Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
State for sale
Do read Jane Meyer's article on North Carolina conservative millionaire Art Pope and his money that helped reshape politics in the state.

An open letter to election reformers on the left
Stephen Erickson at Americans United to Rebuild Democracy writes: "I have one question for you. Do you want to be political reformers or do you want to be partisans? Because you can't be both, or at least you can't be both at the same time."

Congress/2012
The Downside of an early primary dash: super-secret super PACs
Super PACs are going to spend big money in the presidential primary, but the first reporting deadline for new super PACs isn't until January 31st. "Thus, that influential -- often decisive -- streak of early-state primaries will be over by the time we find out who gave to the Super PACs."

Wall Street protestors hope to plant seeds of a national cause
"New York’s budding anti-capitalism protest movement began last month with a vague sense of grievance over the widening gap between the rich and poor in America. But in three weeks, it has provided fuel for a broader national anti-corporate message, drawing inspiration from the Arab Spring but struggling to define its goals beyond a general feeling that power needs to be restored to ordinary people."

Super committee's work should be done in public
A letter in Jackson, MS on the need for supercommittee transparency.

Justice Democrats take on big banks
Matt Stoller looks at the few state AGs taking on the big banks. "What these law enforcement officers are doing is clearly popular with the public, popular with real-economy interests — and unpopular with the bank-dominated political elite."

Democrats prep for American Crossroads onslaught
"In elections across the map, nervous Democrats are steeling themselves for an expected 2012 onslaught. But it’s not their Republican opponents who worry them. Rather, it’s American Crossroads, the independent outside group that carpet-bombed the 2010 congressional elections with negative ads."

TransCanada lobbyist: Emails show no wrongdoing
"TransCanada lobbyist Paul Elliott said Monday that he’s done nothing wrong in his emails with State Department employees while promoting the company’s Keystone XL pipeline, despite what a stack of correspondence released by an environmental group Monday purports to show."

Who's bankrolling the climate-change deniers?
On the money behind the climate change denial machine.

Durbin to Bank of America customers: "Get the heck out of that bank."
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) went on a tear yesterday against Bank of America's new plan to charge a monthly fee for debit card holders.

Retail lobby amped up for battle with banking industry over credit card fees
"Buoyed by their victory on debit cards, retailers are taking aim at another golden goose for the banking industry: interchange fees on credit cards."

Other
Russell Pearce skewered by CBA in TV ad
Clean Elections foe Russell Pearce gets hit by "Citizens for a Better Arizona" for taking free trips from Fiesta Bowl.

Opponents of same-day voter registration mobilize, draw criticism
"The Maine Heritage Policy Center has created a ballot question committee to oppose the restoration of registration on election day."