In an unfortunate change from 2009, the Obama administration announced it would accept unlimited corporate contributions to bankroll the 2013 inauguration ceremonies. Naturally, this raises the possibility of real or perceived undue influence by the contributing corporations. Perhaps worse, the donor “packages” of perks are named after the first presidents, from Washington to Madison.
 
Read more from the Washington Post, Mother Jones, New York Times.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
SF Chronicle: Obama’s reversal of principle on finance
Ouch, this San Francisco Chronicle editorial rips Obama’s decision to allow unlimited corporate contributions to underwrite his second inauguration: “It seems that Obama's principles have limits; his contributions do not.”
 
Women’s eNews: Campaign finance is a women's democracy issue
Leo Hindery, Jr. asks, “What if women lead the charge to make campaign finance reform the next great civil rights fight?”
 
HuffPo: Why Money in Politics Is Still a Really Big Deal
Miles Mogulescu doesn’t mince words in responding to the media narrative that big money in politics is not to worry about since Sheldon Adelson et al. didn’t end up winning: ‘"Bullsh*t!" The outsized influence of money in politics pre-selects the candidates of both parties, defines and delimits the range of issues and circumscribes what elected officials even attempt to accomplish once in office. Money in politics remains the greatest danger to government of, by, and for the people.’
 
LA Times: Election is over, but 'super PACs' remain a threat
“Just as the devil's finest trick is persuading you that he doesn't exist (according to the poet Baudelaire), the best trick of big-money political donors may be persuading Americans that Citizens United doesn't matter.”

Congress/2012
Philadelphia Inquirer: Winning while losing
The conventional wisdom seems to be shifting once again, from unlimited money groups being unstoppable, to a waste of money, to the more nuanced (and accurate) view that, win or lose, spending big money gets you influence in Washington: ‘Those donors "basically purchased a premium seat at the table in Washington when it comes to government decisions in the future," Wertheimer said.’

WSJ ($$$): Adelson: No Second Bite for Chamber of Commerce
Despite spending an estimated $150 million in the 2012 elections, Adelson rejected a follow-up fundraising request from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, thinking that it would not use his money effectively.
 
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Allen West's losing campaign spends eye popping $109 per vote
When you think about how many citizens vote for the same party every election, the amount West was spending per marginal vote must have been astronomical.
 
OpenSecrets Blog; Dick Morris' Super PAC Spends $1.7 M on Conservative Website
Super PAC for America, which featured Dick Morris as its “chief strategist,” managed to steer over half of its money to NewsMax, a conservative site that Morris writes for.
 
HuffPost: Obama Campaign Fundraising Best In History
“It's official. For any future White House aspirant to become the greatest fundraiser of all-time, they're going to have to pass the current holder of that title, President Barack Obama, and his record of $1.4 billion raised by his personal campaign committee during his two successful runs for the White House.”
 
AP: Shadowy donor behind record 'super' PAC checks
A look into the political giving of several shadowy companies formed by Tennessee lawyer William Rose, which gave $12 million to Freedomworks for America, a majority of the $20 million the super PAC raised.
 
Center for Public Integrity: Last-minute mega-donations fueled super PAC attacks
Michael Beckel looks at some of the final large contributions to super PACs that were only revealed last week thanks to a reporting loophole due to when the disclosure dates fall.
 
Roll Call: Rules of the Game: Unions Leveraging Election Day Wins
After their incredibly successful work in the 2012 election, and under siege in many states, unions are flexing their muscles in the nation’s capital, seeking to win a favorable deal to avoid the austerity cliff.

Other/States
Texas Tribune: For Donors, the Political Season Comes to an End
“Ladies and gentlemen, close your checkbooks. Sunday starts the blackout on campaign contributions to Texas state officeholders — a period of pecuniary protection that will last until after the legislative session that begins in a month.”
 
NYT: Quinn Backs Expansion of Campaign Spending
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is pushing a change to New York City’s landmark campaign finance system, which would allow corporations and other groups to spend much more money supporting candidates. The city Campaign Finance Board said the rule would “open a gaping loophole” in the system, but reform groups like Common Cause and Citizen Action New York are supporting it.