Sorry sports fans: "ESPN has come up with a way to sell a bigger portion of its ad time to political campaigns. The sports network has struck a deal with a middleman that will result in more political ads appearing on ESPN programs, including NFL and college football games, in October and November—the critical period before the general election."

Washington Post: "President Obama has fallen behind Republican Mitt Romney in monthly fundraising totals and may now be the underdog in the 2012 money race, given the juggernaut he faces of conservative groups with unlimited contributions at their disposal." LA Times, NYT, AP, Poltico, HuffPost, The Hill, Mother Jones.

And 72 of 200 state and legislative candidates in Arizona will use the state's Clean Elections system - not a bad number considering this is the first cycle since trigger funds were thrown out.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
WXXI News: Cuomo talks about cyber bulling, campaign finance reform, fracking in interview
In an interview yesterday, "Cuomo says he will try to sway the public to support campaign finance reform, working with a coalition of reform groups to 'raise awareness' in the coming months."

NPR: Democrats say anonymous donors unfairly influencing Senate races
"At the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Director Matt Canter says the pro-Republican groups aren't playing by the rules. The committee plans to file a complaint with the FEC accusing a trio of 'social welfare' groups of actually being political committees, abusing the rules to hide the identities of their donors." Mother Jones.

The Nation: Discriminatory Texas Voter ID law challenged in federal court
From Ari Berman: "This week the state of Texas will try to persuade a federal court in Washington to uphold its voter ID law. The facts, however, are not on Texas’s side." And some good stuff from Dave Weigel on what's happening in Florida.

Congress/2012
Roll Call: House Ethics will probe Shelley Berkley's role in saving transplant program
"The House Ethics Committee said today it will investigate whether Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) broke any ethics rules or laws when she intervened to save a kidney transplant program at a hospital where her physician husband had a lucrative contract." USA Today, Politico, The Hill.

Roll Call: Cabinet members a super PAC no-show
Good: "Senior White House adviser David Plouffe is the only member of President Barack Obama’s administration to attend a fundraiser for a pro-Obama super PAC so far, despite an announcement in February that White House officials and Cabinet members would participate."

BuzzFeed: How Mitt Romney because the world's best fundraiser
"Romney also has a depth of fundraising experience often neglected in recounting his biography as a private equity titan and Olympic Committee. Both of those posts are, at their core, about asking for money from wealthy people, and Romney by all accounts excelled at both."

The Nation: Money in, People Out
New piece from Ilyse Hogue looking at voter suppression efforts and the out-of-touch quotes from Romney's donors this past weekend: "While it’s the money they flaunt, it’s the people they fear, a fact that would serve us well to remember as limited resources are spent in 2012 and beyond. As progressives work to protect the vote for every American citizen in the short term and to blunt the impact of big money on our democratic process, let’s not lose focus on long-term investments in our own not-so-secret weapon: the people—of all colors and ages, all incomes levels, in the cities and on the farms—that make this country great. When they all have a voice, we all win."

WaPo: The GOP's crime against voters
"Recent developments in Pennsylvania — one of more than a dozen states where voting rights are under siege — should be enough to erase any lingering doubt: The GOP is trying to pull off an unconscionable crime."

The Atlantic: The best quotes from guests at Romney's Hamptons fundraiser
"But the main difference between Romney in the Hamptons and Obama in Hollywood is that the rich people who back Obama have yet to be quoted talking about how their servants are too ignorant to know how the economy works." And TNR plays "Gatsby or Romney?"

Politico: GOP billionaires give big to pro-Connie Mack super PAC
"Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is leading the list of conservative mega-donors to a super PAC backing Florida Senate nominee Rep. Connie Mack."

HuffPost: Karl Rove gave secret speech outside Romney donor retreat
"Karl Rove was the featured speaker at a previously unreported luncheon held just outside the Mitt Romney campaign's recent retreat for high-dollar donors, according to three Republican fundraisers who attended the event.

CBS News: Karl Rove's Crossroads groups announce $65 million ad buys
"The pro-Romney independent political group American Crossroads announced Monday a $40 million ad buy in eight battleground states, CBS News has confirmed, coming on the heels of a $25 million blitz by the group's sister organization, Crossroads GPS. The American Corssroads ad campaign is for advertisements to run from Labor Day to Election Day with the goal of defeating President Obama."

HuffPost: Sherrod Brown target of $1 million ad campaign by Crossroads GPS
Josh Mandel's comedic campaign continues to get rescued by outside spending: "Crossroads GPS, the advocacy group launched by Karl Rove, is coming out with a $1.1 million ad campaign against Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on Tuesday, pushing the total amount of conservative spending in that race to more than $10 million."

HuffPost: Elizabeth Warren raises more than $8.6 million
Another strong quarter for Elizabeth Warren: "The Massachusetts Democrat aiming to oust Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) raised $8.67 million in the past three months, her most successful quarter so far, the Warren campaign announced Monday."

WaPo: "The Gospel According to the Fix:" Get to know Carl Forti and the world of super PACs
"You’ve probably never heard of Carl Forti. He has never been on television and he’s rarely quoted in the newspaper. But Forti knows the world of super PACs better than anyone in the Republican Party — and that knowledge makes him one of the most important strategists in the GOP heading into the fall election."

The Hill: OMB director will testify at congressional hearingh on effect of sequestration cuts
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Defense Contractors) will hold two hearings in the coming weeks on the sequester and cuts to defense contractors. I can't seem to remember their being concerns raised when budget cuts led to layoffs of teachers and firefighters.

Other/States
DCist: Corporate campaign cash opponents gather enough signatures to place measure on November ballot
"A group seeking to ban corporate campaign contributions to candidates for elected office in D.C. is set to announce today that volunteers gathered over 30,000 signatures to put the proposed ban on November's ballot."