The supercommittee will hold a meeting at 10 am today. Member Pat Toomey will hold a fundraiser right before: http://politicalpartytime.org/blog/2011/09/02/pat-toomey-also-solicits-d-c-donors-during-deficit-talks/.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Obstructing the right to recall
George Will has another op-ed bashing campaign finance reform. "This rigging of a process threatening to the serenity of the political class is unambiguous proof that protection of that class is always a — in this case, the — purpose of government regulation of politics in the name of 'campaign finance reform.'"
- Here was our response to his op-ed a few months ago bashing Arizona Clean Elections: http://publicampaign.org/blog/2011/04/29/where-theres-will-theres-nay.

Ethics watchdog seeks dismissal of indictment against John Edwards
CREW has requested to file a friend-of-the-court brief in support of John Edwards. Melanie Sloan: "In the U.S., we don't prosecute people for being loathsome, we prosecute them for violating the law. This case suggests some in the Department of Justice may have lost sight of this principle."

Supreme Court looks at campaign finance for political spending
"The Montana Supreme Court made it clear Wednesday during oral arguments that it won't be easy to preserve the state's century-old ban on corporate political spending — but the justices also had tough words for the clandestine organization behind several lawsuits aimed at dismantling campaign finance laws." Interestingly, one of the justices said, "money corrupts, we all know that."

Congress/2012
Lobbyists line up to sway special committee
The Times looks at lobbying and the supercommittee. Manny Rouvelas pretty much sums it up: "If you're not at the table, you're on the menu." And Public Campaign's David Donnelly: “People want the committee members to make these cuts in a fair and balanced way and be able to say, ‘We listened to all sides, not just our donors.' But it’s hard to make that argument when they’re racing around the country raising money like they’re on a giant Monopoly board.”

Bravo to U.S. Rep Fred Upton for not raising campaign funds while serving on supercommittee
Sure, Rep. Upton (R-Mich.) has a lot of money and has been influenced by plenty in the past, but as Conor Williams writes, "At least he's aware that it would look terrible to vote to protect oil subsidies from the committee's cuts while simultaneously taking money from oil companies. This isn't quite as good as quitting special interest money cold turkey, but it's a start!"

Transparency is needed in debt panel
The Des Moines Register wants transparency for the supercommittee. "The public needs to know that the budget cuts proposed by the committee were put there because of the national interest, not special interests."

After inquiry, Frank gives up campaign money from gamblers accused of fraud
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is going to give up the donations he got from the board of a poker company accused by the FBI of operating a Ponzi scheme. Rep. Frank: "I’m really very unpleasantly surprised that these guys were defrauding people."

In fundraising, Perry moves to reassure donors on electability
Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) may call social security a Ponzi scheme to the debate audiences, but he's much less radical in private when meeting with major donors. "As he rushes to catch up with GOP rival Mitt Romney in raising money — including several events in Manhattan this week — Perry is attempting to strike a delicate balance between his appeal to tea party voters and the need to attract donations from wealthy."
- But, a new super PAC was created specifically to highlight "less flattering elements" of Perry's record: http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2011/09/21/texas_democrat_behind_new_anti.html.

Lobbyist's clients, Perry donors overlap by $5.5 million
That Merck lobbyist Michele Bachmann was complaining about? It's not just Merck. "Toomey’s lobbying clients have given more than $5.5 million to Perry’s gubernatorial campaigns over the past decade, either through their political action committees or as donations from executives, according to data from Texans for Public Justice."

BP back from political exile, giving big in 2012
BP seems to longer be a political pariah, having given over $500k this year.

AT&T gave $963,275 to US lawmakers urging approval of TMobile USA deal
On a letter signed by 100 House Republicans in support of AT&T/TMobile merger: "All but one of the 100 lawmakers has received political donations from AT&T employees since 2009, according to a Bloomberg review of campaign finance records."

Obama plan gets chilly reception from K Street
K Street is not happy with the "Office of Government Ethics plans to eliminate an exception to the rule that allows government workers to participate in 'widely attended events' put on by trade groups."

Ethics complaint fled against Nevada Democrat Shelley Berkley
"Nevada Republicans have filed an ethics complaint against Representative Shelley Berkley, Democrat of Nevada, accusing her of using her office to enrich herself by promoting legislation and intervening with federal regulators to help out her husband’s medical practice."

Rules of the game: Wall Street donation rules may cost Perry
Eliza Newlin Carney's "Rules of the Game" column is back--this time on Perry, Wall Street donors, and SEC rules.

FreedomWorks hits back at Hatch money
Ha. "By some measures, FreedomWorks may be considered an 'outside interest group.' But they're attempting to make the case Thursday that Orrin Hatch is the real outsider in Utah, if you judge him by where his campaign contributions are coming from."

Romney's Minnesota support grows
So, former Sen. Norm Coleman has thrown his support behind Mitt Romney. Interestingly, Norm Coleman is also the chair of American Action Network, an outside groups that spent big in 2010 on Republican candidates.

NRSC outraises DSCC in August
"The National Republican Senatorial Committee outraised its Democratic counterpart by $500,000 in August, but it still trails in cash on hand as Republicans seek to take back the Senate next year."

Hollywood plays starring role in Howard Berman-Brad Sherman clash
Redistricting is forcing a race between Democrats Howard Berman and Brad Sherman--and there will be plenty of Hollywood money involved.

Other
Hill, others unveil campaign finance bill
Some members in the Ohio House have introduced legislation that "makes it illegal to use tax dollars for political purposes, but there is no criminal penalty for such actions."

Setting the record straight on Pearce recall
The recall race isn't about a lefty conspiracy, it's about Peace leaving his constituents behind, this op-ed states. "This recall is about taking thousands of dollars in special interest money from private prisons, which have benefitted from our Legislature during Pearce's reign."