2012 POLITICAL MONEY ECOSYSTEM.  The Post.  “Many of the corporate executives convicted of campaign-finance crimes during Watergate could now simply write a check to their favorite super PAC or, if they want to keep it secret, to a compliant nonprofit group. Corporations can spend as much as they want to help their favored candidates, no longer prohibited by law from spending company cash on elections.”

SENATOR MCCONNELL’S SPEECH.  The text of Senator McConnell’s Friday AEI speech is online here. Video is online here.  (Photo:  Sen. McConnell addressing AEI.  My additional photos are here.)

ADELSON PLANS.  HuffPo.  “Adelson has told friends that he might give as much as $100 million in donations this year in support of GOP candidates and conservative issues.”

WH ANSWERS.  Politico.  “The White House is ‘committed to nominating highly qualified individuals’ to lead the maligned Federal Election Commission because ‘the agency … deserves no less,’ it said late Friday in response to a petition from campaign finance reform advocates.”  The full answer is on the White House website here.

TEXT MONEY GAME.  Roll Call.  “In an election increasingly defined by big money, the Federal Election Commission’s recent move to permit campaign contributions via text message strikes many as the perfect antidote.”

MCCCAIN ON CU.  Story here.  “‘Uninformed, arrogant, naive.’ Sen. John McCain used those three words in an interview Sunday to slam the Citizens United decision, the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for political donations from corporations and special interest groups.”

TIMES ON LINGLE TV.  Here.  “Starting last week, channel surfers in Hawaii found something new tucked between the Fox News Channel and CNN Headline News. It’s Channel 110, the one place on cable for all the video you could ever want to watch about Linda Lingle, a former Hawaii governor and current Republican candidate for United States Senate.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.