Yesterday's top story, of course, was news that Adelson has made a $10 million donation to Restore Our Future (and possibly more). David Donnelly in the LA Times: "The ties between Romney’s campaign and super PAC are well documented and this example shows the fiction of contribution limits and the dominating role big money plays in our elections. Romney personally knows big donors like Adelson and there is no question that they’ll expect a big return on their investment if he wins." NYT on Adelson setting "a new standard," Salon, Rolling Stone, USA Today, Mother Jones on how this is "chump change" for him.

And if you read this George Will column making fun of a liberal elementary school election to make fun of campaign finance reform, then make sure to read his 2009 column on men ruining our society by wearing denim too often.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Daily Kos: The next campaign finance revolution is here
Nice piece from Adam Bonin at Daily Kos on what text message contributions could mean.

ProPublica: Media companies make yet another push to defang transparency rule
"A group of broadcasters are formally asking the Federal Communications Commission to soften a new rule requiring TV stations to put political ad data on the Internet." But supporters of transparency are pushing back.

Daily Hampshire Gazette: Rep. John Olver praises effort to limit corporate funding in politics
"Rep. John W. Olver on Tuesday praised the grass-roots effort to limit the power of corporations, calling efforts to pass resolutions in 21 communities around western Massachusetts 'remarkable.'"

NYT: John Edwards charges dismissed
"The Justice Department said Wednesday it would not retry Mr. Edwards on the five charges of campaign finance fraud on which a North Carolina jury could not reach a verdict after a six-week trial that ended this month."

Georgetown Law Journal: The participation interest
This looks to be a must-read from Spencer Overton on campaign finance reform to increase participation in politics.

Americans for Campaign Reform: John Rauh speaks at Dartmouth
John Rauh "made a passionate argument for voluntary public funding of federal elections during a presentation hosted by the esteemed ILEAD program at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. "

Congress/2012
NYT: Jamie Dimon on the Hill
Why didn't Senators challenge Jamie Dimon more yesterday at a Senate hearing? New York Times editorial: "Maybe their staffs did not prep them on the complexities. Another possible explanation is that, even now, senators from both parties are still in thrall to Mr. Dimon and the deep pockets of the banking industry." Related column from Dana Milbank.

National Journal: Exclusive: AHIP gave more than $100 million to Chamber's efforts to derail health care reform
Great reporting from Chris Frates: "The nation's leading health insurance industry group gave more than $100 million to help fuel the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 2009 and 2010 efforts to defeat President Obama's signature health care reform law, National Journal's Influence Alley has learned."

Forbes: Sheldon Adelson tops Romney donor list that now includes 32
"Adelson is just the latest billionaire to jump on the Mitt Romney bandwagon. With his gift, the tally of America’s richest people donating to Mitt Romney-backing super PAC Restore Our Future is 32 — or, 8% of the Forbes 400."

TPM: Democratic donors' super PAC freeze-out is starting to thaw
"Democratic-supporting super PACs say Democratic donors, wary of giving money to the outside spending groups their candidates have railed against since the Supreme Court’s Citizen United decision, are starting to put their principles aside as the power of super PAC spending becomes more pronounced."

Roll Call: Beltway bundlers have Mitt Romney sitting pretty
"It’s hard to say who gets more out of Mitt Romney’s increasingly cozy relationship with Washington, D.C., lobbyists — the presumptive GOP nominee or the K Street insiders rounding up checks for him." I think this quote from one lobbyist is important: "If there’s a single ‘go-to’ person in Washington for the Romney campaign, it is Jack Gerard." Gerard is the head of the American Petroleum Institute.

AP: Obama raises campaign cash at DC fundraiser
"Obama appeared at a fundraiser Wednesday with about 25 supporters at the W Hotel, a few blocks from the White House. The fundraiser was closed to reporters."

US News: Geithner not worried about dearth of Wall Street donations
Tim Geithner yesterday when asked about all of Romney's donations from Wall Street: "I can’t really speculate on their motives, but I suspect it’s because they believe that they are more likely to get a more favorable hearing in terms of relaxing these reforms if the Republicans have a stronger hand in Washington."

Bloomberg: Obama taps entertainers to stay ahead of Romney's money
"President Barack Obama is using the entertainment industry on both coasts to help fill the fundraising hole left by defections of some Wall Street donors. " AP.

PCAF Blog: Brian Bilbray wants a tax break for his big campaign donors
Last week, Brian Bilbray wrote an op-ed about how terrible the medical device excise tax is. It's funny, the industry fueled that last months of his primary campaign.

WaPo: Ex-lawmaker lobbyists more likely to put leftover campaign money to political use
What are ex-lawmakers turned lobbyists doing with leftover campaign cash? "Those who become lobbyists are much more likely than other former lawmakers to put remaining money to political use — donating to lawmakers who have the ability to help their lobbying clients, according to the report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which tracked 57 House members who left Congress in 2007 and 2008."

SF Gate: Wisconsin GOPer who decries "San Francisco radicals" here...for big fundraiser
"When it comes to money, the politicians aren’t picky: Wisconsin GOP Rep. Sean Duffy, who has publicly railed against all those “San Francisco radicals,” is coming here to see the scene for himself. At a fundraiser."

Mother Jones: Charting the cozy connections between JP Morgan and the Senate banking committee
"But through campaign contributions and well-connected staff, JP Morgan appears to have already taken its own accounting of the Banking committee."

WaPo: Secret money fuels the 2012 elections
EJ Dionne's latest column: "This time, much of the auction will be held in private. You can be sure that the candidates will find out who helped elect them, but the voters will remain in the dark. "

The Hill: House liberals want group that filed suit against healthcare law to reveal donors
"House liberals this week are asking the business group leading the lawsuit against the administration's healthcare reform law to reveal its donors. Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) say they doubt the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has challenged the healthcare law on behalf of small businesses, as the group claims."

Bangor Daily News: Angus King pledges to discourage super PAC money if his opponents do the same
"Former Gov. Angus King, the presumed front-runner in the race to replace Olympia Snowe in the U.S. Senate, said Wednesday he’ll discourage spending by outside groups on his behalf if his opponents do the same."

The Hill: Chamber, House Republicans leave discord over the debt ceiling behind
Haha. "House Republicans who defied corporate leaders by voting against the debt-ceiling increase last summer will likely have the backing of Washington’s most powerful business lobby come November."

Palm Beach New Times: More complaints filed against Connie Mack for mailers
A Florida man has sent a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics on a franking issue, referring to Connie Mack as a "butt-nugget."

Republic Report: Sen. Blumenthal demands answers from Northrop Grumman following our scoop
After Republic Report reported on a bonus a Congressional aide got before heading to the Hill, Sen. Blumenthal wants answers.

Politico: Wealth disclosures not so transparent
On personal financial disclosures due out this week: "These massive data dumps — released in the name of transparency — paint an incomplete financial picture of members of Congress."

Other/States
TPM: FBI set up fake company in Arizona lobbyist sting
On an FBI sting that nabbed a Arizona House member (one who is not a supporter of Clean Elections).