Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Nancy Pelosi on Colbert Report
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was on Colbert last night: "I think that if want to cancel elections and have the wealthiest people of America...give millions, tens of millions of dollars, we can just ask them who do they want to be president, who do they want to be in Congress, who do they want for governor." She was on Maddow too, talking about this around 2:30 in.

Capital New York: Council members express support for Cuomo's dormant campaign-finance plan
Not crazy about that headline! But: 27 NY City Council Members sent a letter to Cuomo yesterday supporting his public financing plan. Also, make sure to bookmark the new website for the New York campaign: Fair Elections New York.

NYT: How we finance political campaigns
Wow, a good crowd on today's New York Times' letters page! PCAF's David Donnelly, Progressives United's Cole Leystra, and Sens. Michael Bennet and Tom Udall all respond to last week's "A Better Way to Buy Politicians."

NYT: Do-Over Season
Linda Greenhouse's latest: "Is there really a chance that the Supreme Court might reconsider Citizens United? A week ago, I wouldn’t have thought so, and I still think it’s an extreme long shot."

USA Today: Disclose donors on super PAC ads
Public financing is the preferred solution, this editorial states, but "the best short-term answer is to provide voters with faster, more prominent information about who's giving what to whom." Related column in Minnesota.

The Hill: Senate Dems push FEC to toughen super PAC rules
"Senate Democrats are pressing the Federal Election Commission to toughen the disclosure rules for super PACs." Some are also giving their "full support" to an FCC rule that could force more disclosure.

Congress/2012
WaPo: Romney's record wih small donors shows enthusiasm gap
"For one piece of evidence of an enthusiasm gap between Mitt Romney and his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination, look no further than his campaign’s financial report." Campaign Finance Institute looks at this too.

Common Cause: Cantor's Cash
Hmm: "The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) reports giving cash awards to legislators, including $1,350 for an award it gave to Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), the current House Majority Leader, even though members of the House are prohibited by law from receiving any cash gift, and any non-cash gift they receive must be valued below $50."

LA Times: Super PAC leaders profit from lack of ovrsight
A look at "how political operatives behind the super PACs can take advantage of the mammoth donations streaming into the funds and the lack of oversight."

New Republic: Rick Santorum's eccentric crocodile-hunting billionaire contemplates his next move
Santorum billionaire Foster Friess might play in Senate races too, according to this story: "Now Friess is hoping to have an even bigger impact on several crucial races in the fall. He told me he plans 'for sure' to give to eight or ten key Senate races. "

WaPo: Wanted: a presidential candidate to walk on Wall Street's side
Meyerson looks at Americans Elect.

Politico: Chamber gets back in the game
"America’s political giant has quickened its walk to a run, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has pumped more than $3.04 million into national-level electioneering communications during the past two weeks, federal records indicate."

AP: Roemer is giving up on GOP nomination
"Former Louisiana Gov. Charles 'Buddy' Roemer is giving up his attempt to win the Republican nomination for president. But he's not giving up his bid for the White House, instead trying to run as an independent candidate."

Mother Jones: Romney super PAC donor also big climate hawk
Julian Robertson, who has given $1M to Restore Our Future, also "contributed more than $40 million to the Environmental Defense Fund between 2005 and 2009 'to support the group’s efforts to pass cap and trade legislation'—which accounted for nearly a third of the amount that the group spent on that effort over that time period."

The Nation: Buying of the President 2012: Meet the super PAC mega-donors
Good compilation of recent stories about super PAC funding from Ari Berman: "The more we learn about Super PACs, the uglier the picture gets."

WaPo: Overheard on the trail: Adelson for president; booze and women at the RNC
Ha: "'You know who I think needs to run for president?' asks one of the workers clearing away the chairs at the Mason hall where GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum just finished addressing supporters. 'Sheldon Adelson.'"

The Hill: Huntsman: GOP debates "wasting time," party lacking in big ideas
I missed it this morning, but Jon Huntsman supposedly talked reform on Morning Joe: "Huntsman went on to call for campaign finance reform, term limits, and the rise of a third party - arguing each would be healthy for a democracy mired in the two-party system."

Bloomberg: Public financing: A "scarlet letter" for presidential candidates
Jonathan Salant: "All the attention on Super PACs has overshadowed another, no less important story about how presidential campaigns are being funded: the post-Watergate campaign-finance program is on its death bed."

Roll Call: Business community split on corporate tax reform
"Lobbyists have been waiting for a president to greenlight corporate tax reform for years, but now that one has, the business community is hardly unified."

Politico: Herman Cain super PAC hands off its cash
"The 9-9-9 Fund, a super PAC that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars last year in support of Herman Cain’s now-defunct presidential campaign, will donate its remaining cash to a super PAC bearing Cain’s name that formed shortly after the candidate dropped out of the race last year."

Other
Arizona Republic: Ex-Fiesta official Natalie Wisneski will enter guilty plea
"Natalie Wisneski, the Fiesta Bowl's former second-in-command, will plead guilty next month in U.S. District Court for her role in a fraudulent campaign-contribution scheme."