Independent groups
American Banker: Bankers Form SuperPac for ‘Surgical’ Strike at Industry’s Enemies
by Barbara RehmFrustrated by a lack of political power and fed up with blindly donating to politicians who consistently vote against the industry’s interests, a handful of leaders are determined to shake things up.
Washington Post: Main Street banks break away from Wall Street with their own SuperPAC
by Suzy KhimLike most banking groups, Friends of Traditional Banking aims to fight the “massive new regulations” in Dodd-Frank. But the rationale is that the group represents “traditional banks” that weren’t responsible for bringing down the economy during the financial crisis, unlike their Wall Street counterparts that moved beyond customer-centered commercial banking to gamble with complex financial instruments.
Time: Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC Satire Lands Him a Peabody
by Courtney Subramanian“What an honor! I am truly speechless. Luckily, thanks to Citizens United, my money can speak for me,” Colbert, who received his first Peabody in 2008, said on Twitter. Colbert created his Super PAC, Americans For A Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, last year as a satirical response to the 2010 Supreme Court Citizens United ruling.
Huffington Post: Citizens United, Supreme Court Targeted In Campaign By ‘Outraged’ Progressive Group
by Paul Blumenthal“We’ve got the war on women going on here, the voter suppression, and labor issues going on, but you go to our members and do polling or have conversations and this one is constantly coming up,” Dean said.
Huffington Post: All In For The 99%: Citizens In Protest Against Citizens United
Hundreds of artists, musicians, writers and activists came together Saturday to call for authentic campaign finance reform, amplify the voices of the 99% and demand an end to Citizens United at All In For the 99%, an art and activism event.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
Huffington Post: Let’s Talk About Impeaching Supreme Court Justices
by Nathan NewmanTalking about impeachment, however, is a way to label this right-wing Court majority as the partisan tool of corporate right-wing interests that it has become. The Constitution says judges “shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour,” so speaking of impeachment is the way to assert that using partisan judicial power to undermine health care for our nation is not proper behavior for unelected judges.
Disclosure
Washington Post: Democrats make headway in push for transparency on ‘issue ads’
by Dan Eggen & T.W.FarnamDemocrats finally caught a break on their effort to increase regulation of money in politics last week when a federal judge in Washington threw out a loophole in disclosure requirements.
Candidates and parties
LA Times: Democrats give special interests a role at convention
by Matea GoldDespite the ban on corporate money, for example, convention officials have encouraged corporate executives to write personal checks, according to sources familiar with the fundraising. And they have suggested that corporations can participate by donating goods and services to the convention, and by giving up to $100,000 through a corporate foundation.
Huffington Post: Romney-Ryan’s Why Nations Fail Economy vs. Obama’s Built to Last Economy
by Paul AbramsCitizens United v FEC (aka “Citizens United”), overturning 100 years of settled campaign finance law, was decided by a group of Justices who a) were not even asked by plaintiffs to overturn the law; and b) ascended to the bench as a culmination of a long-term right-wing strategy to capture the judiciary with a mission to undo inclusive institutions. Why Nations Fail tells us that that is the road to economic ruin.
Lobbying and ethics
NPR: Boycotts Hitting Group Behind ‘Stand Your Ground’
by Peter OverbyALEC promotes business-friendly legislation in state capitols and drafts model bills for state legislatures to adopt. They range from little-noticed pro-business bills to more controversial measures, including voter-identification laws and stand your ground laws based on the Florida statute. About two-dozen states now have such laws.
Huffington Post: American Legislative Exchange Council, Ultra-Conservative Lobby, Loses 2 Major Funders
by Dan FroomkinWASHINGTON — Succumbing to pressure from public interest groups, Coca Cola and Pepsico have severed their ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an ultra-conservative lobby group that has pushed so-called Stand Your Ground gun legislation and voter-identification bills through state legislatures across the country.
STATE and LOCAL
Delaware –– WDEL: Gov. introduces campaign finance reform bill
by Frank GeraceMarkell tells WDEL News the Delaware Elections Disclosure Act isn’t specifically aimed at political parties or candidates, but at outside groups.
New York –– WCCI News: Groups Press Cuomo on Campaign Finance Reform
by Karen DewittGovernor Cuomo promised in his State of the State message that he would try to reform the state’s campaign finance system. The governor is expected to release a bill later this month. A new coalition has formed to hold him to his word.
