Independent groups
Politico: Restore Our Future cleans its YouTube channel of negative primary spots
By MAGGIE HABERMANRestore Our Future, the pro-Mitt Romney super PAC that played a crucial role in bringing Newt Gingrich’s poll numbers back down to earth with a string of negative spots in Iowa, has scrubbed its YouTube channel of all but two of its spots.
Huffington Post: Friends Of Democracy, PAC-Super PAC Hybrid, Launched To Go After Other Super PACs
By Sam SteinNeither Donnelly nor Hogue would discuss how much money Friends of Democracy has on hand, likely because the push to recruit donors will ramp up as the July deadline for reporting contributions approaches….…Rather, Friends of Democracy will use its more limited resources to shame the biggest donors and their major recipients, among other objectives. Within the confines of the often-staid campaign finance world, Donnelly is considered one of the more aggressive political tacticians. Hogue, meanwhile, has direct experience working on grassroots oriented and social-media focused campaigns targeting special interests, including a successful effort against the retail giant Target for making a $150,000 donation to a group backing an anti-gay rights gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota.
Trial
Politico: GOP House candidate: John Edwards case is political
By Josh GersteinA House candidate in North Carolina running against a former U.S. Attorney in the state is reportedly accusing the ex-prosecutor of ginning up the federal campaign finance prosecution of former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) for political purposes.
Candidates and parties
Roll Call: Groups File FEC Complaint Against Aaron Schock
By Daniel NewhauserTwo nonprofit groups have asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) violated campaign finance law by soliciting House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to make a large contribution to a super PAC.
Politico: Aaron Schock hit with FEC complaint
By JOHN BRESNAHANTwo congressional watchdog groups lodged a complaint with the Federal Election Commission Monday alleging that GOP Rep. Aaron Schock violated federal campaign rules when he solicited a $25,000 donation from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to be used in a bitter Republican-on-Republican primary.
The Hill: Huffington: bin Laden ad ‘despicable’
By Geneva Sands“There is no way to know whether Romney would have been as decisive and to actually speculate that he wouldn’t be is to me not the way to run campaigns on either side,” she said.
Politico: John Kerry in 2012 spotlight
By ALEXANDER BURNS and MANU RAJUThe Obama campaign is ready to deploy Kerry as a top surrogate on foreign policy and national security this year, a natural task for the 68-year-old Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, whom many party strategists see as a nearly perfect foil for presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
Washington Post: President Obama and Bill Clinton: BFF?
By Chris Cillizza and Rachel Weiner“All roads lead to reelection cooperation,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a New York-based Democratic consultant. “The Clinton muscle on the campaign trail and no party schism helps Obama. And [it] keeps Bill Clinton’s legacy intact. Madame Secretary never looked better. All this keeps it that way.”
NPR: Romney’s Big-Dollar ‘Bundlers’ Stay Anonymous
By PETER OVERBYEvery presidential nominee going back to 2000 has revealed the names of influential supporters known as “bundlers” because of the way they persuade others to give money to a candidate. Every nominee, that is, until Mitt Romney.
