FADING BUNDLING ALLURE. Politico. “Presidential hopefuls still depend on a set of donors who round up money en masse from wealthy friends, but a cultural shift has returned bundling to a behind-the-scenes campaign practice — rather than a status symbol.”
SUPER PAC DOUBLE DOWN. Story here. “President Barack Obama on Tuesday offered his first defense of his reversal on super PACs, suggesting that his decision to reluctantly support one backing his reelection came down to the cold realities of the race.”
SUPER PAC PLUNGE. Ruth Marcus in the Post: “Yet the Obama campaign had a choice. It could have trumpeted its support for American Priorities without deploying campaign officials. It could have deployed campaign officials without involving the administration. Instead, it chose to push the envelope.”
HYBRID PAC SURGE. Story here. “Hybrid PACs, like super PACs, may raise unlimited amounts of money to independently support political candidates through advertisements and other communications. But they may also raise limited amounts of cash to donate directly to political candidates, so long as they use segregated accounts.”
CAMPAIGNS PAY LEGAL EXPENSES. Roll Call. “The sizable sums paid by the Mike Thompson for Congress and Fitzpatrick for Congress campaigns — at least $20,000 each in the fourth quarter alone — show how quarterly reports filed with the Federal Election Commission can provide a window into which current and former lawmakers are facing ethics probes, investigations, lawsuits and other legal problems.”
WHAT IS NEXT FOR STOCK ACT? Story here. “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hasn’t decided how to proceed with the STOCK Act, saying his plate’s gotten a little full lately with some other matters.”
STOCK ACT, 1872. The Post. “One of the most notorious investment scandals in congressional history burst into the headlines 140 years ago, when Ulysses S. Grant was in the White House.”
MO LAW STRUCK. News here. “In a unanimous opinion Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court struck down a 2010 ethics bill that banned the laundering of donations through campaign committees.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.