Public Campaign

Donate Now
Follow us On:
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • Fair Facts
  • Get Involved
  • Voter Blog
  • Press Room
  • About Us

Clips Round-up for 4/5/12

Submitted by mrober@publicam... on Thu, 04/05/2012 - 13:32

Habitat Media's Priceless began airing last night on local PBS stations across the country. Look for it in your area!

Bankers have started a super PAC, saying they are tired of not having enough power in Congress. It's unclear whether they lack self-awareness or are just greedy. David Dayen at FDL has a pretty good response.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
HuffPost: Barack Obama signs STOCK Act, omits Citizens United comments
President Obama signed the STOCK Act yesterday and called for more limited campaign reforms, but as Paul Blumenthal notes, "but the president did not call for passage of the DISCLOSE Act or any fix to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision." National Journal, Mother Jones, Desert Sun, CNN, The Hill, NYT, and the president's full remarks.

Mass AG: AG Coakley and 10 AGs submit letter of support for constitutional amendment
"Concerned about unlimited contributions by corporations for political advertising, Attorney General Martha Coakley has submitted a formal letter to Congress urging an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission." AP.

WaPo: Democrats make headway in effort to blunt fast growth of undisclosed spending on "issue ads"
On Friday's court decision: "Democrats finally caught a break on their effort to increase regulation of money in politics last week when a federal judge in Washington threw out a loophole in disclosure requirements."

YNN: Calls for campaign finance reform
Update from yesterday's presser in Syracuse pushing for Fair Elections. One speaker said, "So how much do I have to contribute in order to get an audience with one of them?” Here are pictures from the Poughkeepsie event and the press release.

Congress/2012
Huffington Post: Mitt Romney super PAC keeps heat on Rick Santorum through April 24
"The super PAC supporting Mitt Romney isn't giving up its relentless assault on Romney's chief primary opponent, Rick Santorum, even after Tuesday night's clean sweep in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia."

Republic Report: Meet the lobbyists promoting "pink slime" in your hamburger meat
"Beef Products Inc., the top producer of pink slime, has ramped up its lobbying spending since the New York Times helped blow the lid off the controversy in 2009:"

HuffPost: Bundlers' ball: Donors invited to White House party collectively gave $10.9 million to 2012 campaign
On the recent State Dinner: "All combined, donors who landed invites to the White House party have already bundled at least $10.9 million for Obama's 2012 campaign, according to a review of data on the Center for Responsive Politics."

NaJo: Elizabeth Warren hints at another big fundraising quarter
Warren is hinting at another big fundraising quarter--teasing to press that she brought in $2.5M just from Massachusetts residents.

Roll Call: Credo PAC targets two more House Republicans
CREDO super PAC has added Dan Lungren and Mike Fitzpatrick to its target list. You might remember this story on Lungren in 2008 and how Fitzpatrick was at that big Florida lobbyist fundraiser recently.

Bloomberg: Republican donor Simmons seeks rule to fill Texas dump
Harold Simmons needs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve a rule to make money off a toxic waste dump he built. He hired lobbyists, but "Simmons now is spending money in a new way that could improve his business prospects: He’s invested $15.9 million this election cycle in various groups to help elect Republicans, who advocate easing regulations on the nuclear industry."

NPR: Where money meets power in Washington
All Things Considered looks at the top Washington fundraising spots, using data from Sunlight Foundation.

WaPo: Wall St. attacks Obama for tactic it uses
Harold Meyerson on Wall Street and switching sides to give money to Romney. "Wall Street leaders’ shift from Obama to Romney isn’t just about preserving their tax breaks and, by repealing the Dodd-Frank financial reform, bringing back high-yield deals that may imperil the broader economy. It’s also about having a president who won’t challenge the lies they tell about — and to — themselves." It's based on this New Republic article.

ThinkProgress: Progressive movement compels Coca-Cola to pull support from ALEC over voter suppression effort
"Prompted by a petition campaign by the progressive advocacy group Color of Change, Coca-Cola has pulled its support from ALEC, a right-wing corporate-funded front group which has been pushing voter restriction efforts around the country." And just breaking--Pepsi dropped too.

The Nation: The "Voter Fraud" fraud
Ari Berman's latest piece on "voter fraud": "The real story in 2012 is how the myth of voter fraud has been advanced by Republicans to justify new voting restrictions in more than a dozen states, which could disenfranchise up to 5 million voters on Election Day, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. That’s a whole lot of casualties in response to a few bad actors." Andy Rosenthal in the NYT writes on voter fraud too and a new report from CAP.

NYT: Court's potential to goad voters swings to Democrats
Interesting (and also because of Citizens United): "Now strategists in both parties are suggesting this could be the Democrats’ year to make the court a foil to mobilize voters. "

Roll Call: Stabenow raises $1.5M for "best quarter ever"
"Sen. Debbie Stabenow raised $1.5 million in the first quarter of this year — a sum her campaign called her 'best fundraising quarter ever.'"

NaJo: Travel lobby to lawmakers: Don't overrreact to GSA travel scandal
"Days after a report found the GSA inappropriately spent taxpayer money at an October 2010 conference outside Las Vegas - including using the funds to hire a mind reader and a clown - the U.S. Travel Association is urging lawmakers not to overreact while touting the benefits of business travel, for both the private and public sector."

Colbert Report: Colbert super PAC SHH! - 501c4 disclosure
Stephen Colbert takes on Karl "we're just like the NAACP" Rove.

Politico: Charlie Bass' campaign in "push polling" lawsuit
"The New Hampshire attorney general’s office has filed a civil lawsuit against Rep. Charlie Bass’s 2010 campaign committee, charging it 'deliberately avoided' identifying itself as a sponsor of a negative push poll against Democrat Ann McLane Kuster during the 2010 campaign for New Hampshire’s 2nd District. "

Republic Report: Coca-Cola, eBay, and other major corporations shape Congressional elections through undisclosed attack ad machine
Lee Fang rounds up all of the news stories and public disclosures for the funders behind the U.S. Chamber.

Other/States
WFNT: Michigan campaign finance records now on iPad, iPhone
The Michigan Secretary of State's office has launched an iPhone app for campaign finance searches.

  • 2012
  • Clips
  • fundraising
  • lobbying
  • voter fraud
  • Login or register to post comments

Recent Blog Posts

VIDEO: Fair Elections Rally in NYC
April 10, 2013
Public Campaign President Nick Nyhart was in New York City last week for a Rally for Fair Elections attended by hundreds of activists from around the city. Watch the video below of Nick's...

NYT: Public Financing Required to Fight Corruption
April 9, 2013
The New York Times is out with an editorial today on what reform in Albany must look like in the wake of yet another wave or corruption in New York politics. It's simple: changing Albany and...

Clips Round-up for 4/9/13
April 9, 2013
NYT editorial out this morning responding to the recent scandals in New York: "Of all the proposed reforms, the most critical is to open up elections so that voters have real choices. And that...

Remembering Anne Smedinghoff
April 8, 2013
No doubt many of you read this weekend of the violent death in Afghanistan of a young American foreign service officer, Anne Smedinghoff. Her passing rang an especially sad note for current and...

View All Blog Posts
  • Privacy Policy

Public Campaign

1133 19th Street, NW 9th Floor Washington, DC 20036
  • info@publicampaign.org
  • 202.640.5600
  • 202.640.5601