For folks that don’t know, we’ll be having a protest outside the Wisconsin Republican fundraiser here in DC on Wednesday:
http://campaignmoney.org/march16. Join us!

Campaign Finance/Ethics
Rich corporations will have greatest voice in campaigns  
A local history professor in Wisconsin takes on Citizens United and the increasing cost of campaigns. “Why should those who run our wealthy corporations have a distinct advantage over ordinary citizens?”

An ethics code for the high court
Nan Aron has this op-ed in today’s Post on the need for ethics standards for the Supreme Court.

American Crossroads to disclose less frequently
American Crossroads will begin providing campaign finance filings just once a quarter, making it even harder to track their money.

Apologetic Lee sends refunds to donors
Former Rep. Chris Lee (R-Craigslist) will refund all his campaign contributions.

Congress
Lawmakers say personal wealth unlikely to influence judgment
The millionaires in Congress say being rich doesn’t effect what they do in Congress.

Retiring Senators make a wish list of bills
The Senators retiring in 2012 are freed up a bit to focus on legislating, because retiring will “give them the time and ability to focus on legislation without the constant pressure to raise money and take part in the campaign events that eat up a politician’s schedule.” Sen. Bingaman: “Obviously it takes some of the burden off of you to know that you are not going to have to be raising the millions of dollars that are required.”        

How the wealthy plan to finance the American aristocracy with middle class dollars
“There is a new front in the war being waged by the rich to create an enduring American aristocracy to take charge of the nation- a structure the wealthy believe is the nation’s only real chance for survival.”

Donors told Obama in weaker position
“President Barack Obama's advisors are telling potential donors that he is in a weaker position heading into the 2012 election than he was in 2008 and are detailing potential vulnerabilities of likely opponents, according to people who have seen their presentation.”

Another inside job
Krugman takes on the foreclosure mess and its deniers in Congress. “In the days and weeks ahead, we’ll see pro-banker politicians denounce the proposed settlement, asserting that it’s all about defending the rule of law. But what they’re actually defending is the exact opposite — a system in which only the little people have to obey the law, while the rich, and bankers especially, can cheat and defraud without consequences.”

Republicans cry foul over Democratic National Convention credit line
The RNC is trying to turn a line of credit by the DNC for its convention into a hypocrisy charge since it has sworn off corporate money.

Other
Walker’s big bank donors take a hit
Labor union members are threatening to “move their money” out of M&I Bank unless its executives, who gave a lot of money to Walker’s election campaign, condemn his tactics. A factory worker, and Sheet Metal Workers Union member, said, “Walker and his henchmen in the GOP have chosen to ignore the people of Wisconsin, but we all know now that they will listen to their big money donors.”

Admirers honor “Granny D”
An event was held last week to honor Granny D on the one year anniversary of her death.

In shaky economic times, Virginia doling out tax breaks.
An interesting story from Virginia on the tax breaks energy companies get in Virginia. Supporters say it is good for jobs and the economy, opponents call it corporate welfare. You’ll be surprised to learn, of course, that coal companies and electric utilities are major campaign donors in the state.

Bank of America unit tried to hide foreclosure information, hackers say
And some leaked emails from a Bank of America employee show “how a division of the bank sought to hide information on foreclosures.”

Oklahoma lawyers and lobbyists were top campaign financiers in 2010
A new campaign finance analysis by the Tulsa World is out and the article talks about Clean Election efforts in the state.

Records reveal holes in campaign-finance law
And there are some loopholes in Illinois’ new campaign finance laws.