Gov. Andrew Cuomo will hold a tele-townhall Monday with activists from the Fair Elections campaign, "a sign that a new push for campaign finance reform is on the horizon." There's a Facebook invite here. Let me know if you have any questions or need more details about it. You should call in!

Jim Messina has a CNN opinion piece today on OFA, saying they will disclose donations of $250 or more and not accept corporate, lobbyist, or foreign money. "You can't change Washington from the inside. President Obama was criticized for stating that simple truth during the campaign, but without Americans organizing in support of the issues they believe in, lobbyists and special interests will drive the agenda in Washington," he writes.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
NYT: "A big new power"
Linda Greenhouse's post-morten on the Voting Rights Act argument: "As I made clear in my most recent column, I wasn’t expecting anything good to come out of this argument. But neither did I anticipate the ugliness that erupted from the bench." If Section 5 is struck down, Sen. Chris Coons will be ready.

Salon: Campaign finance reform in the age of Citizens United
The always-smart Mark Schmitt has a new piece in Salon about small-donor driven systems as a way forward even with a hostile Supreme Court: "The next generation of campaign finance reform doesn’t have to be developed in a laboratory while waiting for Scalia or one of his colleagues to retire or to encounter a higher judge. It’s being designed, refined, tested, and improved as you read this in a half dozen states and municipalities. If it works, it will lead us to a system that will moderate the influence of economic inequality on democracy while enhancing competition and strengthening First Amendment rights of free expression."

TPM: Senate Democrats threaten to reignite filibuster reform
"The Senate’s leading champion of filibuster reform called for renewing the effort to weaken the minority’s obstruction power, concluding that a modest rules change enacted in January has failed to discourage Republicans from grinding the chamber to a halt."

CPI: Florida Senate passes sweeping ethics reform package
"The Republican-controlled Florida Senate unanimously passed a landmark ethics reform package on Tuesday, the first day of the legislative session, setting the stage for what could be the first major changes to the state’s ethics laws in decades."

Congress/2012
Politico: NRA campaign in high gear
"The National Rifle Association and its allies are kicking their lobbying forces into high gear as the Senate heads toward a vote that could remake key pieces of the country’s gun laws. The gun lobby is taking its fight to Capitol Hill — stepping up meetings with old friends and trying to make inroads with a handful of swing Democrats in the Senate."

The Hill: Draft Hillary group hires Clinton's former attorney
"Ready for Hillary, a super-PAC formed by Hillary Clinton supporters to convince her to run for president, has brought in her former attorney Jim Lamb as their general counsel."

NYT: The Republican Party's "Donorist" problem
Interesting thoughts from Ross Douthat on Republicans and its donor problem: "To the extent that big-donor self-interest prevents a reckoning with this reality, it may prove a bigger problem for the G.O.P. in the long run than “the base” as it’s conventionally covered and understood."

WaPo: Senate GOP raising campaign dollars by using #StandWithRand
The NRSC did some fundraising off Sen. Paul's filibuster yesterday.

The Hill: K Street ready for cybersecurity cash grab
"The cybersecurity push has drummed up work for influence shops downtown. There have been more than a dozen lobbying registrations for clients that mention 'cybersecurity' since Election Day, according to lobbying disclosure records."

Sunlight: No sequester for political ads
Who's running political ads? Sunlight takes a look.

NYT: Charity Takes Gun Lobby Closer to Its Quarry
A great look at the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, a charity that basically just lets gun interests get close to lawmakers. "But while ostensibly focused on those outdoor pursuits, it also presses issues important mainly to the gun industry, which is one of its largest contributors."

Sunlight: What Jon Kyl won't be lobbying on
A snarky look at everything Jon Kyl won't be lobbying on at his new gig since he can't officially lobby for 2 years.

Star-Phoenix: Canada intensifies US lobbying campaign
"As the decision on the Keystone XL pipeline nears, Canadian governments have launched an intense if not desperate lobbying campaign in the United States designed to persuade influential American politicians and industrial leaders that the pipeline is vital for U.S. security and economic interests and is also an environmentally responsible energy source."

NYT: Wall St ties in a prospect for deputy at SEC
"Mary Jo White, who appears set to become a top Wall Street regulator, is seeking to allay skepticism about her spins through the revolving door between government service and private practice."

CPI: University of Alabama plays politics as well as lobbyists
"In fact, the University of Alabama spent $370,000 on lobbying in 2012, according to congressional records, and it hired five lobbyists from the elite firm Van Scoyoc Associates, which is one of the nation's top lobby shops in terms of revenue, according to the Center for Responsive Politics."

Other/States
Miami Herald: Gov. Rick Scott tells House he's not a fan of exploding campaign finance cap
Sure, it could be because he's a self-funder, but this is still the right messaging from Rick Scott opposing contribution limit increases and another sign that politicians know people are concerned about the influence of big donors: "What we’ve told the House is that when they do that they reduce the importance of the individual who can only write a $500 check so I think they ought to really look at that a lot more closely. I want to see what they come back with but we’ve got to try to keep as many people involved in the process as we can."

AP: Horne says campaign finacne law unconstitutional
"Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne says a judge should dismiss a campaign-finance case against Horne and an employee of his office because the law being invoked is unconstitutional."