In the News
Washington Examiner: Amend the First Amendment? Be careful what you ask for
By Bradley A. SmithSince Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission was decided in January 2010, several polls have shown the decision is unpopular. A Washington Post-ABC News poll taken a few weeks after the decision found that nearly 80 percent of respondents opposed it.
CCP
What do people really know about super PACs?
By Sarah LeeIt’s always interesting to note how polls — depending on how they’re conducted and who their target audience is — can vary and influence the political debate. For example, a week ago, CCP entered comments into the record of a Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing that debated the merits of an amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision of 2010. Founder and chairman Brad Smith gives details in those comments about polls conducted by CCP that attempted to determine just how much the general public understood super PACs and the Citizens United decision in general
Independent groups
Bloomberg: New Republican Super-PAC Aids Swing-State Political Organizing
By GREGORY GIROUXA new Republican super-PAC will pay to deploy party activists and volunteers from states that aren’t politically competitive in the Nov. 6 election to states that are.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
Slate: Words Mean Things
By Scott KorbIn June, when the Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s health care reform, Chief Justice John Roberts’ opinion declared that the individual mandate’s “minimum coverage provision” shall not be considered a penalty, as the law itself says, but rather a tax, “because it functions like a tax.” The court’s dissent, one joined by Justice Antonin Scalia, argued that this decision “suggests the existence of a creature never hitherto seen.”
Corporations
Bloomberg: Companies Wary Of Political Spending Two Years After Court Rules
By Elizabeth DwoskinTwo years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that companies could spend unlimited amounts to support candidates, some corporate boards of directors are putting restrictions on their political contributions.
Disclosure
Chicago Tribune: Democratic group retracts prostitution claim against Sands CEO
By Ronald GroverThe Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee retracted statements it made linking Las Vegas Sands Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson with funds it said came from “Chinese prostitution money” and that it said had been contributed to Republican congressional candidates.
Candidates and parties
NY Times: Record Spending by Obama’s Camp Shrinks Coffers
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and JO CRAVEN McGINTYPresident Obama has spent more campaign cash more quickly than any incumbent in recent history, betting that heavy early investments in personnel, field offices and a high-tech campaign infrastructure will propel him to victory in November.
Huffington Post: Obama Turns To Local Media To Promote Reelection Message
By Michael CalderoneThey say all politics is local. And in running for reelection, Obama has taken that political maxim to heart by speaking more with journalists who are outside the Beltway and whose states’ electoral votes matter most this November.
Politico: Romney campaign and RNC prep ad buy for next week to counter Obama
By Maggie HabermanA reliable media-buying source says the Mitt Romney campaign and the RNC has started placing buys for 60-second ads in what is in line to be the same battleground states where President Barack Obama’s campaign has reserved $77 million of time for the next three months.
Washington Post: Campaigns drown supporters with fundraising e-mails in the race for cash
By Dan EggenLarisa Thomason is a diehard liberal in a deep-red state, running a feisty Alabama political blog and donating thousands of dollars over the years to President Obama and other Democrats.
Lobbying and ethics
Roll Call: Conventions Lose Appeal for D.C. Lobbyists
By Janie LorberThe sluggish economy, new restrictions on contributions and anti-corporate sentiment has zapped the fun out of the Republican and Democratic national conventions for political players.
