Fourth Quarter Fundraising
NYT: Secrecy shrouds "super PAC" funds in latest filings
Great piece from Nick Confessore and Michael Luo at the Times on super PACs. Two things stood out: "But some checks came from sources obscured from public view, like a $250,000 contribution to a super PAC backing Mr. Romney from a company with a post office box for a headquarters and no known employees" and "But the full scope of such giving is impossible to ascertain from federal campaign filings."

iWatch: Presidential super PACs raise $49 million through December
Interesting nugget from this story: "It would take about 39,250 people giving the maximum donation to reach the total raised by super PACs — that’s about 13 contributors per one super PAC donor."

TPM: The $100K Club: presidential super PACs almost entirely funded by six figure contributions
"Six major 'super PACs' backing former and current Republican presidential candidates were almost entirely funded by massive contributions from individuals and corporations of at least $100,000, according to a TPM analysis of campaign finance data." More at LA Times, Boston Globe, and USA Today.

PCAF: Mitt Romney (R-1%)
Our big takeaway from Romney's fourth quarter filings: "Mitt Romney received 55 times more money from executives at the top of the corporate ladder and from Wall Street interests than those working in professions representative of those struggling at the bottom."

Boston Globe: Hedge fund chiefs lead donors group backing Romney
"Hedge fund moguls and other high-flying capitalists dominate the top of a recently unveiled list of donors to a group supporting Mitt Romney’s bid for the presidency, a reflection of his years as head of Bain Capital as well as his probusiness approach to improving the economy." CNN and WaPo have more. Amazing nugget in WaPo story: "A quarter of the money amassed by Romney’s campaign and an allied super PAC has come from just 41 people"

ThinkProgress: Romney donors evade limits through super PAC donations
But don't worry, folks, these things are independent and could never directly influence a Romney campaign or presidency: "A ThinkProgress analysis of the 147 individual donors to the independent expenditure-only committee reveals that more than 85 percent of them also contributed the legal maximum to Romney’s presidential campaign committee."

Politico: Herman Cain Sex scandal great for fundraising
"Campaign-derailing charges of sexual harassment and extramarital affairs provided former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain one silver lining: awesome fundraising."

Bloomberg: Billionaire donors extending life of lagging primary campaigns
"In addition to Huntsman, two other Republican presidential hopefuls -- former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum -- have extended their stays in the primary race with help from one or two rich supporters."

HuffPost: Fundraising year-end totals reveal Obama record, GOP disparity, rich super PACs
"The flood of cash advanced three story lines: President Barack Obama and the Democrats have broken another fundraising record, the Mitt Romney campaign is far outpacing its competitors, and the relatively new vehicles known as super PACs are a powerful new force in the campaign money race." More at WSJ.

Americans United to Rebuild Democracy: Get the money out? Super PACs and lessons from the Republican primaries
Stephen Erickson writes: "What we find is that money and television time for candidates are good things. It's the unwanted influence of the candidates' sponsors we need to worry about."

WaPo: Fourth quarter fundraising winners and losers
The Washington Post looks beyond presidential fundraising reports to House and Senate. Roll Call on Senate fundraising.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
WaPo: Obama's ban on lobbyist bundlers has unclear prospects
"President Obama, who has a long history of decrying the influence of lobbyists in Washington, wheeled out a new proposal in his State of the Union address last week: Ban registered lobbyists from raising money for political candidates. If history is any guide, however, the idea may go nowhere."

Politico: STOCK Act bogged down by Congressional lard
Oh, the Senate: "Democrats and Republicans have proposed an avalanche of populist-tinged amendments and poison pills certain to become fodder for 30-second attack ads." The Hill and Roll Call.

Roll Call: Senate Democrats criticize super PACs
"Senate Democrats today voiced outrage over recent public disclosures showing tens of millions in corporate donations to largely GOP-friendly super PACs and announced plans for a task force, hearings and legislation to rein in unrestricted campaign money." More at CNN and Politico.

Election Law Blog: 3 thoughts on super PACs: what we know (and what we don't)
After the first real round of filings are in, Rick Hasen offers up some thoughts on super PACs. More at Sunlight.

HuffPost: Mitt Romney campaign leaves television ads to affiliated super PAC
Why waste your money on ads when a totally not coordinated super PAC can pay for those? PCAF's David Donnelly: "That's actually pretty economical when you think about what he set up."

Congress/2012
Al Jazeera: Romney's Florida win: More money than policy?
Public Campaign's Nick Nyhart joined a discussion on Al Jazeera English yesterday about Florida and the big spending there.

BuzzFeed: Could the Facebook billionaires save Obama?
Democrats worried about the Obama-aligned super PAC may have nothing to fear: "But a major Obama fundraiser suggested to BuzzFeed tonight that the campaign may be able to tap a new crew: The Facebook billionaires."

Auction 2012: How drug companies game Washington
"There are few industries with as much power in Washington as the pharmaceutical sector."

Politico: Hill gets fundraising jitters
"Super PACs supporting the GOP presidential field reported such stunning hauls this week that congressional groups look like paupers by comparison."

The Hill: Disputed rule intended to shame CEOs
"Business groups and unions are sparring over a little-known provision in the Dodd-Frank reform law that supporters concede is an effort to shame the nation’s highest-paid CEOs."

The Hill: Defense lobbyists mobilize for Obama administration's round of base closures
"A specialized corps of defense lobbyists is springing into action ahead of President Obama’s expected request for a new round of military base closures."

NYT: Gasland filmmaker arrested at Capitol hearing
An Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker was arrested yesterday for trying to film a House hearing on fracking. He should've said he was with a natural gas company!

National Journal: Private equity industry launching multi-million dollar public affairs campaign
"In a concerted effort to counter negative coverage from the presidential campaign trail, the Private Equity Growth Capital Council launched a multi-million education and public affairs campaign Thursday called "Private Equity at Work."

Other/States
TPM: Unions scramble as Arizona GOP moves quickly on labor bills
"Union members were searching for a way out of the wilderness on Wednesday in Arizona as the Republican-controlled Senate moved ahead quickly on several bills that could devastate organized labor in the state."