Common Cause's Lessons of Watergate conference starts today at the Press Club in DC. If you can't make it, there's a livestream.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Fair Elections for NY: Audio clips from telephone town hall with Governor Cuomo
Here are some audio clips of Monday's call with Gov. Cuomo. And here's video and transcript of his Friday speech.

Poughkeepsie Journal: State Senate race showed need to reform voting laws
State Senator Cece Tkaczyk, who run her race based on her support for Fair Elections, has a new op-ed: "In addition to kick-starting the economy and protecting New Yorkers’ rights, I am dedicated to correcting the flaws that have damaged our political system and our democracy." Auburn Citizen on the strong public support for the issue.

Politico: Study finds voter ID laws hurt young, minorities
Voter ID laws just as intended in 2012: "As a handful of state legislatures around the country consider enacting stricter voter ID laws, a new study finds that young people – and especially young minorities – are disproportionately affected by those laws when they go into effect."

USA Today: Senate bill pushes online campaign finance filing
Sen. Tester once again pushing legislation to require electronic filing of Senate fundraising reports. Will McConnell block it?

AP: Hawaii lawmakers push forward reform proposals
More on movement in Hawaii on public financing legislation. Our field director has been down there helping out. Voter-Owned Hawaii's Kory Payne: "In Hawaii it's blatantly obvious that we've been putting off some of our most important policy decisions. Special interests have cornered the market on elections and they're getting huge returns on their investments."

Politics USA: Bernie Sanders files constitutional amendment to undo Citizens United
"The great journey to undo the Supreme Court’s Citizen United decision took another step today when Sen. Bernie Sanders filed the constitutional amendment that will give power back to the people."

Congress/2012
Bloomberg: Democratic donors skip Obama dinner seeking new donations
On OFA: "After underwriting the president’s re-election, some top party donors and fundraisers are unenthused about the Obama team’s plan to transform a campaign into a cause." Also some details on donors expected to attend, etc.

Politico: Mitch McConnell to air reelection ads
Nothing says "we're not worried" like a 27-year Senate veteran running positive bio ads 20 months before re-election: "The Senate Minority Leader, who polls suggest is perhaps the most vulnerable Republican incumbent up in 2014, is targeting women older than 25 in Louisville and Lexington with a six-figure buy." Here it is.

HuffPost: How Bill Clinton inspired the 47 percent filmmaker
The Ed Show will air an interview with the guy who taped the 47% video tonight. As HuffPost reports, if Romney had maybe been nice to the waitstaff, the video may never have been released.

NYT: Minority groups and bottlers team up in battles over soda
Great Nick Confessore piece on soda companies building relationships withcharities and community groups that stood with them against the soda ban. As Buzzfeed notes, it's right from the Big Tobacco playbook.

CREW: Spoiler Alert: House of Cards reveals corrupt nexus of politicians and charities
House of Cards isn't all made up: "The relationship between the Underwoods and the gas company may appear so brazenly corrupt that it could only have been conjured by a Hollywood screenwriter, but unfortunately, it’s all too common."

LA Times: Toyota North America, seeking more political clout, forms new PAC
"Toyota's North American subsidiary has formed a new political action committee, according to a recent Federal Election Commission filing."

WaPo: Mary Jo White faces no opposition at SEC confirmation hearing
Sitting next to Rich Cordray, who's being blocked for an angecy with too much teeth, the former Wall Street lawyer tapped to lead the SEC faced no serious opposition "despite previous concerns by some about her ability to effectively police Wall Street." We looked at the Wall Street money on the committee.

The Hill: Battle brewing over likely Labor pick
If Thomas Perez gets picked to head up the Labor department, biz groups and their friends in the Senate might fight him hard, noting he was a big supporter of raising the minimum wage in Maryland.

WaPo: DCCC raised record $6.3 million in February
"The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee continues to raise money at a fast clip, pulling in $6.3 million in February, according to a committee aide."

