CCP
CCP Responds to MSRB Call for Comments
By Sarah LeeCCP sent comments to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) late Monday in an attempt to address the proposed changes to MSRB Rule G-37 and potential unconstitutionality of that rule in light of later decisions such as Citizens United v. FEC and SpeechNow.org v. FEC.
Independent groups
Wall Street Journal: AFL-CIO Tries to Engage Volunteers With New Technology
By Melanie TrottmanThe AFL-CIO rolled out technology Tuesday that will let campaign volunteers decide how the labor federation spends its super-PAC dollars.
NBC: Outside groups make up almost half of all presidential campaign ads
By Domenico MontanaroThat means about 44 cents of every dollar spent on ads this election has come from outside groups.
Huffington Post: NOM’s Campaign Finance Crusade Does a 180, Argues That Super PACs Are Illegal
By Darrin HurwitzSo it comes as no small surprise that NOM’s New Hampshire affiliate, Cornerstone Action, and the head of NOM’s Ruth Institute recently took the exact opposite legal position, asserting that a new, Republican, pro-marriage-equality super PAC in New Hampshire is illegal. Last week Cornerstone filed a complaint with the Attorney General against New Hampshire Republicans for Freedom and Equality PAC, saying that a $100,000 contribution it received from Republican hedge fund manager Paul Singer violated New Hampshire’s $5,000 contribution limit.
Candidates and parties
Washington Examiner: Elections lawyer: Obama broke the law with request for $10M super PAC donation
By Joel Gehrke“This is a typical liberal effort to dodge compliance with the campaign finance laws and restrictions they love to inflict on the rest of the world,” said Cleta Mitchell, a prominent Republican elections lawyer who specializes in “federal campaign finance law, election law, and compliance issues related to lobbying, ethics and financial disclosure” at Foley and Lardner LLP.
Huffington Post: Barack Obama’s Super PAC Comments At Jay-Z Fundraiser Sidle Up To Red Line
By Paul Blumenthal“We don’t need to match these folks dollar for dollar. We can’t. I mean, if somebody here has a $10 million check — I can’t solicit it from you, but feel free to use it wisely,” Obama said to the room full of guests. The transcript of the event notes that guests laughed both after he mentioned the $10 million check and at the conclusion of his sentence.
CBS: Obama Running Campaign Ads On Video Games In Battleground States
According to Ad Week, the Obama campaign had teamed up with Electronic Arts again to run ads on their video games in hotly-contested states leading up to Election Day. The campaign first did this in 2008.
NY Times: Congress Nearing End of Session Where Partisan Input Impeded Output
By JENNIFER STEINHAUERThe 112th Congress is set to enter the Congressional record books as the least productive body in a generation, passing a mere 173 public laws as of last month. That was well below the 906 enacted from January 1947 through December 1948 by the body President Harry S. Truman referred to as the “do-nothing” Congress, and far fewer than even a single session of many prior Congresses.
Lobbying and ethics
Politico: Laura Richardson: Retaliation charges false
By JONATHAN ALLENRep. Laura Richardson is forcefully pushing back against new allegations that she retaliated against aides after the House reprimanded her early last month, and her lawyer is accusing the House Ethics Committee of engaging in “uncalled for and inappropriate” actions against her.
