Fair Elections/Campaign Finance Small business bill advances; campaign finance bill stall The end of this piece talks about Fair Elections (though not by name). ”The House committee on administration voted to approve a bill that would provide matching federal money for Congressional candidates who attract enough small local donors.” Senate Democrats again fail to pass campaign disclosure law “Despite the Disclose Act defeat, activists in favor of changing campaign finance rules celebrated a small victory in the House on Thursday: The Committee on House Administration passed the Fair Elections Now Act, which would allow candidates to receive 4-to-1 matching funds culled from broadcasting license fees by agreeing to limit themselves to donations of $100 or less. The fate of the bill remains unclear, however.” Historic movement on Fair Elections Actor Sam Waterston talks about yesterday’s victory and his new ad. Democrats need a plan too In his post on the new House GOP agenda, Ezra Klein says the Democrats also need a big agenda and, “The public option remains popular and so, too, does major campaign-finance reform, such as the Fair Elections Now Act. " Citizens United after eight months Mother Jones talks about Citizens United at eight months. It may look like corporations aren’t in the game, that’s not the full picture due to their ability to funnel money elsewhere. Congress GOP’s big money men return Some of the wealthiest GOP donors, who took a bit of a breather toward the end of former President George W. Bush's term and through the McCain campaign are back in full force. Hidden under tax-exempt cloak, political dollars flow An interesting, and scary, look into Americans for Job Security and their multi-million spending and near total lack of transparency. Candidates run to shake DC “money tree” It may be the year of anti-establishment candidates, but these candidates are still heading to Washington, D.C. to raise money from lobbyists.