Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
The importance of campaign finance reform in one graph. 
A great post from Ezra Klein regarding the McComish case. The argument that Clean Elections chills speech, he says, is “rather less persuasive than the fact that the absence of clean-election funding chills the ability of voters to speak to their candidates — a facet of elections that strikes me as rather more important than the incentive to spend as much money as possible.”

McComish public financing case poses threat to Fair Courts
Justice at Stake has this press release on Monday’s McComish case: “The case could undermine the courts in four states, where similar laws protect judicial candidates from the impact of special-interest money.”

Opponents of unlimited outside election spending take issue to FCC
Dan Eggen has more on the Media Access Project proposal to the FCC on disclosing donors for campaign ads.

Arizona Clean Elections is harder to end than special interests expected
Arizona House leaders trying to gut Clean Elections are having a hard time lining up support from freshmen.

Congress/2012
How candidates can raise a bundle
Brody Mullins explains how bundling works. He left out the important first step—know a lot of rich people.

Karl Rove’s audacious transparency hypocrisy.
Rove’s Crossroads GPS is demanding more transparency and accountability from the Obama administration—just don’t ask him for transparency of his campaign donors!

Brown adopts funding method once derided by MassGOP
Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) has opened a leadership PAC—something that his own party in the state criticized Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.) for.

Groups call on ethics panel to complete Waters case.
“Government reform advocates called Wednesday for the House Ethics Committee to complete its stalled investigation of Rep. Maxine Waters.” The letter was sent by Campaign Legal Center, CREW, Common Cause, Democracy 21, League of Women Voters, and Public Citizen.

Romney moves to build fund-raising advantage
Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) will hit the road on a 15 city tour to build his support among the American people. JK, just donors.

Records contradict Mississippi governor on lobbying work for Mexico
Haley Barbour’s work as a lobbyist (and whose name is still the B in BGR) is still causing him trouble as he contemplates a 2012 run.

Upton named polluter of the year
Greenpeace has named House Energy Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) it’s “polluter of the year.”

Other/States
It was never about the state budget
Good op-ed in Wisconsin: “But a year later, the GOP is going after the unions, not just in Wisconsin but in other states, with the apparent aim of giving Republicans a fundraising monopoly.”

Nikki Haley remakes DHEC board
Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) has replaced the state’s environmental protection board with pro-business and anti-regulation conservatives – and some of them are campaign donors.

Working to stack the deck for 2012 presidential election
A good op-ed from Frank Askin on efforts to just keep people from voting, instead of trying to win the war of ideas in 2012. “Republicans are going to try to make sure these same groups don’t vote in 2012 either — by tactics that will keep them off the rolls.” Falls right in line with efforts to dismantle and defund unions—both are about suppressing the voices of your political opponents.

CREW sues DOJ over Tom DeLay documents
CREW wants DOJ to hand over documents related to its investigation into Tom DeLay.

Kevin Ring faces another trial
Will Jack Abramoff-related trials ever end?