In the News
Tulsa World: Absentee ballots popular but face scrutiny
By CURTIS KILLMAN & RANDY KREHBIEL“The biggest thing is that you don’t really know who sends absentee ballots in,” said Brad Smith, a law professor at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.
CCP
Money and Politics: CCP Defends Speech
By Joe TrotterThis week, CCP President David Keating participated in the Intelligence Squared debate “Two Cheers for Super PACs: Money in Politics is Still Overregulated.” Keating and Reason Senior Editor Jacob Sullum argued in favor, while Campaign Legal Center’s Trevor Potter and Jonathan Soros argued against, the motion. The debate can be watched here.
Media Watch: New York Times levels serious — and incorrect — charges
By Joe TrotterBecause Citizens United neither lifted the ban on corporate contributions to campaigns nor did away with contribution limits, Mr. Lipton and Mr. Krauss are, at worst, charging Mr. Romney and William Koch with a very serious crime; at best, simply implying they are corrupt.
Independent groups
Wall Street Journal: Controllers Boost Giving to Democrats
By BRODY MULLINS and ANDY PASZTORThe nation’s biggest and most powerful unions are usually among the most generous givers to Democrats. This year there is a newcomer among the top ranks: the low-profile association that represents air-traffic controllers.
NY Times: Fossil Fuel Industry Ads Dominate TV Campaign
By ERIC LIPTON and CLIFFORD KRAUSSMr. Romney, for example, has accepted $3 million in contributions from Oxbow, a coal company controlled by William Koch, a brother of David Koch.
Al Jazeera: US democracy: The power of money
And we debate the larger issues of money and power in American politics with our guests: Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington; Steven Hoersting, the co-founder of the Center for Competitive Politics, an attorney who is regarded as an architect of the Super PAC system; Clyde Wilcox, a professor of government at Georgetown University and the author of more than 30 books, including Interest Groups in American Campaigns: The New Face of Electioneering; and Larry Beinhart, a novelist and author of the critically acclaimed novel American Hero, which was adapted into the film Wag the Dog.
Washington Post: Conservative super PACs targeting blue-state Democrats
By Dan EggenDemocrat John Tierney might normally be a shoo-in for reelection in his deep-blue Northeast Massachusetts district. But a well-funded outside group is trying to change that.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
Washington Post: Book review: ‘The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court’ by Jeffrey Toobin
By Jeffrey RosenOnly three months after Chief Justice John Roberts cast a tie-breaking vote to uphold the Affordable Care Act, Jeffrey Toobin has produced “The Oath,” an account of the conflict between the Obama White House and the Supreme Court. Toobin’s sources, like his timing, are impressive. Based on his “interviews with the justices and more than forty of their law clerks,” the book offers a compelling narrative of the early years of the Roberts court, which produced a series of 5 to 4 decisions that pitted the Obama administration against the conservative justices.
Candidates and parties
NY Times: Some Republicans Try Out a New Campaign Theme: Bipartisanship
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER and JONATHAN WEISMANWASHINGTON — A woman who appears in an advertisement supporting Representative Jon Runyan, a New Jersey Republican, boasts about how he works “with both parties.”
Associated Press: Poll: Strong Support For Campaign Spending Limits
More than 8 in 10 Americans in a poll by The Associated Press and the National Constitution Center support limits on the amount of money given to groups that are trying to influence U.S. elections.
Washington Post: Romney ramps up campaign schedule as Obama enjoys post-convention bounce
By Philip Rucker and David NakamuraRather than a mad dash of rallies and photo ops through swing states, the Republican nominee’s recent schedule usually has been limited to one public event each day and sometimes none at all — his days filled instead, aides said, with a much more robust behind-the-scenes docket.
Reuters: Romney energy adviser Hamm exceeded campaign-donation limits
By Alexander Cohen and David Sheppard and Joshua SchneyerWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The national energy adviser for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, Oklahoma oil billionaire Harold Hamm, made political contributions that exceed Federal legal limits by as much as 41 percent, according to data compiled by Reuters.
