NEW PAC. The Hill. “Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a member of the Senate Tea Party Caucus, has established a new fundraising committee to support conservative candidates, and will not rule out challenging GOP incumbents.”
JONATHAN ADLER ON LOBBYING. Here. “The tension between corporate representatives and the firms they represent is a perfect example of the principal-agent problem. Although the agent works for the principal, they do not share the same interests.”
SMALL DONOR MINDSET. The Post. “The phenomenon is driven by the ease of donating online and the prevalence of e-mail, social networks, blogs and smartphones, which together create the political equivalent of the candy rack beside the cash register.”
WALL STREET LOBBYING IN THE NEWS. The Times. “As the Dodd-Frank Act reaches its one-year anniversary, Wall Street’s army of lobbyists continue its aggressive campaign to tame the financial regulatory law.”
PUBLIC SECTOR LOBBYING NUMBERS. Here. “According to a Scripps Howard News Service report, more than 2,300 government and public education institutions have spent more than $1.2 billion on lobbyists during the past decade. Those are taxpayer dollars.”
LAWYERS FOR ROMNEY. Politico.
REP. WU RESIGNATION UPDATE. The Hill. “Rep. David Wu’s (D-Ore.) letter of resignation could come as soon as Friday if he follows his own timetable.”
TECH AND POLITICAL GIVING. California may make some moves to make it easier for campaigns to accept contributions by text messages. Lobby Comply Blog has the links here.
ANTI-TUNNEL CAMPAIGN CASE CLOSED. Story here. “The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission dismissed a complaint Tuesday against the anti-tunnel campaign, Protect Seattle Now, saying an eight-page brochure that looked a lot like a 2009 campaign brochure for then mayoral candidate Mike McGinn was not produced by McGinn campaign consultant Bill Broadhead.”
MAYOR RAISED MONEY TO PAY FINE. Story here. “Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa raised $123,500 to pay ethics violation fines for accepting free tickets to high-profile events during his time as mayor, according to filings made public today.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.