Hey everyone! A big thanks to Kurt for handling the clips while I was on sabbatatical. Now back at it:

Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch wrote in the Daily News this weekend that it's time to clean up Albany: "We have every reason to believe that replicating the city’s system of public financing at the state level will have precisely the same effect."

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Campaign Legal Center: Supreme Court again comes down on side of donor disclosure
"Today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari in The Real Truth About Abortion v. FEC and left standing a lower court ruling upholding FEC rules governing donor disclosure. "

NBC: California man says he can drive in carpool lane with incorporation papers
"When Jonathan Frieman of San Rafael, Calif., was pulled over for driving alone in the carpool lane, he argued to the officer that, actually, he did have a passenger. He waved his corporation papers at the officer, he told NBCBayArea.com, saying that corporations are people under California law."

Politico: Stamping out big money in politics
Matt McWilliams and Ed Erickson write about Ben Cohen's new "Stamp out Money in Politics" campaign: "Ben Cohen is no Lincoln, but he is a gifted marketing entrepreneur and his open source Stampede marketing campaign may become the new model for how to fuse social media and grass-roots activism with the assets of existing organizations to engage and provoke the public in demanding change."

New Yorker: Casting votes
Jeffrey Toobin on why we still need the Voting Rights Act.

Roll Call: Citing flawed process, lawyers call for changes in ethics office inquiries
"In letters sent to the House Ethics Committee, a recent editorial and interviews with CQ Roll Call, members of the political defense bar have said their clients have scant information about why they are being investigated, are provided with little opportunity to meaningfully respond and agree to be interviewed at their own risk."

Congress/2012
Bloomberg: Wall Street outspent lawyers funding Romney's bid
"Wall Street outdid the legal profession in raising money for Mitt Romney, making him the first major-party presidential nominee in at least two decades who didn’t rely on lawyers as his biggest source of funding."

Politico: Bill Kristol's big plans start with Hagel nomination
Ken Vogel looks at new efforts by Bill Kristol to have influence in Washington, starting with spending money to battle the Hagel nomination.

NYT: Rescued by a bailout, AIG may sue its savior
While this isn't necessarily money in politics related, it could be interesting to see the Hill reaction: "Behind the scenes, the restored insurance company is weighing whether to tell the government agencies that rescued it during the financial crisis: thanks, but you cheated our shareholders."

CRP: Learning from Microsoft's mistakes, Google invests heavily in influence
"Google's big victory last week -- when the Federal Trade Commission announced it is closing its antitrust investigation of the search giant -- was credited by many to the fact that Google did what Microsoft refused to in the 1990s: It learned how to play ball in Washington."

Politico Influence: Sandy Hook-inspired super PAC forms
"A new super PAC — inspired by the Sandy Hook elementary shooting — has registered with the FEC"

Washington Examiner: Max Baucus rewards ex-staffers with tax breaks for their lobbyists
Tim Carney: "Tax breaks for Hollywood, NASCAR, windmills, algae and multinational corporations ended up in the 'fiscal cliff' bill thanks to President Obama, according to Senate Republican sources. But they were spawned by a web of lobbyists, donors and staffers surrounding Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana."

Daily Beast: Mosbacher: I'm furious at my own party
RNC Finance Committee Co-Chair Georgette Mosbacher unloads on Republicans, saying she and other donors willing to "sit on their wallets" until Republicans do a real post-mortem. “I’m not writing any checks, and I’m not asking anyone else to write any checks until I hear something that makes sense to me."

Politico: Gun groups rap Heidi Heitkamp for comments
"A gun control group is taking out ads attacking newly-elected Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp for labeling gun control proposals under discussion by President Barack Obama’s administration “extreme.”

Politico: Fahrenkopf to leave gaming lobby
"Frank Fahrenkopf, the long-time president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, will step down at the end of June, the group announced Monday." The Hill, Roll Call.

Roll Call: Huelskamp fundraises off Boehner vote
My fave part of this story on Huelskamp fundraising off his vote against Boehner for speaker: "The email includes an accompanying photo of Boehner shaking President Barack Obama’s hand at the beginning of a State of the Union address."

Other/States
Baltimore Sun: Common Cause hires new state director
"Common Cause Maryland has hired a former top official of a leading environmental group as its executive director, taking over as the General Assembly prepares for a debate over campaign finance law in which the governmentwatchdog group will be a leading player."

YNN: Campaign finance reform being talked about again
NY: "As untold millions of dollars flood the airwaves from independent groups seeking to influence public policy, elected officials say disclosure of how those groups spend and raise money is needed more than ever."

CPI: Arizona still waiting for Fiesta Bowl fixes
On the lack of action to address the Fiesta Bowl scandal in Arizona: "The first is the tale of freebies: tickets to high-profile football games and bowl-paid jaunts around the country that dozens of legislators took from at least 2003 to 2010, often with family members in tow. The second is whether lawmakers intend to do anything about the behavior that was uncovered, or just carry on as if nothing ever happened. "

Times-News: Idaho needs better disclosure laws
Editorial in Idaho: "People have a right to know where the money comes from, so they can respond and be a part of the political process. Political action committees shouldn't be the only groups with a voice."

Sun-Sentinel: 2011 elex law sponsor files bill to change early voting
"Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, who sponsored the 2011 election law rewrite that scaled back the number of days for early voting, has authored a bill that would provide more early voting opportunities."