My vacation wasn't spent in a house nearly as big as the ones Mitt Romney went to yesterday in the Hamptons. If I were the Romney campaign, I'd probably urge donors not to say things like this to reporters at the LA Times: "We've got the message. But my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies -- everybody who's got the right to vote -- they don't understand what's going on. I just think if you're lower income -- one, you're not as educated, two, they don't understand how it works, they don't understand how the systems work, they don't understand the impact." There was also a protest that featured "several hundred dissenters." CNN and Buzzfeed were there too.

And Obama donors want more love from the campaign: "the problem doesn't seem to be his policies or even the idea of raising taxes on rich people. It's that the president is not seen as sufficiently nice to big business owners."

A must-read from the NYT on corporations playing in politics: "Instead, there is growing evidence that large corporations are trying to influence campaigns by donating money to tax-exempt organizations that can spend millions of dollars without being subject to the disclosure requirements that apply to candidates, parties and PACs."

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Chicago Tribune: Quinn signs super PAC campaign finance law
Because llinois has never had trouble with big donations before: "Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill Friday that lifts the state’s campaign contribution limits to candidates once big money starts flowing into a state or local political contest, a move one watchdog group decried as effectively ending limits in any major race."

Roll Call: Debate over corporate spending spans parallel universes
Great Eliza Newlin Carney piece today on corporate money in elections. "The debate over corporate treasury dollars and cents is 'a bit of a red herring,' said Lisa Rosenberg, government affairs consultant with the Sunlight Foundation. Whether the money comes from a corporation’s CEO or from its general fund, she said, “it’s still unlimited money — most of it secret, most of it undisclosed."

NYT: Why Senator Mitch McConnell is so nervous
Editorial on McConnell and his conspiracy theories about disclosure: "This is not one of those laughable Internet conspiracy theories. The senator actually wrote this in an op-ed essay in USA Today on Thursday as his explanation of why the Disclose Act, which would end the practice of secret political donations, is 'un-American' and an attempt to limit free speech." Groups include Crossroads GPS, Americans for Prosperity, and 60 Plus Association.

NYT: Democrats want FEC to restrict donor-shielding groups
"The Democratic Party’s Senate campaign arm will file a formal complaint on Monday with the Federal Election Commission against three of the Republicans’ biggest campaign groups, accusing them of willful violations of federal election law and asking that their electioneering be stopped."

Reuters: Campaign donations by text? Not so fast, wireless carriers say
"Wireless carriers are balking at U.S. regulators' move to allow political donations by text message, a plan that could reshape the nation's campaign finance system by giving cell-phone users the ability to make instant contributions."

Congress/2012
Miami Herald: The politics of "Stand Your Ground" law
Public Campaign Action Fund's David Donnelly looks at the NRA's political spending in Florida and around the country: "What’s at stake truly is the public trust we are supposed to have in those we elect to pass laws. That public trust has been damaged by a campaign-finance system that resembles a cash-and-carry democracy more than one based on 'one person, one vote.'"

NYT: Obama and Romney gamble on wealth divide
"The complex and fraught politics of wealth and class, undercurrents all along in the race between President Obama and Mitt Romney, are surfacing in increasingly visible ways in the presidential campaign, presenting big risks and opportunities to both sides."

Consider the Source: Joint fundraising committee guide
How can Obama and Romney raise so much from one person in one chunk? CRP and iWatch explain.

Perez Hilton: Gwen Stefani will host presidential fundraiser with Michelle Obama
I think this is our first Perez Hilton link: "The No Doubt singer is hosting a presidential fundraiser at her Beverly Hills home with the First Lady on August 12."

Aspen Times: Romney sets sights on Aspen fundraiser
"Mitt Romney continues his Colorado push Monday when he stops in Aspen to raise funds for his campaign to unseat President Obama. "

WaPo: Romney campaign says it raised $106 million in June
"The $106.1 million total includes money raised for Romney’s campaign, the Republican National Committee and a joint fundraising operation (“Romney Victory”) between the two entities." The campaign has still not released its bundlers.

CNN: Team Obama uses Romney's June haul to spur donors
"Vice President Joe Biden called campaign donors to action on Saturday, warning them that Mitt Romney's campaign was out-raising the president's reelection effort."

Concord Monitor: Unlikely alliance
The Monitor looks at Americans United to Rebuild Democracy, a reform group that "has the good sense to recognize that the only way to get our country out of this miserable mess is to do it with a grassroots coalition of both the left and the right."

Connecticut Mirror: Twardy finds no evidence Donovan knew of illegal campaign contributions
"An independent investigator reported Thursday that he found no evidence that Democratic state House Speaker Christopher Donovan had any knowledge of, or made any deals regarding, contributions secretly funneled to his congressional campaign in exchange for killing tobacco-related legislation."

Roll Call: Lobbyists prepare eleventh-hour messaging before August recess
"The four-week stretch before the August recess might sound like a long haul, especially for this Congress. But by lobbyists’ count, they have at most 16 legislative days left before politics completely swamps the Capitol Hill agenda."

HuffPost: Crossroads GPS targets Obama on economic growth with $25 million ad buy
With all donors undisclosed: "The conservative advocacy group Crossroads GPS is launching a $25 million television ad campaign going after the president's record on the economy."

Politico: American Action Network launches $10 million effort in "orphan states"
"The American Action Network, the center-right issue advocacy group co-founded by former Sen. Norm Coleman, is devoting a minimum of $10 million to establishing a legislation-focused ground game in a number of states where there are competitive House races but state parties with little ability to provide a lift..."

Courier-Journal: Mitch McConnell is no John Sherman cooper
Hometown editorial dings McConnell for opposing health care and ends with this: "It’s time for Mr. McConnell to face those who don’t show up at GOP fund-raisers and hold a town hall meeting of his own."

Roll Call: Ethics panel weighs whether to continue Shelley Berkley case
"The House Ethics Committee is slated to announce today whether it will investigate if Rep. Shelley Berkley’s (D-Nev.) effort to save a kidney transplant program at a Las Vegas hospital was a conflict of interest given that her husband is a nephrologist who works with the medical center."

Washington Examiner: Unethical lawmakers face little chance of punishment
Why don't members facing ethics charges ever get punished? Melanie Sloan: "They don't make decisions based on the facts and law, they make them on the facts and law and politics."

Desert Sun: Lobbyists among Sen. Dianne Feinstein's biggest donors
"Lobbyists, including many with stakes in her Senate Appropriations Committee work, play a key role in financing Sen. Dianne Feinstein's re-election campaign."

NaJo: Pandora, growing up Washington style
"Pandora's royalty rate won't expire until 2015. But rather than wait around for another rate set under rules Westergren says are unfair, the Internet radio company is ramping-up its lobbying efforts. And it looks like they're preparing to take the fight to the Hill."

WaPo: Eight Senate candidates who need a good fundraising quarter
"With Senate races starting to take shape in several key states — particularly ones where the primary has been held — these reports are the most important to date, the second-to-last quarterly reports we’ll see before the election. Essentially: We’re getting into crunch time."