Crucial point in Nick Confessore's analysis of 2012 outside spending in the New York Times: "In virtually every respect, the growth of unlimited fund-raising and the move of outside groups to the mainstream of politics have magnified the already outsize role of money in political campaigns. They have changed how incumbents and challengers alike campaign and raise money, altered how voters experience politics, and expanded the influence of a small group of large donors on the policies and messages espoused by candidates."

More from Alex Seitz-Wald at Salon, featuring this from Public Campaign's Nick Nyhart: "The impact of super PACs wasn’t that they could buy races, it’s about the arms race for campaign cash they fueled. These groups force candidates to spend more time raising money from deep-pocketed donors just to keep up."

Sam Stein writes for HuffPost: "But beneath the gloating, there's a belief among party operatives that Obama was uniquely qualified to survive in the super PAC era. As Democratic lawmakers take stock of what happened on Tuesday, there is a renewed sense that, absent some form of campaign finance reform, they will be disadvantaged in future electoral cycles." Eric Posner at Slate writes why "Citizens United is still worth hating." More at Alternet, NPR.

Finally, the New America Foundation is hosting what should be a good panel on Friday in DC: "Dark Money, Media and the 2012 Campaign." Michael Copps is givening opening remarks and panelists include LA Times' Matea Gold, Sunlight's Ellen Miller, Free Press's Craig Aaron, and Professor Jason Reifler

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Honolulu Civil Beat: Public campaign funding played big role in Big Isle elections
Good news: "When the new Hawaii County Council is sworn in at noon Dec. 3, it will mark a milestone for the comprehensive public funding campaign pilot program. A majority of the incoming council members have benefited from public campaign financing." We should have reports on how candidates in AZ, ME, and CT fared at some point this week.

The Nation: Why we still need Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the Voting Rights Act--a scary thought with the current makeup of the Court. Ari Berman: "It turns out that states and counties with a history of voting discrimination in 1964 are still trying to suppress the growing minority vote today. Consider, for example, that eight of eleven states in the former Confederacy passed new voting restrictions since the 2010 election." The Atlantic, USA Today, American Prospect, LA Times.

BNA: Supreme Court urged to strike down ban on corporate campaign contributions (PDF)
"The Supreme Court is being asked in a newly filed petition to overturn the century-old ban on corporate campaign contributions to federal candidates."

Mother Jones: Man behind Citizens United says 2012 has vindicated him
An interview with Jim Bopp.

Congress/Politics
Moyers & Company: Solving the $6 billion problem
Here's a great Q&A with Nick Nyhart about what just happened--and what's next.

Politico: Rahm: Jesse Jackson, Jr. should show hand
Word is Jackson Jr is discussing a plea deal, that could lead to jail time. "Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. needs to speak to his constituents and make clear his future plans, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Monday."

Politico: Small donors have no regrets on Election Day
Love this story talking to small donors who know they could never compete with billionaires. One $200 Obama donor: "I can’t compete with Mr. Koch and all of them. I remember when we just used to go vote and we didn’t pay for it."

Roll Call: Members confront debt from Capitol Hill to Capital Grille
Sure, people have the "fiscal cliff" to deal with, but they won't let that get in the way of fundraising, Janie Lorber reports. Here's me: "The fundraising never stops in Washington. These lobbyists are trying to influence this debate and there’s no better way to make your case than by handing over a $1,000 check to a Member of Congress.”

Roll Call: Does Mitch McConnell have a conflict of interests?
Mitch McConnell hates campaign finance rules, but has the loosening up of regulations kept him from becoming Majority Leader?

NYT: A landslide loss for big money
New York Times editorial ends: "It is encouraging to see that even a few Republican lawmakers are starting to realize the corrupt flood of cash needs to be stopped. There is talk of new legislation to require disclosure of donors by shadowy groups, and of the need to re-examine donation limits. A backlash against the damaging power of big money cannot come too soon." Other editorials/columns: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Beaumont Enterprise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sun-Sentinel, Dan Turner at the LA Times, Free Speech for People in the Miami Herald, Times Argus. And you can probably guess what the Wall Street Journal has to say.

Demos/PIRG: Distorted Democracy: Post-Election Spending Analysis
New report: "A new analysis of data through Election Day from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and other sources by U.S. PIRG and Demos shows how big outside spenders drowned out small contributions in 2012: just 61 large donors to Super PACs giving an average of $4.7 million each matched the $285.2 million in grassroots contributions from more than 1,425,500 small donors to the major party presidential candidates."

