CCP
James v. FEC (Video)
Legal Director Allen Dickerson discusses the James v. FEC case at CPAC.
Independent Groups
Huffington Post: Conservative Political Action Conference 2013 Group Offers Hybrid PAC For $695
By Sam SteinFrom its booth in the basement hall at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center (the site of this year’s conservative gathering) the D.C.-based firm is offering its “CPAC discount”: For $695, you can get outfitted with a ready-to-roll hybrid PAC.
Boston Globe: Obama campaign organization shifts to issues advocacy, with unlimited contributions
By Tracy JanWASHINGTON — Soon before President Obama invited Republican senators to a recent friendly dinner, a political operation with close ties to the president launched a different sort of initiative, targeting New England’s two GOP senators with advertisements and a ground-level demonstration.
Politico: Trump bashes Rove’s $400M ‘failure’
By Katie Glueck”When you watch someone who spends $400 million on campaigns with perhaps the worst ads I’ve ever seen — they did ads on Obama I thought were being paid for by the Obama campaign,” Trump said in his address to CPAC. Rove’s groups, American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, spent more than $300 million on the 2012 cycle.
Candidates, Politicians and Parties
Politico: McConnell defends wife against ‘racist tweets’
By Katie Glueck“Don’t tell me that we’re the party of intolerance when nearly two years before an election, some left-wing super PAC is sending out racist tweets about my wife, for the supposed crime of being born in another country,” the Kentucky Republican said in a speech at CPAC. “I want to pause on that point…My wife Elaine Chao is the best Labor Secretary we’ve ever had. You may not know that she came here in the hull of a ship, a freighter, her folks couldn’t afford an airplane ticket. She was eight years old when she got here, she couldn’t speak a word of English. She worked hard her whole life, pursued her dream, and she achieved that dream.”
Politico: CPAC’s big winners — and losers
By James HohmannAfter three days and 70-plus speeches, here is POLITICO’s look at who else thrived at one of the most important events on the conservative calendar — and who flopped. The list is based on crowd reaction, a few dozen conversations with conference-goers, and buzz on Twitter.
Lobbying and Ethics
Washington Post: Grand jury investigating Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), people familiar with probe say
By Carol D. Leonnig and Peter WallstenA federal grand jury in Miami is investigating Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), examining his role in advocating for the business interests of a wealthy donor and friend, according to three people aware of the probe.
State and Local
New York –– AP: NY seeks to use public dollars to fund campaigns
Tkaczyk herself got a critical boost of $250,000 from activist Jonathan Soros’ super PAC, which seeks public financing of campaigns that would limit the influence of such groups. Her dramatic win by 18 votes after a court-ordered count that took 73 days is helping put attention on New York, along with Gov. Andrew Cuomo apparently pushing what would be the state’s next big policy issue.
