In the News
CSPAN: Cato Institute Explores Effects of ‘Citizens United’ Ruling
The first panel examined the decision and looked to answer what, if anything, changed about elections following the Supreme Court decision. John Samples, director of the Center for Representative Government at the Cato Institute, moderated this discussion between Robert Bauer, a partner at Perkins Coie and Former Counsel to the President and General Counsel at Obama for America 2012; Bradley Smith, the Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Designated Professor of Law at Capital University Law School and a Former Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission; and Ray LaRaja, an Associate Professor of Political Science at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Independent Groups
Associated Press: Secretive conservative group looks ready to vanish
American Tradition Partnership, which is registered as a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) nonprofit social-welfare organization, will continue to exist as a legal entity, but, as for operations, “that’s in flux,” said James Brown, the group’s Montana attorney, on Tuesday.
Candidates, Politicians and Parties
Huffington Post: Selling Ambassadorships Is as American as Apple Pie
By Dennis JettBut perhaps the thinnest veiled examples of pay-to-play Washington style is the practice of giving big campaign contributors an embassy of their own. For the last half-century about 30 percent of ambassadorial appointments have been political appointees and the remainder have gone to career diplomats.
Roll Call: Senate Democrats Lack Votes for ‘Talking Filibuster’ Plan
By Niels Lesniewski and Humberto SanchezDemocratic senators favoring the most robust overhaul of the chamber’s filibuster rules do not have the votes to enact a “talking filibuster,” even with a simple majority, according to the top Democratic vote-counter.
TPM: Report: DNC Refuses To Open Up Obama Re-election Campaign Code
By Carl FranzenThe Obama For America 2012 (OFA) campaign’s digital efforts, specifically a voter data analysis program codenamed Narwhal, were widely praised for helping the President secure re-election last fall.
Lobbying and Ethics
The Hill: Ben Nelson gets $1M payday
By Megan R. WilsonFormer Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) on Wednesday revealed he would earn nearly $1 million per year in his new job as chief executive of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
Politico: K Street sings the blues
By BYRON TAU and TARINI PARTIThe majority of big D.C. lobby shops have seen their revenues flat-line or decline during the last year of President Barack Obama’s first term — buffeted by a lingering global financial crisis, a Congress so divided that it’s unable to conduct routine business and the rise of a permanent campaign mentality between the parties.
The Hill: K Street says goodbye, good riddance to 2012, expects upturn this year
By Kevin Bogardus and Megan R. WilsonWashington’s lobbying corps bid good riddance to 2012 on Tuesday, reporting steep declines in their earnings after a year of posturing and gridlock on Capitol Hill.
State and Local
District of Columbia –– Washington Examiner: McDuffie wants to mandate campaign finance training
By Alan BlinderWard 5 Councilman Kenyan McDuffie introduced legislation Tuesday that would require candidates and treasurers alike to take part in training about the city’s complicated campaign finance rules before they could begin raising or spending money.
Washington –– The Olympian: Bill imposing a lobbyist fee gets mixed reactions
By Brad ShannonState Rep. Jim Moeller is reviving his yearly quest to raise money so that the state Public Disclosure Commission can retool its online finance disclosure system. The Vancouver Democrat says his House Bill 1005 would raise up to $1.2 million per biennium by levying a registration fee on lobbyists and politicians that file reports at the campaign-finance agency.