Campaign Finance Institute: Independent Spending Roughly Equaled the Candidates’ in Close House and Senate Races; Winning Candidates Raised More than any Previous Election
Michael Malbin's look at what happened.

Roll Call: Super PACs make move to lobbying
"High-dollar super PACs and advocacy groups failed to score big wins in the recent elections, but they may have better luck with their next act: lobbying Capitol Hill."

The Hill: Super PACs already planning for 2014
"Conservative outside groups Crossroads and Freedomworks for America told The Hill they made a long-term commitment to their donors that won’t be altered by the disappointing results Republicans saw in 2012."

Mother Jones: Obama raised $300 million with big-dollar bundlers
"A tremendous, unprecedented grassroots fundraising effort accounted for a large chunk of this take. But Obama also pulled off a major big-money operation. He raised a staggering $300 million in top-dollar donations through an extensive network of so-called 'bundlers.'"

Roll Call: Congressional ethics inquiries helped sweep some lawmakers out of office
"Congressional ethics inquiries helped tank some lawmakers’ re-election bids and proved to be only minor annoyances in others, remaking the slate of open cases before the House Ethics Committee as it heads into the next Congress."

Politico: Colbert shuts down super PAC
"Americans are going to have wait more than a day for their better tomorrow. In an email sent late Monday night, 'Colbert Report' host Stephen Colbert announced he was shutting down his super PAC, Americans For A Better Tomorrow Tomorrow."

WaPo: As "fiscal cliff" nears, business groups jostle for ear of Congress, White House
"Tension among the country’s leading business lobbies has become more pronounced this week as competing groups jostle for attention from Capitol Hill and the White House over their favored approaches to resolving the ongoing deadlock over tax and spending policy." Liberal groups are mobilizing too. More from Steve Pearlstein on what the Chamber needs to do.

Politico: Outside Democratic super PAC made dollars count
On Democratic super PACs: "The two groups’ involvement in these key Senate battles — despite the public disapproval of super PACs and secret money by Democratic leaders — would prove critical in the stunning Democratic Senate sweep in last week’s elections."

HuffPost Live: Where corruption begins
PCAF's David Donnelly went on HuffPost Live last night to talk about the impact all the money just spent will have on the policy-making process.

USA Today: Latino donors to Obama gain political clout
Interesting, new look at another constituency for Obama - Latino donors: "The sum is a tiny fraction of the $1 billion collected by Obama and the Democratic National Committee since Jan. 1, 2011, but illustrates one way Latino interests are increasing their political clout. "

WaPo: Karl Rove and his super PAC vow to press on
State-level politics? Playing in primaries? Ads during debt talks? Karl Rove ain't a quitter. Or, as Politico writes, "Karl Rove under fire." HuffPost.

PCAF: Incoming House Financial Services Chair saw dramatic increase in Wall Street cash in 2012
Jeb Hensarling is going to chair House Financial Services in the next Congress. He saw a 33 percent increase in Wall Street cash in 2012.

HuffPost: Democratic super PACs trim conservative advantage in Congressional races
After the 2010 bloodbath, Democrats rebounded in 2012 with outside groups. Russ Feingold: ""We need to be smart enough to be the party that doesn't believe in this sort of thing."

WaPo: Private consultants see huge election profits
"Some of the biggest winners in the most expensive election in U.S. history weren’t the politicians, but the private consultants who brought in tens of millions of dollars in fees for advertising, fundraising and other campaign activities."

Politico: Report: Menendez faces ethics complaint
"New Jersey Republicans appeared to have filed an ethics complaint against Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez just days before the election, though he went on to easily defeat his GOP opponent by nearly 20 percentage points."

The Hill: Close House races bring please for more donations
"Candidates in close House races that have yet to be called are pleading with their donors for help as they lawyer up for possible recounts and court challenges."

HuffPost: California elections influenced by redistricting, super PACs
"But Tuesday's election results were heavily influenced by a trifecta of decisions made years earlier -- two ballot initiatives that dramatically overhauled California's political and electoral process, and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed unlimited money to prop up campaigns."

Other/States
Gannett: Policy issues hinge on control of NY Senate
Democrats say they've won control of the NY Senate, but a few races are still unclear. Citizen Action's Karen Scharff on what might be at stake: "The Republican majority was the obstacle to real campaign-finance reform. With a Democratic majority, the last obstacle would be removed. Voters want a state Senate that wants to pass real campaign-finance reform.”