Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
AZ elections no longer free or fair 
An op-ed from the student newspaper at the University of Arizona: "Last week in a narrow 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upended Arizona's Citizens Clean Elections Act, dealing yet another crippling blow to the democratic process."

Public funds dwindle for 2012 campaigns 
On the presidential public financing system: "The federal program providing public money to presidential campaigns is dying."

We're not laughing: Colbert's Super PAC satirizes Supreme Court's troubling campaign finance rulings
"Such decisions have provided Colbert with rich sources for his humor. Unfortunately, in gutting Arizona's Clean Elections Act, the Supreme Court majority continues to bolster the ability of special interests to buy elections and put their handpicked candidates in office. There's nothing funny about that."

Big money in political process
An op-ed in Mississippi: "There won't be civil conversation until we do something about newly deregulated money pouring into the system. If Big Money contributors are the ones you see and hear from most often, they are the ones who begin to convince you to see things their way."

Congress/2012
Some campaigns point to donor numbers over dollars
Dan Eggen writes about campaigns that highlight the number of donors they have over the amount they raised (though small donors still make up a small portion of campaigns). Common Cause's Mary Boyle: "From our perspective, these are the kind of donors that are really healthy for our democracy. It’s people who are clearly not expecting something in return. . . . It’s a good metric of grass-roots support.”

Rep. Upton sides with polluters...again
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) wrote a melodramatic op-ed in Investors Business Daily the other day saying environmental groups were causing trouble just to raise money. If there's anyone that knows how to motivate donors...

Debt ceiling debate turns to yacht class
"Democrats turned to a tried-and-true strategy this week in the fight over the debt ceiling, casting Republicans as the guardians of yacht owners, hedge fund managers and Big Oil."

GOP appropriations introduce slash-and-burn budget with polluter riders, 20 percent EPA cut
The GOP appropriations budget out yesterday reads like a white paper written by polluters.

Mitt Romney fundraising sparks Republican fears
Romney's fundraising, at under $20 million, was not as high as some had hoped. One RNC committeeman: "“There’s not any doubt that Obama is going to raise more money than anybody has ever raised running for president. Is that sobering? Sure it is. It’s a wake-up call.”

Sen. Brown adds nearly $2M to campaign coffers
Sen. Scott Brown far outraised his possible opponents in the second quarter.
- Sherrod Brown does OK too: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/169851-sherrod-brown-raises-solid-15-million-in-quarter
- And Olympia Snowe: http://www.kjonline.com/news/snowe-leads-in-funds-raised_2011-07-06.html

Ethics panel has McCaul chief of staff under scrutiny
House Ethics is reviewing whether Rep. Michael McCaul's (R-Texas) chief of staff misreported payments from the Congressman's campaign.

Senators, farmers delay tractor rules
"Alarmed by Transportation Department scrutiny of rules for tractors and other farm vehicles, agriculture lobbyists have enlisted the help of more than a dozen Senators in a campaign to forestall strict new regulations."

High-profile Dem lobbyist joins board of former Blackwater company
The Chairman of Quinn Gillespie & Associates, Jack Quinn, will join the board of the company formerly known as Blackwater.

Other
$10k-plus checks fatten McDonnell's PAC by $1.4 million for GOP's fall bid to retake Va Senate
That's a heck of a number: "Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Republican political action committee scored 57 checks worth $10,000 or more for a total of about $1.4 million from April through June."

Group says Walker donors violated campaign finance law
Our friends at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign did a search and found several donors to Gov. Scott Walker's campaign that exceeded campaign contribution limits

Small donors, unions give Democrats a cash edge in Wisconsin recall elections
An analysis of fundraising numbers in the Wisconsin recall elections: Dems have a small cash advantage, and a good sign is that a lot of the money comes from small donors.