FEC
Bloomberg: FEC Chairman Hopes ‘Smaller Things’ Grow Consensus
Kenneth P. Doyle
Matthew Petersen, the Federal Election Commission’s Republican chairman for 2016, has a quiet demeanor that contrasts sharply with his outspoken predecessor, Ann Ravel, a Democrat who held the FEC’s rotating chairmanship last year.
Petersen’s agenda for the agency also is a contrast with—if not a reaction to—Ravel’s ambitions. In a Feb. 17 interview with Bloomberg BNA, the new chairman called for the FEC to pursue modest initiatives, including modernizing regulations to accommodate the new technologies used in today’s campaigns and updating forms filed by political action committees to recognize the reality of the rise of super PACs.
“I try not to be unrealistic about what’s possible,” he said. “I know where the fault lines are between different sides and different commissioners. But, notwithstanding that, there still are things I think we can get done.”
Independent Groups
American Prospect: End Citizens United: Reform Group or Cash Cow?
Danny Goldberg
In March of last year, a new organization with the arguably misleading name of End Citizens United began bombarding progressive donors with high-pressure fundraising emails tailor made to exploit grassroots passions over the toxic influence of corporate and billionaire money on elections…
But despite such lofty rhetoric, the group has done virtually nothing to actually promote a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that deregulated political spending. Instead, the group is strictly a political action committee that has raised $6.8 million thanks to heavy spending on list rentals and fundraising overhead.
Bloomberg: Cruz to Attend South Carolina, Nevada Rallies Hosted by Super-PAC
Jennifer Steinhauer
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is set to attend three rallies hosted by Keep the Promise super-PAC, according to invitations posted online.
Events are Friday in South Carolina and Sunday in Nevada, according to invitations
Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” show is set to appear at S.C. events, radio host Glenn Beck at Nevada event, according to invitations
The Hill: Bush super-PAC spends over $1 million in 48 hours
Megan R. Wilson
Right to Rise, the super-PAC supporting Jeb Bush’s presidential bid, dumped nearly $1.1 million into South Carolina over the last 48 hours, according to new election reports.
The super-PAC has spent more than $5 million the Palmetto State over the past week and has even started spending a small amount in Nevada, the next state in line to vote, records show.
This year alone, Right to Rise has spent more than $39 million supporting Bush.
Los Angeles Times: Bernie Sanders is waging war on outside political groups, but they’re backing him anyway
Kate Linthicum
Clinton’s campaign and her supporters have slammed the nurses union, calling its spending on Sanders hypocritical.
“It’s disappointing that Bernie Sanders continues to claim he doesn’t have super PAC support when a super PAC has already spent more than $1.5 million boosting his campaign,” said Clinton spokesman Josh Schwerin…
“We’re the gnat compared to the sledgehammer,” said Deborah Burger, the group’s co-president, who said members voted to endorse Sanders because he has pledged to institute health insurance for all, paid for by the government.
Influence
New York Times: Senate Republicans Face Ire From Editorial Boards Over Supreme Court Stance
Jennifer Steinhauer
But for senators from places where good governance and political courage are viewed as inherent state virtues, a critical editorial suggesting that a lawmaker has acted outside the accordance of either can still sting. And the Supreme Court contretemps has captured the attention of the civic watchdogs.
In New Hampshire, The Concord Monitor had harsh words on Wednesday for Senator Kelly Ayotte, the state’s first-term Republican, over her decision to support Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader from Kentucky, in his efforts to block President Obama from bringing a Supreme Court justice nominee to the Hill.
Washington Post: One estimate says cable news ‘donated’ $2.8 million to Trump in free air time. That’s not quite true.
Callum Borchers
Actually, Optimus contends that $2.8 million worth of advertising — and in-kind “donation,” if you will — is really more accurate. And that’s just for one day…
The problem with these analyses, though, is that they equate interviews and panel discussions with ads. That’s silly; they’re just not the same…
What is closer to a free ad, however, is a prolonged, live telecast of a press conference — which is what Trump got from all three major cable news channels on Monday. He’s the leading Republican candidate for president; what he says certainly has news value. But giving him a 20- or 40-minute block to do his thing, without anyone to challenge a word he says, affords many of the same benefits as an ad.
It doesn’t seem fair to say, as Optimus did, that cable news essentially donated $2.8 million to Trump on Monday. But on the underlying issue of free promotional airtime, the firm does have a point.
Supreme Court
Center for Responsive Politics: Possible Supreme Court picks gave only to Democrats, or not at all
Will Tucker
OpenSecrets Blog reviewed contributions by nine potential picks listed in reports by Politico and the Associated Press and found that, of those who have made contributions to federal campaigns or committees since 2003, the (maybe, perhaps) prospective candidates have been solidly Democratic; not a single donation has crept across the aisle…
Two of the current judges on the list, D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland and Ninth Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, made no contributions that we could locate using our Donor Lookup.
Srinivasan, perhaps the most frequently noted potential replacement for Scalia, gave $7,251 between 2007 and 2010 while he was in private practice at O’Melveny & Myers LLP.
Free Speech Abroad
CNN: Uganda shuts down social media; candidates arrested on election day
Brian Duggan
Ugandans voted on Thursday on the fate of President Yoweri Museveni, who is hoping for a fifth term after ruling the nation for the last 30 years.
The day began with many politically-minded voters unable to tweet or update their Facebook pages after a government ban on social media.
After casting his vote at his home in western Uganda, Museveni defended the ban as a “security measure to avert lies … intended to incite violence and illegal declaration of election results.”
Political Parties
Observer: How the DNC Helps Clinton Buy Off Superdelegates
Michael Sainato
Growing calls for Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s resignation have stemmed from her alleged favoritism for Ms. Clinton—ranging from her position as co-chair of Ms. Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential campaign, to criticism over her limited and poorly scheduled Democratic presidential debates—and the pressure has risen substantially as she faces a primary challenger in Tim Canova, a former consultant to Mr. Sanders on Federal Reserve reform.
Although Ms. Clinton still significantly outpaces Mr. Sanders when it comes to endorsements from superdelegates, those endorsements will have to switch to Mr. Sanders if he continues to win more delegates from the popular vote. Otherwise, the Democratic Party risks rupturing over the controversy that would ensue if the nomination was determined by superdelegates rather than American voters identifying as democrats.
The States
Arizona Capital Times: Senate panel advances hefty bill to overhaul campaign finance laws
Ryan Van Velzer, Associated Press
Republican lawmakers are working with the Secretary of State’s Office to overhaul the state’s campaign finance system with a 54-page rewrite critics say is too long and complicated to rush through the Legislature.
A Senate panel passed the measure on Feb. 18. Sen. Adam Driggs, R-Phoenix, described it as an effort to simplify current law so that people don’t need to hire an attorney to understand Arizona’s campaign finance system.
“The attempt is to go from some legalese to maybe what some people might consider poetry,” Driggs said during the Judiciary Committee hearing, which he chairs.
