CU IMPACT QUESTIONS. Thompson-Reuters. “Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s unleashing of corporate campaign spending in its 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, big business does not seem to be able to buy elections. That conclusion contradicts the doomsday predictions that followed Citizens United and the 2010 campaign cycle.”
DEAD OCE? Roll Call. “But the bottom line is that if Pelosi and Boehner do not pick replacements, the OCE cannot function.”
MONEY IMPACT. The Times. “The biggest single donor in political history, the casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, mingled with other Romney backers at a postelection breakfast, fresh off a large gamble gone bad. Of the eight candidates he supported with tens of millions of dollars in contributions to ‘super PACs,’ none were victorious on Tuesday.”
NEW HOUSE RULES. Roll Call. “The House Republican Conference will vote on new rules next week that would limit the influence of freshmen at the leadership table and make it easier to bring up bills under suspension of the rules.”
SEN. TESTER AND CU. Story here. “Yet Tester spoke most forcefully Wednesday about shining a light on the river of money spent on his contest and many others by so-called outside and ‘dark’ money, by groups that often don’t have to disclose or detail their donors or expenditures.”
SPENDING IMPACT. The Post. “Record spending by independent groups largely defined how the 2012 elections were fought, but the money had no discernible impact on the outcome of most contests, according to an early analysis of ballot results and expenditures by The Washington Post.”
SPENDING IMPACT. Politico. “The high-dollar barrage spurred once wary Democrats to launch their own big money machine — which ended up nearly matching the GOP’s overall spending and actually put more ads on the air than the Republicans.”
SUPER PAC IMPACT. Roll Call. “But while Republicans have already launched into recriminations and second-guessing, it’s too early to write off the GOP’s well-funded super PAC and nonprofit allies.”
LAME DUCK LOBBYING. Story here. “Indeed, by Wednesday morning lobbying shops all over town were filling their clients’ inboxes with post-election analysis.”
K ST. LINES. Roll Call. “If a revolving door between government and downtown actually existed, the line to get through it in the next few weeks would easily snake for miles.”
K ST. TALENT POOL. The Hill. “Headhunters estimate that a former House member can expect a starting $500,000 annual salary on K Street, while a former senator can fetch $1 million per year.”
DELAYS IN THE DMV. The Post. “But there’s no question about it: Some precincts in Northern Virginia held the dubious distinction of having the most brutally long lines for voters in the Washington region on Tuesday.”
DC: BROWN LOSES. The Post. “On Tuesday, a candidate finally broke through. But observers are split on whether David Grosso’s victory over D.C. Council incumbent Michael A. Brown reflected a sea change in the city electorate or merely Brown’s dismal political and personal circumstances.”
MD: GAMBLING APPROVED. The Post. “Shortly before midnight Tuesday, after it had become clear that Maryland voters had approved a casino in Prince George’s County, the developers of National Harbor celebrated with fireworks.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY. I’ll send around the next set of links on Tuesday. Have a great weekend.