Fair Elections/Campaign Finance Loopholes grow in bill to offset campaign ruling, by Carl Hulse DISCLOSE will not be up for a vote today, and further exemptions aren’t making it any easier.  How a campaign finance deal backfired, by John Breshnahan, Jon Allen, and Ken VogelA sort of play-by-play on what has happened with DISCLOSE.

• “The legislation itself is so important that Public Citizen is still going to continue supporting passage,” said Craig Holman.

 League of Women Voters on the DISCLOSE Act, by Elizabeth MacNamara LWV stands strong for DISCLOSE.  First Amendment freedoms for all, by Eugene ScaliaEugene Scalia, son of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and counsel to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, does not like DISCLOSE.   Congress   Rep. Barton Apologizes to BP after taking nearly $30,000 in campaign cash from them, by Public CampaignYesterday, we released a statement from David immediately after Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-TX) apology to BP and got several good hits out of it.  

• We have also put a video together. 

 Apologies and anger dominate gulf oil-spill hearing, by Steve Mufson  Barton is really getting slammed, and we piled on.

• “David Donnelly of the Campaign for Fair Elections said campaign finance records show that Barton, who was elected to Congress in 1984, has received $27,350 in campaign contributions from people and political action committees associated with BP and $1.4 million from the oil and gas industry as a whole.”

 Even after BP oil spill, fundraising events were hopping, by Carol Leonnig Lobbyists for BP have hosted at least 53 fundraisers for members in recent years.

• “The fundraising season in Washington never ends, even when there are disasters like in the Gulf Coast and when the economy crashes. Members of Congress still have to look for money,” David Donnelly said.

 Fellow Republicans rebuke Barton for calling $20 Billion Relief Fund a White House ‘Shakedown’, by Chad Pergram and Stephen Clark Campaign for Fair Elections, a nonpartisan campaign reform advocacy group, also blasted Barton for his comments, noting that he has received $27,000 from BP in campaign contributions since 1989 and $1.4 million from the oil & gas industry.  Joe Barton, BP apologist in ’04: Offshore drilling so safe, a gum wrapper won’t even fall off platform, by Sam Stein 

• "It's amazing that Rep. Barton would stand up for a multinational corporation that has wrecked the livelihoods of so many people along the Gulf Coast," said David Donnelly, campaign manager for the Campaign for Fair Elections. "Comments like this make all Americans question whether Congress represents them or the special interests funding their campaigns."

 Barton well-funded by Big Oil, including BP, by Alex Johnson 

• “Public Campaign, which calls itself a nonpartisan advocate for reducing campaign costs, said its analysis shows that he has received $27,000 in contributions from BP since taking office in 1985.”

 Roll Call Editorial: Ethics games Roll Call editorial says Congress should keep OCE strong and not bow to attacks from certain factions.  OCE Manuever Raises Doubts About Integrity, by Norman Ornstein Ornstein's message: Keep OCE strong.  What’s at center of ethics inquiry into Price?, by Bob Keefe 

• “This is a perfect example of what’s wrong with our broken political system,” said David Donnelly, national campaigns director for the group. “Rep. Price took thousands of dollars of special interest cash and voted their way, leaving voters wondering who he really represents in Washington, D.C.”

  Editorial: Big money drowns out other voices  Editorial from the St. Petersburg Times talks about big money, the Court, and public financing.  Cleaning up our politics as we clean up the Gulf, by Erich Pica  Friends of the Earth is calling on members of Congress to return oil money and work to restore “a democracy of, by and for people.”   Other  Editorial: Ruling Means More Speech for the Rich  The Courant editorial blasts the Court’s decision on Arizona. “The court's radical fast-track actions give even more advantage to wealth and result in less political free speech, not more.”