FUNDRAISER COVERAGE. Story here. “This rare look at the mechanics of SuperPac fundraising and electoral strategy was likely not intended for reporters. I was invited as the guest of a financier who is a significant Republican donor.”
BLURRED LINES. The Times. “‘Super PACs on both sides of the aisle are more aggressively exercising the latitude that they already had under existing law but had not yet fully exploited,’ said Robert Kelner, a prominent Republican election lawyer.” I linked to an earlier version of this story yesterday.
KOCH VIEWS. Politico. “Billionaire industrialist David Koch, who is helping steer millions of dollars to elect Mitt Romney and congressional Republicans, on Thursday told POLITICO he disagrees with the GOP’s stance on gay marriage and believes the U.S. needs to consider raising taxes to balance the budget.”
ADELSON CONVENTION UPDATE. Politico. “The daughter of casino owner and conservative mega-donor Sheldon Adelson grabbed the camera of a Democracy Now! producer outside a sky box at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night.”
TX LAW BLOCKED. The Times. “A federal court on Thursday struck down a Texas law that would have required voters to show government-issued photo identification before casting their ballots in November, ruling that the law would hurt turnout among minority voters and impose ‘strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor’ by charging those voters who lack proper documentation fees to obtain election ID cards.”
MITCHELL ON NEEDED REFORMS. WSJ. “Unless Congress rebalances the political equation between the candidates and political parties on one side, and third-party interest groups on the other, the factions that James Madison warned about will continue to grow. That will be damaging not just to the parties but also to the country’s political health.”
SMITH ON DC REFORMS. The Examiner. “It’s no wonder citizens view D.C. through much the same lens as they view Chicago and New Orleans: rank with corruption. And the oldest trick in the professional pol’s playbook is to call for reform after being caught up in a corruption scandal.”
CRUZ ON REFORMS. Story here. “Tea party star and Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz said Thursday that current campaign finance laws should be scrapped to allow unlimited donations to campaigns.”
HATCH ACT MATTERS. Story here. “The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced Friday the suspensions of two federal employees for violating the Hatch Act, including one from the troubled General Services Administration (GSA) who was campaigning for President Obama from her office.”
MO: LOBBYIST REGISTERS. Story here. “Unlike many states, Missouri does not impose a cooling-off period for former legislators who become lobbyists.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY. Have a great holiday weekend. I’ll prepare the next set of links on Tuesday.