NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre will appear today in front of the Senate Judiciary committee today for a hearing entitled “What should America do about gun violence?” Public Campaign has the story looking at the money that the NRA has spent to get many of those same committee members elected—$127,200 in contributions and $587,000 in independent expenditures, so it will be interesting to see how those members react to LaPierre’s advice.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
HuffPost: House Majority PAC Video Features House Democrats Singing Its Praises
In case you thought super PAC coordination rules were anything but a joke: “In another sign of the close ties between super PACs and elected officials, seven newly minted Democratic House members appear in a promotional video for a super PAC that helped them win election in 2012.”  
More from Politico, Center for Public Integrity
 
Roll Call: Ethics Office Opened 32 Cases During 112th Congress
“The Office of Congressional Ethics opened 32 matters during the 112th Congress and recommended that the House Ethics Committee review 13 of those further for alleged wrongdoing, according to an end-of-year report released Tuesday.”

Congress/Administration
LA Times: Looking for Organizing for Action website? You've reached the NRA
The newest iteration of President Obama’s campaign neglected to secure all the different domain names related to its new title (e.g. organizingforaction.com) before announcing itself. Money quote: “Organizing for Action is not that organized, I guess.”

Politico: Bloomberg’s Washington Footprint Explodes
“Armed with his powerful political perch and a massive personal fortune, Bloomberg has employed a repertoire of tactics — his own voice, the city’s lobbying office and lobbying shops hired by coalition groups he has helped create — to move the needle on his issues.”
 
HuffPost: Progress Kentucky, Democratic Super PAC, Targets Mitch McConnell For Defeat In 2014
Shawn Reilly, head of Progress Kentucky, explains the crossover opposition to Mitch McConnell from both Tea Partiers and progressives: “corruption and crony capitalism.” That might be why a recent Courier-Journal Bluegrass poll had McConnell’s opponents outnumbering his supporters 2-1.

AP: Super PAC fuels speculation that Vitter eyeing run for governor
“Charlie Spies told The Associated Press that Vitter supporters filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and the state ethics office creating The Fund for Louisiana's Future, a pro-Vitter political action committee.”
 
Chicago Sun-Times: Penny Pritzker could join Obama Cabinet as commerce secretary
Major bundler and 2008 national finance chair for the Obama campaign Penny Pritzker has emerged as a top choice for the commerce secretary’s office.
 
Roll Call: NRA Can’t Hurt You, Murphy Claims
“[Sen.] Murphy said his goal is to debunk “the continuing mythology about the power of the NRA” and to convince his colleagues on both sides of the aisle that “there is nothing to fear” from the NRA.”
 
CPI: Influence chic: Urban Outfitters bags K Street help
Paging the Hipster Caucus: For the first time, Urban Outfitters has hired federal lobbying help, through former Sen. Spencer Abraham’s lobbying shop.
 
Chicago Tribune: Bloomberg targets Halvorson gun stance in race to replace Jackson Jr.
Independence USA, Michael Bloomberg’s pro-gun control super PAC is jumping into a 17-way Democratic primary to replace Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., attacking the NRA “A” rated Debbie Halvorson.

Other/States
HuffPost: On Campaign Finance Reform, Senate Republicans Stand in Gov. Cuomo's Way
Dean Skelos, Republican leader of the State Senate, voices his opposition to public financing, relying on two false assertions: first, incorrectly claiming that the public opposes the measure (disproved by a Siena College poll and by polling conducted for Public Campaign Action Fund) and second, using an estimated cost that is between five and eight times higher than the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute’s projection.
 
CPI: Package of bills seeks ethics reform in North Dakota
Who doesn’t like sunshine? Legislators in North Dakota introduced the “Sunshine Act” to create an ethics commission and strengthen campaign finance disclosure rules, following an ethics report giving the state an “F”.
 
Vermont Public Radio: Democrats Echo Republicans In Calling For Campaign Finance Reform
You don’t see this kind of headline too often in Washington. Both major parties in Vermont have introduced legislation to speed up the frequency of campaign finance filings and otherwise increase disclosure of political spending.
 
AP: RI Rep: ban lobbyist contributions during session
“State Rep. John Lombardi announced his legislative proposal Tuesday. It would seek to prevent lobbyists from making donations to political campaign funds from Jan. 1 to July 1, typically the time lawmakers are in session.”