Jack Abramoff was on 60 Minutes last night. Check it out: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7387331n&tag=contentMain;contentBody. "Giving a gift to somebody who makes a decision on behalf of the public. At the end of the day, that's what bribery is." I also love Lesley Stahl's super honest reaction to how broken our system is.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Campaign finance rules too lax, some say
"Surging political activity by nonprofits has prompted watchdog groups to call on the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Election Commission to better enforce the law. It has also prompted some state election officials and judges to crack down."

Obama should make disclosure an FEC priority
Editorial from the Sacramento Bee: "The Federal Election Commission is a singularly dysfunctional body. The FEC remains unable to propose rules to implement the Citizens United case, largely because Democratic and Republican commissioners cannot agree on basic disclosure requirements."

Buying and selling judges
On judicial elections and fundraising: "The notion of impartial justice for all is obliterated when judges are forced to think like politicians and to curry favor with monied interests just to keep their jobs."

Congress/2012
Supercommittee tries to kickstart negotiations
An update on the supercommittee. And good for Sen. Kyl: he canceled a planned fundraiser in Arizona this weekend to stay in town and do his work.

For Perry, private jets have been key to public job
Rick Perry loves him some private jets. "Although many of the trips were for political or ceremonial events — not unusual for elected officials — others involved governmental functions, including some that were of interest to the planes’ owners. As a result, a group of well-heeled businessmen has effectively helped underwrite some of Mr. Perry’s activities as governor."

Rick Perry on the issues: On Romney, his tax plan and breaking up the "good ol boy corporate lobbyist mentality"
Perry on why he's running: "They care about who’s going to get this country back working, who is it that has a track record and a focus and the courage to walk into Washington D.C., not tinker around the edges with a little tweezer but take a wrecking ball, a sledge-hammer – whatever it takes to break up the good-old-boy corporate lobbyist mentality that is putting this country’s future in jeopardy.”

Romney backs Citizens United, but "not wild" about corporate spending
You'll be shocked that Mitt Romney talked out of both sides of his mouth on political spending last week.

Cain allegations rally small donors as big fundraisers flinch
"Herman Cain raised $1.6 million in the five days after sexual harassment allegations surfaced on Oct. 30, showing claims about his conduct as head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s aren’t slowing momentum for his presidential bid, his campaign said."

Cain's legal team: The Bopp connection
Well, if I was Herman Cain and facing possible campaign finance violations, I'd probably hire lawyers who worked for Jim Bopp too.

Wall Street's resurgent prosperity frustrates its claims, and Obama's
"President Obama calls people who work on Wall Street “fat cat bankers” and his reelection campaign will try to harness public frustration with Wall Street. Financial executives, for their part, say the president’s pursuit of new financial regulations are punitive and 'holding us back.' But both sides face an inconvenient fact. During Obama’s tenure, Wall Street has roared back even as the larger economy has struggled."

12,000 encircle White House in protest of Keystone XL tar sands pipeline
HUGE turnout at the Keystone protest at the White House yesterday.

Rep. Laura Richardson charges racial bias in ethics probe
"Rep. Laura Richardson today said she has been targeted for a House ethics investigation because she's a black woman. The House Ethics Committee announced today it has established a four-member investigative panel to determine whether Richardson pressured her congressional aides to work for her campaign in violation of House rules."

Dem lawmakers push Wall Street tax despite White House, GOP opposition
"A group of congressional Democrats is pushing on with their efforts to enact a tax on financial transactions, in the face of what they acknowledge are long odds."

Occupy Tulsa protesters make "bank run"
From Occupy Tulsa: "Christopher Smith, 63, of Wagoner said campaign finance reform that would get rid of what he called 'legalized bribery' by corporations is vital."

Nonpartisan PAC seeks to mirror Amazon.com <http://Amazon.com>  business model
Ah, this explains those VoteSane donations I was seeing in 3rd quarter reports: "A new political action committee is trying to become the Amazon.com <http://Amazon.com>  of the 2012 election cycle."

Progressive PAC has cash for Democratic candidates
Roll Call profiles the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

Other
Groups' spending continues in Pearce recall
Russell Pearce recall election is Tuesday. "Campaign Money Watch has now spent $34,325 campaigning against Pearce, including $5,385 on mailers this past week. This Washington, D.C.-based group supports campaign-finance programs such as Arizona's Clean Elections."
- We released a web ad Friday too: http://campaignmoney.org/blog/2011/11/04/new-web-ad-russell-pearce-special-interests-best-friend

Leveling war chests: City launches new public campaign finance system
News from Santa Fe: "Candidates in the March 2012 municipal election who want to use the city's new public campaign financing system are canvassing Santa Fe voters with a small request — just $5."

Money drives political process; public needs to know who the passengers are, by Rich Robinson
From Michigan: "Earlier this month Secretary of State Ruth Johnson and a group of Republican lawmakers announced legislative initiatives in the areas of election and campaign finance administration. I’ve been studying money in Michigan politics for more than 10 years, and I think the campaign finance initiative is worth your consideration, both for what it proposes to do, and what it does not do."

Small elections drawing big money in some states
Sleepy school board races are turning into big money races, NPR reports. "Those seemingly local issues, that also have national scope, then get more attention as the local debates grow louder, Howell says. He says that's a strategy now from organizations and interest groups that want to get an issue on the national stage."

In Ohio labor fight, shared sacrifice for thee, but not for me
Ohio will vote on whether to repeal a union busting bill on Tuesday. One of the leading legislative proponents of the bill, when asked why he's willing to cut the salaries of public employees but not his own, said "I earn my pay." Yup.