Sunlight: Since Newtown, full employment for gun lobbyists
Interesting: "Since the Dec. 14 shooting that left 26 people dead at a Connecticut elementary school, at least 22 lobbyists have registered to influence Congress on gun-related issues, and several have been holding fundraisers for Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who is a potential swing vote in the legislative battle on Capitol Hill."

Politico: John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Dick Cheney, Rupert Murdoch headline closed-door retreat
A big party in GA last weekend: Foster Friess, Fred Malek, Rupert Murdoch joined "Capitol Hill was well represented, with Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Reps. Paul Ryan and Jeb Hensarling, and Sens. Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, John Cornyn and Saxby Chambliss."

Roll Call: Lieberman moving to AEI
"The think tank American Enterprise Institute announced Monday that former Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut is joining the group as a visiting fellow. Lieberman, who was a Democrat and then later an independent, will also co-chair AEI’s American Internationalism Project with former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona."

Roll Call: Financial firms fight CFTC proposal designed to protect customer funds
"Financial service firms are mounting an aggressive campaign to kill a proposal aimed at protecting customer funds in the event that a brokerage misuses its clients’ money to cover losses."

CPI: Beyonce concert irreplaceable as Senate fundraiser
"Come July 29, it'll be 'Beyoncé (and Bob)' at Washington, D.C.'s Verizon Center, as Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., is planning to rock out at a political fundraiser that pairs his name with the music megastar, according to an invitation obtained by the Center for Public Integrity."

CPI: John Bolton forms super PAC
It's what America has been yearning for: "John Bolton, a former U.N. ambassador under President George W. Bush and a leading conservative voice on foreign policy issues, will lead a pair of newly formed political action committees, including a super PAC, two Bolton associates confirm to the Center for Public Integrity."

LA Weekly: Are the Koch Brothers trying to buy the Los Angeles Times?
Hmm: "Multiple sources tell L.A. Weekly that Charles and David Koch -- the infamous right-wing billionaire brothers -- are considering an offer on either the Tribune Co. newspaper group, which includes the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun or the entire Tribune Co., which includes more than 20 stations like WGN and KTLA Channel 5."

Sentinel and Enterprise: Brown: I won't be a lobbyist at Nixon Peabody
Haha: "Scott Brown will offer political advice in his new job as an attorney at Nixon Peabody but says he doesn't plan on lobbying." Maybe he'll be a historian.

Other/States
AJC: Lesser ethics bill gets committee approval
Georgia Senate ethics committee approved an ethics bill yesterday: "HB 310 would allow candidates to use their campaign funds to pay legal fees and also allow the state ethics commission to send notices to late filers using more than just certified mail." House Dems in Michigan pushing ethics reform too.

ADN: Campaign finance resolution finds support
Alaska: "Two members of the Republican-led House majority say they're inclined to support a resolution calling for changes to campaign finance laws. HJR8, by Democratic Rep. Les Gara, urges Congress to propose amending the U.S. Constitution to prohibit corporations and unions from spending unlimited amounts of money on campaigns."

AP: Miller touts tighter Nevada campaign reporting
Lots of states taking action, Nevada edition: "Secretary of State Ross Miller touted a sweeping campaign finance reporting bill Tuesday to shed light on gifts and campaign contributions received by Nevada lawmakers and other public officials." Cooling-off period in the House being urged too.

Wisconsin Radio Network: Report: Campaign spending tripled after Citizens United
From Wisconsin Democracy Campaign: "A new report detailing the impact of the Citizens United decision on elections in Wisconsin suggests the ruling resulted in a massive jump in campaign spending."

WaPo: Money race for DC council candidates
"Democrat Matthew Frumin’s campaign war chest is nearly twice as large as his nearest rival’s in next month’s D.C. Council at-large race, but Republican Patrick Mara has stepped up his fundraising over the past six weeks, according to campaign finance reports released Tuesday."