Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Roll Call: Coburn calls on parties to reject public funding for conventions
"Opening a new front in the GOP’s ongoing bid to end public campaign financing, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has called on the chairs of the Democratic and Republican National Committees to reject public funding for their upcoming party conventions."

Slate: Don't get too excited about promises of imminent campaign finance disclosure
Rick Hasen on Rep. Van Hollen's disclosure lawsuit: "And before you get too excited it’s worth considering that the Supreme Court could well help them keep their secrets in 2012, even though the court has so far been a big supporter of disclosure laws." Eliza Newlin Carney's piece on this at Roll Call.

Politico: Cleaver "Concern" on ethics probes of black lawmakers
"Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, wants to know why black lawmakers are being targeted in ethics investigations at a far higher rate than their non African-American colleagues."

Politico: Montana AG seeks to lasso elections for sale
Brennan Center's Adam Skaggs writes on the Montana campaign finance case. "The Supreme Court’s response could have repercussions far beyond Montana — the case may well determine how much states can regulate money in politics after Citizens United. The state high court cited Montana’s long history of corruption, when corporations often spent unlimited sums to steal elections, as the reason to narrow Citizens United and uphold the law."

Congress/2012
NYT: Joe Ricketts rejects plan to finance anti-Obama ads
If it was a trial balloon, it went down like lead. "Word that Mr. Ricketts had considered bankrolling a $10 million advertising campaign linking President Obama to the incendiary race-infused statements of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., brought waves of denunciation from Mitt Romney, the Obama campaign and much of the rest of the political world. " Even Rahm Emanual is angry. USA Today, AP, National Journal, NYT editorial, HuffPost, LA Times, and Boehner refused to comment.

Sunlight: Super PAC spending crosses $100 million: where did it all go?
"Now that super PACs' spending in the 2012 election has just crossed the $100 million spending mark—more than twice the amount spent in independent campaign expenditures by all outside groups at this point in the 2008 election--Sunlight decided to reflect on what else voters might have gotten for all that money."

Boston Globe: Banking sector puts it money on Mitt Romney
"The top five donor groups in Romney’s campaign are individuals and political action committees associated with large financial institutions, led by Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, according to information compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group that tracks campaign donations."

Michigan Campaign Finance Network: Millions in Michigan political ads unreported
"A five-party, multi-million-dollar Michigan television ad campaign orchestrated by Mentzer Media Services illustrates the major role of nonprofit advocacy corporations in contemporary presidential politics."

Sun Sentinel: Mitt Romney in Boca: presumptive Republican presidential candidate collects
"Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney wrapped up a two-day Florida fundraising flurry with a pair of invitation-only events in Boca Raton on Thursday night."

Politico: 2012 political TV ads: The rush is on
"With nearly six months left before Election Day, national party committees have already reserved more than $72 million in television airtime for a fall campaign that’s shaping up as a Super Bowl-like spectacle of political advertising."

WaPo: Mitt Romney's fundraising comes up just shy of Obama campaign
"Romney and the Republican National Committee, which is spending money on behalf of the Republican candidate, brought in $40.1 million during April, according to a campaign statement. That’s just shy of the $43.6 million raised by the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the same period."

The Hill: DCCC brings in record $6.5 million in April
"The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) raised $6.5 million in April and has $25 million in the bank as it works to retake the majority in the House." 85% in contributions came in amounts of $50 or less.

Politico: Congress-focused super PACs dominate May independent expenditures
"When it comes to outside political forces making independent expenditures, super PACs focused on congressional races — particularly Republican primaries — dominated the first half of May, a PI analysis of federal disclosures indicates."

WaPo: Americans Elect and the death of the third party movement
"Late Thursday night, Americans Elect, a much-ballyhooed group dedicated to securing ballot access for a serious third-party presidential candidate in 2012, issued a statement acknowledging failure."

NYT: Massachusetts Democratic Party requests information on Brown and JPMorgan Chase
"The Massachusetts Democratic Party said Thursday that it had made Freedom of Information Act requests to six government agencies in hopes of learning whether Senator Scott P. Brown had helped JPMorgan Chase seek a loophole in a law meant to limit risky trading. In a news release, the party said that Mr. Brown’s re-election campaign had received at least 30 contributions in February from employees of JPMorgan and the company’s federal political action committee."

Roll Call: JPMorgan CEO to testify in Senate
"The Senate Banking Committee today invited JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to testify on the bank’s recent $2 billion trading loss as part of the panel’s upcoming hearings on implementing the Wall Street reform law."

Politico: 38 lawmakers own stock in JPMorgan Chase
"Thirty eight members of Congress own stock in embattled JP Morgan Chase, with two Senators and four House members owning at least $100,000."

Daily Beast: Why JPMorgan Cahse should not fear FBI probe
"President Obama’s passive-aggressive relationship with Big Finance, in which the president and his team alternately woo and excoriate Wall Street, may have reached a new level of audacity this week."

The Hill: Dem super PAC picks up former Kerry presidential campaign head
"A Democratic super-PAC has hired Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) 2004 presidential campaign director to be a consultant on strategy and spending."

Reuters: Kochs help Republicans catch up on technology
"Republican political operatives, some with deep financial backing from the billionaire Koch brothers and others, are unleashing about a half dozen major projects that take advantage of advanced database technologies to manage campaigns and target voters with personalized messages."

ThinkProgress: Fulfilling API's wish list, Colorado Republicans offer more bills to throw open public lands to drilling
Looking at some new oil-friendly bills from Colorado congressmen: "Not surprisingly, these three members have taken significant campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. In the 2012 cycle, oil and gas has given Tipton $44,250; Coffman: $77,500; and Lamborn: $31,250."

The Hill: House GOP lawmakers take aim at earmark ban
"While the frustrated GOP lawmakers concede that eradicating the ban is not going to happen this Congress, they have become more outspoken in recent weeks and months. Their goal is to change the House’s policy in 2013."