The United Refining Company has given $50k to Romney's super PAC directly from its corporate coffers. The company doesn't just drill for oil--they own nearly 400 gas stations and convenience stores. So, Nick Nyhart asks: is your gas money funding attack ads? And, do you want it to?

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Slate: Ohio Republicans want to disallow ballots with errors caused by poll workers
Must-read from Dahlia Lithwick on voter suppression efforts in Ohio, where lawmakers want to make it OK to toss out ballots for mistakes that poll workers make.

Mother Jones: John McCain: The Maverick Returns
Andy Kroll writes: "Now, however, McCain is starting to resemble his reformer self again. He slams the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision every chance he gets. He has teamed up with Democrats to demand a rethinking of Citizens United and to craft a new bill that would beef up disclosure of campaign donations and political ads."

Dallas Morning News: Super PAC donors need disclosing
The DMN kind of gets its facts wrong here, but it talks about the importance of disclosure.

Daily Beast: Montana vs. the Supreme Court
Michael Tomasky writes about the Montana case and why it's not getting as much coverage as, say, the Affordable Care Act case. CRP has signed on to the amicus brief, a good analysis from SCOTUS blog and iWatch attended Tuesday's AFJ hearing on a constitutional amendment.

South Coast Today: Free speech drowns in a sea of money
An editorial in Mass: "Constitutional amendment? At least it would bring corporate political speech back into the dimension that real people operate in. But something has to be done about Citizens United, because government of, by and for the people needs a voice, and the megaphone of the megamillions is drowning it out." Related Baltimore Sun editorial.

Congress/2012
CNN: Romney blows through cold to fund-raise
"A nagging head cold hasn't kept Mitt Romney from working feverishly to fill his campaign's coffers this week."

NYT: Obama touts accomplishments at California fund-raisers
"President Obama spent his evening Wednesday trolling for campaign funds amid the cultural and high-tech glitterati of Northern California, arguing that his accomplishments had been “extraordinary” but warning that it may take even beyond a second term to complete them." Sunlight. He also raised money in Denver.

AP: Obama, Dems redoubling money efforts to keep edge
"His cash advantage threatened, President Barack Obama and his party are redoubling their fundraising efforts after robust hauls by Republican rival Mitt Romney and a slew of GOP-leaning super PACs that are raking in cash from the party faithful highly motivated to topple the Democrat."

Roll Call: Bank lobbyists go into defensive crouch after JPMorgan losses
"The multibillion-dollar trading losses at JPMorgan Chase & Co. have thrust Wall Street banks into a defensive crouch on K Street, prompting financial services lobbyists to clam up, regroup and, in some cases, suspend lobbying altogether."

Bloomberg: JPMorgan joins MF Global in lobbying wins that backfire
Related: "Along with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)’s recent $2 billion loss, MF Global’s case demonstrates that an army of Washington lobbyists can sometimes succeed in rolling back or delaying U.S. rules and regulations to the detriment of investors and depositors, with rippling effects on the broader economy."

Slate: Save us, Soros!
Dave Weigel writes about rich liberals not pouring money into super PACs.

News-Leader: Blunt's wife rounds up campaign cash for Romney
I had not made the connection that one of Romney's new lobbyists bundlers, Abigail Blunt, is Sen. Blunt's wife.

ThinkProgress: Seventeenth group drops ALEC
"Scantron today became the seventeenth group to drop ALEC."

Reuters: US Chamber of Commerce to spend big on 2012 election
I missed this part of Donohue's speech the other day: "Thomas Donohue, the president and CEO of the powerful business lobby, on Tuesday said the Chamber planned to get involved in 11 or 12 Senate races and 35 to 37 races for the House of Representatives."

BuzzFeed: Gingrich super PAC still deciding fate of leftover $5.6 million
"Winning Our Future, the pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC, has more cash on hand left over from the primary than any other zombie super PAC, but it still hasn't decided what it will spend it on, according to a spokesman."

PCAF Blog: Dan Lungren attending billionaire fundraiser
Dan Lungren attended a fundraiser for John Boehner at the home of a Bay Area billionaire yesterday.

LA Times: "Super PAC" money pours into Inland Empire congressional race
"The battle for a San Bernardino County congressional seat has become a magnet for outside 'super PAC' dollars." More on this race at iWatch.

Politico: FEC releases election law documents after subpoena threat
"Responding to the threat of a congressional subpoena, the Federal Election Commission this afternoon released reams of previously secret documents that detail how it enforces election law."

The Hill: Congress' revolving door turns to K St.
"Some former lobbyists who left the influence industry last year to work as aides on Capitol Hill are already back on K Street. Others are coming to lobby shops for the first time, some from the offices of freshman members elected in 2010."

Roll Call: Charlie Rangel's career might be in peril
"There is a growing sense among New York political insiders that next month’s primary could mark the end of 81-year-old Rep. Charlie Rangel’s storied Congressional career."

Forbes: A college millionaire with a super PAC shows the rich don't ruin democracy
Haha. "Dudes, I'm so bored. Let's start a super PAC with my grandpa's inheritance." More on this at Mother Jones.

NYT: In Edwards case, experts see judge's words as key
Edwards trial update: "Legal analysts awaiting a verdict in the John Edwards federal corruption trial say the judge’s interpretation of the law could shape what the jurors might ultimately decide."