Fair Elections/Campaign Finance As influence money flows, nonprofits tread carefully Interesting piece from Eliza Newlin Carney on the impact of political spending by c4s will have on the reputation of c4s and the nonprofit sector, and that it’s likely Congress and the IRS will have to figure out new regulations who deserves to be tax exempt. Stopping the money chase Nikki Love at Common Cause Hawaii has this op-ed in Honolulu about the need for Fair Elections Who’s buying this election? Who knows? USA Today pushes for more transparency in elections Congress DC Disconnect: 400 fundraisers in 14 days Last week’s Roll Call article undercounted. It’s 400 fundraisers in the next two weeks. Check out this line: “Lawmakers and lobbyists acknowledge that it’s much easier to walk into the back room of a Washington restaurant and walk out with thousands of dollars in donations than it is to do so back home, where the money is tight and donations are smaller.” Ad spending on Congress races to $220 million Ad spending on House and Senate races climbed to $220 million through Sept. 15 Gillespie: conservative donors want anonymous out of fear of government retribution The millionaires funding this year’s election deserve to be anonymous so they won’t get picked on for buying elections. Sam Stein reminds us that the First Amendment is a two way street. Democrats to stuff 20 bills into post-election lame-duck session The “post election period” is going to be a busy one. Candidates in hotly contested races collect big money from Wall Street CRP has an analysis of the top recipients of FIRE sector cash this cycle. Super PACs alter campaign Another article on so-called Super PACs, which are “allowing independent groups to both raise and spend money at a pace that threatens to eclipse the efforts of political parties”