A great AP story about the battle for Fair Elections in New York. Michael Kink: "National progressive groups would like to see New York as a national model. I think it fits neatly into the governor's goals of cleaning up Albany and also showing New York can take a leadership role."

Washington Post has a great profile of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and his recent troubles. Here's Menendez dropping some honesty: “For me, raising money to fund a campaign is contrary to what I learned growing up in life, which is you work for everything and you ask for nothing,” he said, noting that he has for years supported public financing of campaigns and other changes to let lawmakers focus on their work. “But that’s a reality for anybody who runs for office who isn’t personally wealthy.” Politico: he'll keep his chairmanship.

And Mitch McConnell, who on Friday at CPAC said Republicans aren't the party of billionaires, is raising money this week in Florida with...billionaires.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Political Wire: RNC calls for sweeping reforms to party
Flip to page 65 to see campaign finance recomendations in the new RNC post-mortem out today which basically calls for gutting what's left of campaign finance laws--at the federal and state level. Getting rid of contribution limits is a pretty bad way to make sure your party is one dependent on regular people instead of millionaires and billionaires (as Mitch McConnell suggested on Friday).

Auburn Citizen: New York must get campaign finance reform done
Editorial in NY: "And like so many important issues over the years, New York has a chance to be a model for the rest of the country. The most recent presidential election underscored the damage being done to democracy by big-money politics."

Maine Sunday Telegram: Clean Elections should be preserved
Preach, Maine Sunday Telegram editorial board: "At a time when big money is distorting the process and our leaders in Washington are not fighting the assault, the Clean Election law, a common-sense, nonpartisan reform that was enacted by the people of Maine, should not be weakened any more."

AP: Must voters have to prove citizenship to register?
Important case to watch: "The Supreme Court will struggle this week with the validity of an Arizona law that tries to keep illegal immigrants from voting by demanding all state residents show documents proving their U.S. citizenship before registering to vote in national elections." TPM, Reuters, Election Law Blog, WaPo editorial, Spencer Overton.

NYT: Candice Miller letter to the editor
In a letter to the editor, new House Admin Chair Candice Miller has no interest in a federal response to voting problems: "State officials and local voters will always care more about their state than bureaucrats in a distant capital. Washington should get out of the way and let them get their jobs done. Nothing is more American than that."

Bill Moyers: Russ Feingold on the path to campaign finance reform
Michael Winship spoke with Feingold at last week's Common Cause conference. Listen to the conversation.

Congress/2012
Roll Call: K Street hiring chill leaves members cold
There are a lot of former members and the slow-down on K Street is making it hard for some to get jobs. Great story. "Senators usually don’t entertain offers worth less than $1 million, and House members’ threshold is typically about $700,000. And it’s an investment with no guaranteed payoff. Ever." My reaction in a gif.

USA Today: Lawmakers add relatives to campaign payroll
"Thirty-two members of Congress dispensed more than $2 million in campaign funds to pay relatives' salaries during the 2012 election cycle, a USA TODAY analysis of the most recent campaign records shows."

Boston Globe: Tax lobbyists help help businesses reap windfalls
Great look at the lobbyists securing tax breaks in Congress, specifically looking at a Whirlpool tax break in the fiscal cliff deal.

ProPublica: Inside game: Creating PACs and spending their money
Another great Kim Barker piece, looking at PACs that raise big money and spend it big on consultants (instead of trying to get anyone elected).

Sunlight: Behind Sanford in South Carolina House race, a trail of self-funders
South Carolina special: "All five of the rivals closest to catching Sanford in a recent poll are supplying a large chunk of their campaigns' funds. Of the money raised so far by the six leading candidates, 61 percent of it has come from their closest supporters -- themselves."

Bloomberg: Christie hoards cash as rout key to 2016 White House bid
Gov. Christie is raising big bucks for his gubernatorial campaign. "If he wants to run for president, he’s got to show that he’s got a capacity to raise big national money. The more he can raise and the more donors he can tap into, those are people that down the road he can turn to for presidential fundraising.”

NYT: Facing protective orders and allowed to keep guns
Fascinating look at state laws that allow people facing protective orders (who are probably violent) to keep their guns, due in part to state house lobbying by NRA and gun interests.

Miami Herald: Fla. ex-congressional candidate pleads guilty
"A one-time Democratic U.S. House candidate who was a political unknown before last year's election pleaded guilty Friday to federal campaign violations including accepting illegal contributions and filing false finance reports in a case linked to former Republican Rep. David Rivera."

Missoulian: Rehberg joins Washington, D.C.-based public strategy firm
Rehberg joins Mercury/Clark & Weinstock: "Former Montana U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg has a new job in the public policy arena, joining a Washington, D.C.-based 'public strategy' firm that serves mostly business clients." More on the firm's strategy at WaPo.

Sunlight: California group takers McCain on immigration reform
A small ad buy against McCain on immigration: "Californians for Population Stabilization, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based nonprofit, is running ads in Arizona against the state's senior senator, Republican John McCain, asking his constituents to call him and tell him to change his stance on immigration reform."

Roll Call: Keystone fight escalates in final phase
"As the totemic fight over the Keystone XL oil pipeline enters its crucial, final phase, backers and detractors of the project have escalated their pressure on President Barack Obama, who has the final say but remains noncommittal."

Gannett: Leadership PACs do more than help allies
Gannett looks at the proliferation of leadership PACs in Congress: "Leadership PACs should be renamed, McGehee said, suggesting 'political slush fund' might be a more accurate moniker."

NY Mag: Jack Abramoff Takes a Break From His Anti-Corruption Crusade to Catch Up With Friends at CPAC
Dan Amira talked with Jack Abramoff at CPAC about his work with United Republican and the anti-corruption act, among other things.

Other/States
Dickinson Press: Bill seeks transparency in campaign contributions
North Dakota! "Senate Bill 2299, sponsored on behalf of the Secretary’s office by Sen. Larry Luick, R-Fairmount, seeks to expand campaign contribution reporting requirements and provide the secretary’s office with more information."