In the News
National Law Journal: Three Years After Citizens United, More Campaign Finance Cases Loom
By Marcia CoyleThe James and McCutcheon petitions “really are quite different,” said Bradley Smith of Capital University Law School and founder of the Center for Competitive Politics, which is representing James. McCutcheon’s counsel is Bopp.“McCutcheon directly challenges Buckley,” said Smith. “James does not. She accepts the aggregate cap but asks, `Why do I have to give some to this group or that group?'”The center’s Allen Dickerson writes in the James’ petition that the risk of circumvention of the $2,500 individual candidate limit is “patently greater when large sums are given to party committees rather than divided among a number of candidates. Nonetheless, once an individual has contributed $46,200 to various federal candidates, that individual may not contribute a cent more, but may contribute an additional $70,800 to committees that may, in turn, contribute to candidates—including the candidates to whom our hypothetical individual had originally contributed.”
Independent Groups
Politico: Obama’s OFA has Reagan, Clinton echoes
By Josh GersteinPresident Barack Obama’s decision to transform his campaign into the freestanding lobbying group “Organizing for Action” is groundbreaking in many ways — but the idea of creating an outside organization to put pressure on Capitol Hill dates back at least to Ronald Reagan.
NY Times: Top Donors to Republicans Seek More Say in Senate Races
By Jeff ZelenyCOUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — The biggest donors in the Republican Party are financing a new group to recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate.
CPI: Democratic super PACs start year with cash advantage
By Michael BeckelThe United Auto Workers’ super PAC, launched last September, reported the most money in the bank at $8.9 million. The group spent almost $2.7 million ahead of Election Day.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
Washington Post: Dictionary: A way to define an argument
By Robert BarnesFor nearly 200 years, Fordham law professor James J. Brudney says, Supreme Court justices rarely needed to pick up a dictionary when interpreting the laws that Congress passed.
Corporate Governance
Columbia Law School Corporation Blog: The Case for Transparency in Corporate Political Spending
By Robert J. Jackson Jr.A committee of law professors that I co-chair with Lucian Bebchuk has petitioned the SEC to develop rules requiring public companies to disclose the use of shareholder money on politics. The petition has received unprecedented support, including comments from more than 300,000 individuals, institutional investors, and members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance recently confirmed that the SEC is actively considering the petition, and the SEC’s entry in the Administration’s Unified Regulatory Agenda indicates that the SEC plans to propose rules by April.
Disclosure
LA Times: University of California a big political donor — but that’s misleading
By Deirdre EdgarWhat that means is that the University of California as an institution is not making contributions to, or spending taxpayer money on, any political candidate. It’s the UC professors, administrators and other staff members – and members of their immediate families – who are doing so individually or as members of a group.
Candidates, Politicians and Parties
NY Times: Study Puts ‘Cost’ to Landing Embassy Post
By NICHOLAS CONFESSOREOfficially, of course, there are no such requirements for would-be ambassadors. But in a recent study, two researchers — Johannes W. Fedderke and Dennis C. Jett, both professors of international relations at Pennsylvania State University — computed theoretical prices for different postings.
Bloomberg: Obama Outraises Romney as Both Erode Watergate Restraints
By Jonathan D. Salant & Greg GirouxPresident Barack Obama raised $738.5 million for his successful re-election effort, almost as much as the record $745 million he brought in four years earlier, Federal Election Commission filings show.
USA Today: 2012 campaign hit record $7B, regulator projects
By Fredreka SchoutenPresidential and congressional candidates will have spent the most — about $3.2 billion, according to the projection by Federal Election Commission chairwoman Ellen Weintraub. For the first time, it appears that spending by political action committees and other outside groups will exceed that of political parties, boosted by new super PACs that can spend raise and spend unlimited amounts from corporations, wealthy individuals and unions as long as the operate independently of candidates and parties.
Lobbying and Ethics
Roll Call: Unregistered Lobbyists Keep Business Humming
By Kate AckleyThe tepid recovery and a dysfunctional Congress do bear blame, but a third, much overlooked factor exists: A lot of the work influencing government takes place in the shadows, outside of the view of public disclosures such as the LDA. And with a president who has further stigmatized registered lobbyists, K Streeters and some of their clients have made a practice of keeping their work just under the limits of the lobby laws.
