Independent groups
The Atlantic: Did Citizens United Help Democrats in 2012?
After a year Democrats mostly spent fretting, freaking out, and fulminating against Citizens United–the 2010 Supreme Court decision that unleashed this year’s flood of unfettered political spending–it was a bit unexpected to hear Michael Podhorzer, the political director of the AFL-CIO, say on Friday, “Super PACs are so awesome. It was long overdue that the Supreme Court recognized that corporations are people like everybody else.”
Ashbury Park Press: Citizens United still must fall
EditorialWhen the U.S. Supreme Court issued its infamous Citizens United ruling in 2010, unleashing unlimited corporate spending on political campaigns, dire predictions of the effects were rampant. Many feared that Big Business, led by the nation’s wealthiest string-pullers, would pour its resources into the breach and buy up seats from coast to coast, all the way up to the White House.
Candidates and parties
LA Times: Numbers whiz becomes one-man election clearinghouse
By Mark Z. BarabakFor most Americans, interest in the results of the 2012 presidential campaign ended somewhere around the first election night projections for President Obama and the brief, stunned concession speech delivered by a gobsmacked Mitt Romney.
Politico: Will GOP notice changing electorate?
By L. DOUGLAS WILDERThis November, Republicans lost a national election its rank and file had assumed for years they would win. They learned that expectations don’t win elections — votes do. And now they are left sitting in the wake of a second electoral defeat, trying to decide what to do next.
Washington Post: Norquist still calling cadence in GOP ranks
By Peter WallstenYet Norquist, whose influence in the conservative movement spans well beyond his well-known fixation on taxes, remains an unwavering force in the GOP debate — and even some of the most prominent lawmakers publicly flirting with a break from Norquist have assured him in private that they remain loyal soldiers in the anti-tax cause.
Politico: House Republicans will meet with governors on fiscal cliff
By JAKE SHERMANHouse Republicans this week will meet with governors and small business owners as Washington continues to negotiate over how to avoid the fiscal cliff.
Lobbying and ethics
Politico: Ex-lawmakers head to K Street
By DAVE LEVINTHAL and ANNA PALMERIt’s that time of year again in Washington, when lawmakers who once ran for office calling for change inside the Beltway are heading straight to K Street.
State and Local
New York –– NY Times: Mr. Cuomo’s Next Big Task
EditorialSuch a system should include a public financing mechanism modeled on New York City’s successful efforts to involve small donors with matching contributions. It would set sensible limits on individual and corporate contributions. It would close loopholes. It would be transparent and strictly enforced. By setting a national standard for public financing, New York State could go from laggard to leader.
