Independent groups
The Hill: Campaign power in wrong hands
by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.)Our elections should be a marketplace of ideas. Instead, they increasingly look like an auction that rewards the highest bidder. The damaging influence of money on our campaigns dates back decades, but the Supreme Court opened up the floodgates with its woefully misguided Citizens United v. FEC decision. Powerful special interests and corporations now enjoy the same free-speech protections as individual Americans.
NY Times: Lobbyists, Guns and Money
by Paul KrugmanWhat is ALEC? Despite claims that it’s nonpartisan, it’s very much a movement-conservative organization, funded by the usual suspects: the Kochs, Exxon Mobil, and so on. Unlike other such groups, however, it doesn’t just influence laws, it literally writes them, supplying fully drafted bills to state legislators. In Virginia, for example, more than 50 ALEC-written bills have been introduced, many almost word for word. And these bills often become law.
CNN Money: Can 46 rich dudes buy an election?
by Charles RileyTaking advantage of relaxed campaign finance laws, a cadre of deep-pocketed donors are spending gobs of money to bankroll super PACs, a phenomenon that is reshaping the modern election cycle.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
Election Law Blog: The NY Times Inadvertently Clarifies That Its Real Problem is with Buckley v. Valeo, Not Citizens United
by Richard PildesIt is this reasoning from Buckley that directly holds unconstitutional precisely the position that the Times editorial today advocates. Those who hold the view the Times does need to understand that their real complaint is with Buckley. Put another way, if Citizens United were overruled tomorrow, the problem that concerns the Times would remain essentially the same. The Times editorial should really be titled Living in a Buckley v. Valeo World.
Candidates and parties
AP: Top Obama donors among frequent White House guests
by Jack GillumMore than half of President Barack Obama’s most generous campaign fundraisers have visited the White House at least once for meetings with top advisers, holiday parties or state dinners, according to a review by The Associated Press. Scores made multiple visits.
The Guardian: Americans Elect waiting for big name as they seek to break two-party grip
by Paul HarrisA glance down the list of declared candidates for Americans Elect, a well-funded online group seeking to break the two-party stranglehold on US politics, does not trigger much name recognition.
Lobbying and ethics
Politico: Generation X joining K Street
by Jonathan Allen and Jennifer MartinesThe tech companies pluck top Gen X talent from the White House and Capitol Hill and assemble A-teams of lobbyists — or “evangelists,” as some of them are known — who are super connected inside the Beltway and geek chic enough to fit in at the West Coast enclaves of the industry’s titans.
STATE and LOCAL
Connecticut –– Huffington Post: Could Connecticut Be the First to Get Serious About Shareholders Rights Post-Citizens United?
by Ciara Torres-SpelliscyConnecticut may be the mouse that startles the lion. Connecticut is a small state, but it has a strong record of leadership in addressing the trouble posed by money in politics. Now Connecticut may be the first state to take shareholder protections seriously post-Citizens United.
Montana –– Great Falls Tribune: New arguments filed in campaign finance case
The Montana attorney general’s office filed new arguments Friday in the ongoing court battle over Montana’s political spending restrictions, saying the state’s ban on corporate campaign contributions is constitutional.
