NATIONAL, POLITICAL and LEGAL
In the News
Bloomberg: Corporate Cash In State Elections Gets U.S. High Court Scrutiny
By Julie Bykowicz“The horror stories have simply not come true, ” said Bradley Smith, a co-founder of the Center for Competitive Politics, an Alexandria, Virginia-based group that opposes campaign-finance limits. “We thought there would be more spending, and there is. Spending increases voter awareness and interest.”
CCP
Allen Dickerson testifies before Maryland General Assembly Commission
By Sarah LeeCCP Legal Director Allen Dickerson was invited to offer testimony today to the Maryland Commission to Study Campaign Finance Law, established by the the Maryland General Assembly in 2011. Dickerson will be speaking on behalf of the Center for Competitive Politics and will discuss issues such as contribution limits and disclosure regulation.
Independent groups
NPR: As GOP Cashes In, Democrats Search For Billionaires
By Mara LiassonThe economy may be the single most important factor in this election, but campaign money is a close second.“The only thing that keeps me up at night … is the tsunami of secret Republican superPAC money that will be spent against our candidates,” says New York Rep. Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
TPM: DSCC To Dems: Hold Your Nose And Give Money To Super PACs
By EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTOROBig spending from outside groups has changed the dynamics of the battle for control of the Senate, Cecil said, and that means Democrats can’t focus solely on grassroots operations, or drag their feet until the waning days of the election to donate. They need the kind of big bucks that pays for TV ads, and they need them soon. The DSCC says it is proud of the cash it has raised so far for its candidates — but the group is also freely admitting that without the help of outside spending like the ones swooping into races across the country on behalf of Republican candidates, they won’t be able to capitalize on their candidates’ fundraising successes.
WSJ: Adelson Gives $10 Million to Pro-Romney Super PAC
By Alicia Mundy and Sara MurrayBillionaire conservative casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who helped keep Newt Gingrich’s failed presidential campaign alive during the Republican primaries, is giving $10 million to the super PAC supporting the presumptive GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
CBS News: In new ads, Crossroads GPS, American Crossroads, target Senate Dem candidates in battleground states
By Lucy MadisonIn a $2 million ad buy Wednesday, the Karl Rove-linked group is targeting competitive Democratic Senate candidates in Missouri, North Dakota and Ohio, with ads entitled “Spending,” “Change,” and “Cheap” respectively.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
LA Times: Justices may take up Montana campaign finance case addressing two-track system
By David G. Savage and Melanie MasonWASHINGTON — When the Supreme Court ruled that corporations had the right to political free speech, it set loose a tidal wave of campaign money that helped elect a new Congress in 2010 and is now reshaping the presidential race.
Corporations
TPM: Activists Target Boardrooms In Push To Limit Citizens United
By Benjy SarlinOn Wednesday, labor and activist groups are gathering outside retail giant Target’s shareholder meeting in Chicago to demand the company adopt a resolution to renounce any spending on campaigns ads. In 2010, the company was revealed to have donated $150, 000 to a Minnesota group backing a gubernatorial candidate who opposed gay marriage, prompting protests from gay rights groups and an embarrassing apology from Target.
Disclosure
TPM Muckraker: Just Who Are The Top Democratic Super PAC Backers?
By Eric LachThese top seven “liberal” donors have combined to donate $10, 180, 042 so far to outside spending groups — less than has been individually spent by both Sheldon and Miriam Adelson and Harold and Annette Simmons, who have donated $25, 000, 000 and $15, 200, 000, respectively, to conservative groups. (Not on the current CRP list: George Soros, who last month pledged $1 million to both America Votes and American Bridge 21st Century.) But $10 million is still $10 million. So who are these people cutting the big Democratic checks?
Politico: Wall Street’s vote: Romney by a landslide
By ABBY PHILLIP and KENNETH P. VOGELNow, thanks to campaign finance filings, it’s possible to put a price tag on just how much: Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign and the super PAC supporting it are outraising Obama among financial-sector donors $37.1 million to $4.8 million.,
Washington Post: Secret money fuels the 2012 elections
By EJ DionneWe do know that the playing field this year is tilted sharply to the right. Journalists often focus on the world of rich liberals in places such as Hollywood and Silicon Valley. But there are even more conservative millionaire and billionaire donors who hail from less mediagenic places. There is, for example, a lot of oil money in Texas. Then there’s Wall Street. Once a bountiful source of Democratic as well as Republican cash, it has shifted toward the party of Mitt Romney, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. And then there’s Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, whose $10 million donation to the super PAC supporting Romney was reported Wednesday.
Trial
Washington Post: John Edwards will not be retried, Justice Department announces
By Manuel Roig-Franzia,The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it will not attempt to retry former presidential candidate John Edwards on corruption charges.
The (Raleigh) News & Observer: Why criminal charges were brought against John Edwards remains unclear
By Anne Blythe and John FrankEdwards’ lawyers noted Holding’s run for office in a 31-page memorandum in support of their September 2011 motion to dismiss the case. The memo also described Holding’s role as a former staffer to Republican U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, his campaign contributions to the Republican senate incumbent Edwards defeated, Lauch Faircloth, and Holding’s time as a law clerk to Judge Terrence Boyle, a federal district court judge in the Eastern district whose nomination to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals was blocked by Edwards., “In this prosecution, a major figure in the Democratic Party had been brought down and, as it turns out, a Republican U.S. Attorney with political ambitions of his own has used this high-profile case to his personal benefit, ” the Edwards defense team said.
Candidates and parties
NY Times: 2 Campaigns Chasing Funds at Frantic Pace
By ASHLEY PARKER and HELENE COOPERWith the primary season over, the presidential campaign has entered a new phase, one dictated by the competitive realities of the deregulated campaign finance system. Having decided not to take public financing for the general election, both Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney need to devote much of their time to banking the money necessary to fuel their campaigns through Election Day.
Advertising
Fox: Uploaded Weapons: Selling a message voters will buy
By James Rosen“They’re all fiction and they all manipulate and play fast and loose with the truth,” said Garfinkle. “All of these ads, no matter which candidate they seem to be favoring and which ones they seem to be opposing, are completely content-less as far as substance is concerned. It’s all about emotion and manipulating emotion. It’s all about effect. There’s not a single policy issue discussed in any of these ads.
