Our friends in New York did a series of events yesterday on corporate tax loopholes and the need for Fair Elections. Citizen Action's Karen Scharff: "This new analysis shows that if New York had tax policies that make good economic sense, instead of giving away tax payer cash to multinational corporations, we’d save billions. Publicly financed Fair Elections is how we can make our state’s policies reflect the best interests of New Yorkers instead of the interests of corporate donors.” Capital Tonight, WXII, YNN, WICZ. Full report.

New York Times editorial today on Cuomo's budget: "The budget is also missing the necessary financing for a public campaign system that the governor has promised in his reform agenda. Advocates for a system of matching funds like the one in New York City have estimated that the state’s cost would be about $40 million a year. That is a small price to pay to encourage small donors and limit the influence of a few powerful special interests.

And Washington, mark your calendars--Common Cause has a great conference coming up March 13th and 14th: "The lessons of Watergate."

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
HuffPost: Supreme Court Could create system of legalized bribery in Washington depending on its decision in McCutcheon case
Fred Wertheimer: "If the Supreme Court strikes down the existing limits on the aggregate amount an individual can give to all federal candidates and all party committees in a two-year election cycle, the Justices will create a system of legalized bribery in Washington."

LA Times: Campaign donations on trial
Editorial from the Times calls on the Court to uphold limits. "The court shouldn't strike down a modest attempt to make such expressions of gratitude less common."

HuffPost: California poised to become largest electorate to vote on constitutional amendment
"California voters are poised to become the largest electorate to decide whether to support a constitutional amendment that would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling."

Election Law Blog: Quote of the day
Classy response by Sen. Rand Paul (R- Ky.) in response to a question about the 102 year old woman who waited hours in line to vote and appeared at the State of the Union: "It should require some effort to register and vote. People should get off their butts."

Slate: After Scalia
Rick Hasen is pessimistic but says we shouldn't give up hope. "Campaign reformers need to keep the pressure on in order to plan for the next Supreme Court. They should think more about what a reasonable campaign finance regime would look like."

Congress/Admin
Public Campaign: Oil lobbyist confident friendly Senate will block climate legislation
The head of the American Petroleum Institute says a climate bill won't hit the Senate floor. We look at all the money API has given out to current Senators over the last few years.

LA Times: Organizing for Action targets GOP lawmakers in first ad buy
"Four California Republican House members are among 16 GOP legislators being targeted by a pro-Obama advocacy group in a new online ad campaign urging them to back a more robust background check system for gun sales."

Slate: Can Ed Markey ever recover from a gaffe that Democrats actually agree with?
Great response from Dave Weigel on all the bellyaching over Ed Markey's comments that Dred Scott was repealed, so can Citizens United. "There may be reasons to doubt Markey's acumen, but this is a stupid, pack-journalism search for a scandal that simply isn't there." Alex Pareene's is less polite. Markey isn't backing down.

NYT: Amid questions on ethics, battle tested Senator digs in
"Yet Mr. Menendez, a brawler who once wore a bulletproof vest to testify in a federal corruption case against a powerful political mentor, has dug in, determined to outlast his detractors."

Politico: Elizabeth Colbert Busch: No PAC help from brother
"In her first national interview, Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch said that she won’t be getting any money from her comedian brother Stephen Colbert’s super PAC."

Miami Herald: Suspect in David Rivera campaign-finance scandal to be charged Friday with federal crimes
"A former candidate under FBI investigation with former U.S. Rep David Rivera is scheduled to be charged Friday with federal crimes over his campaign finances, sources tell The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald."

CPI: GOP super donor's foundation leans left
CPI looks at the Harold Simmons Foundation, which is run by his more liberal daughters. "But the Dallas-based billionaire’s recent philanthropic giving has been anything but right-leaning, a Center for Public Integrity review of new Internal Revenue Service documents indicates."

Roll Call: DSCC Raised millions more than NRSC in January
"The National Republican Senatorial Committee raised just $1.5 million in January, according to its most recent fundraising report. That’s significantly less than the $4.2 million the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee brought in last month." The Hill.

Roll Call: Gun group staffer hires Elmendorf; Podesta adds staffer
"The gun safety and gun control lobbying group Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has brought on the well-connected Democratic firm Elmendorf Ryan, the organization announced."

Bloomberg: Republicans seeking better returns reject kingmaker Rove
"For more than a decade, Republicans have looked to Karl Rove for the solution. Now, a growing number see him as the problem."

Other/States
Times Union: Bipartisan ethics and elections tone absent from push for campaign cash overhaul
Florida: "A duo of sweeping ethics and election reform bills, both top priorities for legislative leaders, have so far been met with bipartisan support and little opposition. When it comes to wide-ranging legislation aimed at overhauling the state’s campaign finance laws - another portion of the reform push - the kumbaya moments have been fleeting at best."

AP: Arizona GOP wants new contribution limits
"Arizona Republicans are pushing legislation that would wildly increase campaign contribution limits for privately financed campaigns and severely gut the state's public campaign financing option, allowing an unprecedented surge of private dollars into local elections."

Politico: Bill Clinton to fundraise for Terry McAuliffe
"Bill Clinton’s first political event of the cycle appears to be in support of his longtime friend Terry McAuliffe’s Virginia gubernatorial bid: The former president is headlining a New York City fundraiser for the former DNC chairman, according to an invitation."

Post and Courier: Group calls on Harrell to relinquish speaker’s post while inquiry ongoing
South Carolina: "A state government watchdog group Thursday called on House Speaker Bobby Harrell of Charleston to step down as speaker while an inquiry into accusations he used his office and campaign account for personal gain is ongoing."