Fair Elections/Campaign Finance
Citizens United: Corrupting Campaign Clarity
Norm Ornstein has this great article on the detrimental effects of Citizens United v. FEC.

• “As one Senator said to me, “We have all had experiences like the following: A lobbyist or interest representative will be in my office. He or she will say, ‘You know, Americans for a Better America really, really want this amendment passed. And they have more money than God. I don’t know what they will do with their money if they don’t get what they want. But they are capable of spending a fortune to make anybody who disappoints them regret it.’” No money has to be spent to get the desired outcome. This is what Citizens United hath wrought. It is thoroughly corrupting.”

Election Panel to Consider Increased Donor Disclosure for 2012
“The U.S. Federal Election Commission today is scheduled to discuss requiring greater disclosure of donors to independent groups poised to spend millions on attack ads in the 2012 presidential race.”
 
Obama Order on US Campaign Donations Feared Stalled
Reformers are getting increasingly worried that President Obama’s proposed executive order on federal contractor disclosure is stalled.
 
On Amendment Issues, Reveal Corporate Donors?
“The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board met Tuesday to hear arguments on whether it should revoke a 14-year-old opinion that allows corporations to make donations to ballot campaigns without revealing their own donors.”
 
GOP Penned Elections, Campaign Finance Bill Defeated in NC Committee, May Be Revived
“The House Elections Committee defeated on party lines a motion Tuesday to recommend a bill to make dozens of changes, including the end of straight-ticket voting, a return to partisan judicial elections and the ouster of the Democratic state elections board chairman. Individual or committee contributions to political parties also would be limited to $250,000 per election.”
KEY: The bill would also repeal public financing of elections for the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Insurance Commissioner and Treasurer.
-      More here: http://www.wral.com/news/state/nccapitol/blogpost/9728911/
 
Editorial: Legislators Little More Than Mules for Special Interest Groups
The Osh Kosh Northwestern lambasts the special interest influence in Wisconsin and calls for stronger campaign finance and disclosure laws.
 
Defend State Campaign Finance Laws
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser Editorializes: “All these court wranglings over campaign contributions underscore the magnitude of what's at stake: the pay-to-play nature of politics today and the buying of power. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's wrongheaded Citizens United ruling, states must be allowed to regulate contributions against possible corruption. To this end, Hawaii's campaign spending rules need to maintain strong oversight and transparency for the public good.”
 
Congress/2012
Newt Gingrich Charity Paid Cash to Gingrich For-Profit Business
Another problem for Newt.

• “A non-profit charity founded by Newt Gingrich to promote freedom, faith and free enterprise also served as another avenue to promote Gingrich's political views, and came dangerously close, some experts say, to crossing a bright line that is supposed to separate tax-exempt charitable work from both the political process and such profit-making enterprises as books and DVDs.”

Top Barack Obama Donors Net Government Jobs
President Obama’s big bundlers have landed some plum jobs.
 
Other
Facebook’s Status? Hiring D.C. Insiders
Facebook is bringing in the big guns to prevent a restrictive federal privacy law.
 
Sean Kennedy Named Top Airline Lobbyist
“Sean Kennedy is leaving the White House legislative affairs shop to become the top lobbyist for the Air Transport Association of America. Kennedy, currently a special assistant to the president, will join the airlines’ trade association as senior vice president of global government affairs on July 15.”

Ethics May Look to Weiner’s Twitter Name As a Violation of House Rules
The House Ethics Committee may interpret Rep. Weiner’s (D-N.Y.) use of his official twitter handle as a violation of House ethics rules.

Wisconsin Court Reinstates Law on Union Rights
“The Wisconsin Supreme Court cleared the way on Tuesday for significant cuts to collective bargaining rights for public workers in the state, undoing a lower court’s decision that Wisconsin’s controversial law had been passed improperly.”