SUPER PAC QUIZ. Test your super PAC skills with this Washington Post quiz.
OBAMA Q4 FUNDRAISING VIDEO. Roll Call. “President Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee together brought in $68 million in the last three months of 2011.”
PETITION ON FEC. The Hill. There’s already a petition on Citizens United, but it doesn’t have a White House response.
COLBERT EXPLORING. The Hill. “Comedian Stephen Colbert is giving up control of his super PAC and forming an exploratory committee for a presidential run.”
IMPACT OF CAMPAIGN SPENDING. The Post. “Sometimes, spending money to promote a candidate, even a lot of money, doesn’t make a difference.”
BILLION DOLLAR EXPECTATIONS. The Post. “President Obama appears increasingly unlikely to break the billion-dollar fundraising mark for his 2012 reelection campaign — although he will almost certainly have a financial advantage over his eventual Republican opponent in November.”
SUPER PAC EXTENSION. The Times. “Mr. Romney’s carefully tended network of Republican donors has been rendered functionally less important by ‘super PACs,’ through which a handful of wealthy individuals are financing a multimillion-dollar advertising barrage to assail his record and prop up his opponents.”
TIMES ON THE CORPORATE BAN. Editorial here. “Republicans argue that the logic of Citizens United points toward scrapping the ban on direct corporate giving.”
AMERICANS ELECT. Politico. “A new group that hopes to tap into a rising appetite for a third party presidential challenger has discovered that $30 million in secret cash can buy ballot access and attention, but not necessarily a dream candidate.”
PRO-PAUL PAC SPENDS. Story here. “A new volley of South Carolina television advertising cost a pro-Ron Paul super PAC more than $317,500, new independent expenditure filings with the Federal Election Commission indicate.”
GINGRICH’S SUPPORTERS. Viewpoint here. “But there are 5 million reasons Republicans have to fear Gingrich. That’s the number of dollars billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson gave to a pro-Gingrich super PAC – the largest contribution to a candidate’s cause in U.S. history.”
LEWIS TO RETIRE. Story here.
VIEW ON DISCLOSURE. Ed Rogers writes in The Post. “In fair disclosure, I’m for unlimited contributions from American voters. But I’m for being able to give the money forthrightly to the campaigns and to the political parties, as long as there is real-time disclosure.”
VIEW ON SUPER PACS. Charlie Spies writes in USAT here. “For those who don’t like the current campaign-finance system, blame should not be placed on the Supreme Court’s defense of free speech in Citizens United v. FEC, but instead should be directed towards the restrictive campaign-finance regulations of the McCain-Feingold law.”
CURRIE CASE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. Story here. “A joint legislative committee on ethics met in closed session Thursday, drawing criticism from Common Cause Maryland, which has called for the censuring of state Sen. Ulysses Currie.”
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.