Congres/2012
Watchdog group accuse Kerry of reversal in fund-raising pledge
Ugh. Sen. Kerry (D-Mass.) will still attend a previously scheduled DSCC fundraiser in Boston after he said he wasn't going to raise any money while on the supercommittee. His spokesman says it's cool, though, because he's not raising money for himself. Public Campaign's David Donnelly: "When Senator Kerry says ‘I will not fund-raise,’ it clearly meant that he would do no fund-raising at all until his work on the supercommittee is done. What is so important about this party fund-raising event that would lead him to backtrack on this clear statement earlier this week?”

Transparency by deficit panel would build trust
This editorial in Washington cites our demands for supercommittee members to give up fundraising. On Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), they say "she should consider taking a leave of absence from the DSCC." "Public confidence in Congress is at a low ebb, and justifiably so. This special committee can help build trust by taking party politics out of the equation and shining a bright light on its activities."

Substance over sideshow
John Samples at Cato doesn't think we should raise questions about supercommittee fundraising. This quote: "It is that substance, and not the sideshow of campaign finance, that will profoundly affect our futures," reminds me of the theme song to "Married with Children," where they say "love and marriage, you can't have one without the other." He also confuses Public Campaign and Public Citizen.

POGO study: Contractors costing government twice as much as in-house workforce
A new report from the Project on Government Oversight shows, "that using contractors to perform services actually increases costs to taxpayers." Defense contractors are BIG political players.

Perry and HPV vaccine-maker have deep financial ties
Gov. RIck Perry (R) said he only got a $5k donation from Merck when attacked at the debate Monday. There's way more to the story.
- More from the Houston Chronicle: http://blog.chron.com/rickperry/2011/09/perry-merck-lobbyist-are-campaign-donors/
- And ThinkProgress finds Perry's kickoff fundraiser is hosted by Merck lobbyist: http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/09/13/318348/rick-perry-merck/
- And National Journal:well  http://nationaljournal.com/politics/perry-lowballed-drug-company-donations-in-debate-20110913
- On Perry's wife's salary: http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/anita-perrys-salary-comes-indirectly-from-governors-backers-1856646.html

Rick Perry can't be bought off for just $5,000
Here's our take on Rick Perry's line at the debate that he "can't be bought off" for $5,000. 1) Another sign our political system is broken and 2) What about the 91 people that donated $100k or more to his last election?

Do something about it, Michele
Moreover, if Rep. Michele Bachmann (R- Minn.) is going to continue to hit Perry on his connections with Merck, then she needs to tell us how she'll fix our pay-to-play system.

Elizabeth Warren posts announcement video for Senate run
Why she's running: "Washington is rigged for big corporations that hire armies of lobbyists." Powerful interests "are going to line up against this campaign and that's why I need you."

Hill staffers fear pay cuts, layoffs
Sure, we can cut Congressional salaries but it's just going to lead to a brain drain on the Hill and force members to rely more and more on lobbyists and outside parties to get their work done.

Hoekstra wants to unseat Stabenow, end health care law
Former Rep. and current Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra says we need to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
- He recently called for the repeal of Dodd-Frank: http://campaignmoney.org/blog/2011/08/30/pete-hoekstra-wants-repeal-wall-street-reform-legislation.

GOP deregulatory push makes cement a star
Cement makers have become a new star for the GOP push to get rid of government regulations. "Several PACs tied to the cement industry have also given money to the campaigns of Rep. John Sullivan (R-Okla.), who introduced the House bill to delay the EPA rules, and Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), whose yearlong effort — called the “Carter Campaign for American Cement Jobs” — helped create the bill."

Is poverty a death sentence?
On poverty in America, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) writes: "It gets even less attention in Congress. Why should people care?  Many poor people don't vote. They certainly don't make large campaign contributions, and they don't have powerful lobbyists representing their interests."

Other
Chamber sees PAC as opening access to state lawmakers
LOVE the honesty of the lead here: "The Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce has started a political action committee in an effort to increase its access to lawmakers."

Kris Kobach and the seven dwarfs
Do read Rick Hasen on "voter fraud."

Gessler should cancel dunk-tank appearance
The Coloradoan agrees with the Denver Post - the state's Secretary of State should not help a group he fined raise money to pay for that fine. "We don't find the humor in this situation, and we disagree about the impropriety of the secretary of state's participation in a fundraiser that can only erode credibility. Gessler should cancel his appearance."