Independent Groups
FiveThirtyEight: $14 Million In Campaign Spending Down. $4.4 Billion Still To Go.
Harry Enten
So does this mean that all a campaign or super PAC has to do is spend money and watch the numbers change? No. Better-known candidates may have a more difficult time changing the public’s impression of them. A super PAC supporting former Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent $1.4 million on TV ads in Iowa, and his favorable rating … dropped. Super PACs backing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have spent $1.4 million in New Hampshire, and his slide in the polls continues. There’s also a point at which there are diminishing returns for every dollar spent; when every campaign is dumping tons of money into the race, one more $100,000 ad buy won’t do much.
This is all a long way of saying you should expect the race (and polls) to change. The Republican establishment is still waiting on the sidelines, and a lot of money will be spent in the 150 days that remain until the Iowa caucuses.
Wisconsin “John Doe”
Wisconsin Watchdog: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had front-row seat at John Doe raid
M.D. Kittle
Marley’s front-row view of what was supposed to be a secret raid raises the possibility that the Journal Sentinel was tipped off by someone inside law enforcement. That tipster would have violated a state statute, as well as Wisconsin’s controversial John Doe law.
Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm, a Democrat, liberally invoked that law to go after dozens of Wisconsin conservatives and the campaign of Gov. Scott Walker on allegations of illegal coordination.
Lawrence Lessig
Washington Post: Larry Lessig hits the presidential campaign trail
David Weigel
The almost-candidate cautioned Democrats not to blame all the ills of the system on the 2011 Citizens United decision.
“Democracy was already dead by then,” Lessig said. “The Supreme Court might have shot the body, but the body was already cold.”
Everything came back to political money, and the failure of current candidates to address it before they addressed anything else. Lessig noted that former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley had issued a 15-point itinerary for a first presidential term, and “campaign reform came in at number 15.”
MTV: Meet The Man Who’s Trying To Hack The 2016 Presidential Election
Gil Kaufman
MTV: There’s something about the Citizen Equality Act that seems so logical it’s almost illogical that the answer could be that simple. Is it that simple?
Lessig: That’s exactly right. I’ve spent so many years thinking about this issue. Because if you think about why the corruption of the way we fund campaigns is a problem it’s because it denies us our equal standing as citizens. We should care about that equality not because it was the most important foundational value of our Constitution, but because if we don’t have equality as citizens we don’t have a government responsive to us. We have a government responsive to those with the most power in this system. You’re right, it is so obvious when you see it. And this is why I think it’s our opportunity to get everyone to recognize this obvious point and to rally behind it because who’s going to argue on the other side?
Influence
Politico: White House keeps Prince guest list secret
Sarah Wheaton
The hundreds of close friends of the Obamas who attended a Prince concert at the White House will retain their anonymity after officials declined to include the guest list as part of their routine release of visitor logs.
Reporters had been eagerly awaiting the release of the White House visitor logs from June 13, when the Obamas hosted a party for 500 guests -– many of whom happen to be lobbyists, corporate executives and other power players -– to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for a soiree and performance by the mono-named entertainer.
The White House called it a private party and said the list of attendees would not be released. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Wednesday.
FEC
Washington Examiner: FEC chair ’embarrassed’ by number of elected women
Rudy Takala
“You know, I’m a little embarrassed almost, because in the United States, clearly … money does have an outsized influence in politics,” Ann Ravel said at a conference in Mexico City,
The problem, Ravel explained, is that more men contribute to candidates than women, and that they discriminate against female candidates.
“Women tend not to be in the higher echelons of the economy. There are very few women CEOs in the United States, and women have much less access to wealthy donors. Eleven out of the top 100 wealthiest donors in the United States are women. Eighty percent of the outside groups — the super [political action committees] — are run by men, and they do not contribute to women’s candidacies.
Candidates and Campaigns
New York Times: Why Fund-Raising Is Important, Even if You Are Trump
Lynn Vavreck
If you doubt the validity of raising money as a signal about a candidate’s appeal to elites and voters, consider other self-financed candidates like Steve Forbes or Meg Whitman, who spent millions of their own money and lost elections.
Perhaps the best example, however, comes from comparing the Mitt Romney of 2008 with the Mitt Romney of 2012. In 2008, 42 percent of Mr. Romney’s campaign war chest came from his own bank account. He raised only $60 million from individual donors and lost the nomination. In 2012, he raised roughly four times the total amount of money he did in the previous cycle, and 99 percent of it came from individual donors. He increased his yield from individual donors sixfold.
Reuters: Will Colbert win Bush’s raffle, or will Bush win Colbert’s?
Alina Selyukh
The “Jeb!” campaign is offering its supporters, for a $3+ donation, a chance to snatch a VIP ticket to attend Colbert’s inaugural “Late Show” on Sept. 8 — and a dinner with Bush’s National Finance Co-Chair (and New York Jets owner) Woody Johnson…
“Where’s my cut of that sweet 3 bucks, governor, huh?” Colbert exclaimed. “And I’m sorry I’m yelling, but again, you’re the one who put an exclamation mark at the end of your name! Well, two can play at this contest, sir.”
Colbert has now launched his own “Jeb Bush on The Stephen Colbert Late Show Raffle!” where for $3+ one could win VIP seats at the his first show taping and a chance to submit “one non-obscene question” for Colbert to ask Bush
The States
At The Lectern: Anti-Citizens United initiative case to be argued in October
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association v. Padilla — the case to decide whether the Legislature can ask the voters to give their advisory opinion whether the United States Constitution should be amended to overturn the United States Supreme Court’s Citizens United opinion — will be argued before the California Supreme Court next month. The Legislature had placed on the 2014 ballot an initiative requesting that opinion, but, with election deadlines imminent, the Supreme Court removed it, saying the proposition’s validity was uncertain and holding out the possibility of the initiative appearing on a future ballot if the court ultimately determines it is valid.
Atlanta Journal Constitutional: The Georgia debut of a new campaign finance overhaul push
Greg Bluestein
A conservative watchdog group will debut in Georgia a national push to close what it calls a glaring campaign finance loophole.
Take Back Our Republic set to launch an effort in Georgia next year for legislation that would require banks to verify that all credit card contributions to campaigns are from a valid U.S. address. Many political campaigns now opt-out of that voluntary requirement…
The Federal Elections Commission does not require campaigns to disclose the names of donors making contributions of less than $200, except for in the case of an audit. Pudner said allowing campaigns to opt-out of the credit card verification process allows donors to both parties to pile up potentially questionable donations with little oversight.
MTN News Rules aimed at cracking down on campaign “dark money” come in for criticism
Mike Dennison
“We do not engage in election activity, but the definitions are so broad, we may find ourselves caught up in the regulatory net, by doing what we do now: Putting (policy) proposals before elected officials,” said Brent Mead, executive director of the Montana Policy Institute, a free-market think tank based in Bozeman.
Other groups raising concerns about the rules included the Northern Plains Resource Council (NPRC), an environmental group; the Montana League of Women Voters; and the state Democratic Party.
State Political Practices Commissioner Jonathan Motl, whose office will enforce the new law, said he’ll consider the public comments and perhaps make some changes to the rules before adopting them.
