend the event.

Click here to read our letter to C-SPAN asking the network not to broadcast the Fellowship-sponsored breakfast or, at the very least, to provide proper context so the public realizes this is not an official government event.

CREW is one of many organizations assessing President Obama's call in his State of the Union address for Congress "to end the outsized influence of lobbyists."

Melanie Sloan, CREW's executive director, told the National Law Journal that the administration should go farther in its proposed restrictions. According to the NLJ article:

[Sloan] would limit contributions "from anybody who has business with Congress," she said, rather than singling out lobbyists, and require members to disclose their meeting calendars.

Added Sloan: "I'd also like to know which [corporate] presidents and vice presidents they're meeting with."

So would a lot of Americans. The role that corporate executives play in shaping public policy is an issue that has long been a concern of ours. It's one reason why CREW created its Corporate Crackdown project. Click here to learn more about the project.

This Thursday, the shadowy Fellowship Foundation -- sometimes called "The Family" -- sponsors its annual National Prayer Breakfast. Both the Fellowship's veil of secrecy and the unethical cloud surrounding it have led CREW to send this letter urging President Obama and members of Congress not to attend the breakfast.

CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said:

"The president and members of Congress should not legitimatize this cult-like group -– the head of which has praised the organizing abilities of Hitler and Bin Laden -– by attending the breakfast."

As CREW's letter notes, "a lack of transparency is a hallmark of the Fellowship." TIME magazine has even called Fellowship leader Doug Coe "the stealth persuader."

The Fellowship operates the infamous C Street House, a congressional residence and meeting place near the Capitol that has been a frequent haunt of some ethically challenged elected officials, including Sens. John Ensign (R-NV) and Tom Coburn (R-OK), Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) and former-Rep. and now-Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC).

The Fellowship hides its donors’ identities, and the group has used its connections to facilitate backdoor meetings between U.S. and foreign officials. The Fellowship also improperly claimed tax exempt status for the C Street House. Members of the Fellowship have been linked to legislation in Uganda calling for the death penalty for gays.