CITIES LOBBYING.  The Times.  “More than a year after Congress forswore earmarks, the oft-criticized legislative gimmick that financed pet projects, communities that relied on federal money for legitimate needs say they are facing a harsh budget reality.”

INCREASED CORPORATE POLITICAL GIVING.  The Post.  “Corporations appear to be embracing, albeit slowly, new campaign rules that allow them to make direct contributions to political groups.”

ANNUAL REPORT FROM ETHICS.  Story here.  “The House and Senate Ethics committees released an accounting of their 2011 activities this week, detailing the number of matters reviewed and the actions taken thus far during the 112th Congress.”  The report from House Ethics is here.  The report from Senate Ethics is here.

DAVIS LEAVES FIRM.  Politico.  “Former Rep. Artur Davis has parted ways with law firm SNR Denton just a year after the Alabama Democrat joined its white collar and government investigations practice as a partner — and he’s not ruling out a return to politics.”

TRACKING DONORS THROUGH DOMAINS.  Story here.

LAWYERS HIGH ON LIST.  Story here.  “President Barack Obama’s top sources of campaign funds include employees at law firms that made $20 million last year trying to influence Washington.”

“LEAVE KOCH ALONE.”  Viewpoint here.  “Charles Koch and David Koch, co-owners of Koch Industries, are U.S. citizens, taxpayers, entrepreneurs and employers. Their businesses employ nearly 50,000 people in the U.S. alone. The company headquarters is in the district I represent, employing 2,600 Kansans. The corporation and its employees are among the most hardworking and generous in our community. The company has never been bailed out by the U.S. taxpayers. Given that many Americans are now desperate for jobs, we should be begging entrepreneurs to look for new opportunities — not attacking them because their companies might make a profit.”

JACK’S BACK.  Story here.  “During Wednesday’s balmy afternoon, a familiar scene in Washington unfolded: There was Jack Abramoff, sitting in his usual window seat at Eli’s, the kosher Dupont Circle deli, greeting the regulars.”

REFORM PROPOSALS IN MI.  News here.  “Democrats in the Michigan House on Thursday introduced proposals that would require personal financial disclosure forms for many public officials and put some restrictions on state-level political campaign donations.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

SUPER PACS:  WHO’S GIVING?  USAT.  “Nearly two-thirds of the $95 million that flowed into super PACs driving presidential and congressional politics came from wealthy individuals, challenging the notion that money from corporations is dominating the 2012 election, a USA TODAY analysis shows.”

STOCK ACT MOVES. The Hill. “House Democrats are attempting to circumvent GOP leadership and force a vote on legislation banning insider trading by members of Congress.”

STOCK ACT LARD.  Politico.  “Democrats and Republicans have proposed an avalanche of populist-tinged amendments and poison pills certain to become fodder for 30-second attack ads.”  ALL’s press release is here.  Another story here.

USE OF JOURNALISTS IN CAMPAIGN ADS.  Politico.

LOBBYIST BUNDLER BAN PROSPECTS.  The Post.  “Obama has made several specific proposals for lobbying reform in his State of the Union addresses, but none have come to pass.”

LIGHTSQUARED AND GRASSLEY.  Story here.  “LightSquared’s owner fired back Tuesday at Sen. Chuck Grassley’s suggestion that an associate of the broadband company tried — if ever so clumsily — to bribe the senator.”

TODAY’S MEETING AT THE FEC. The agenda for today’s Federal Election Commission meeting is online here.

FB IPO BRINGS FOCUS ON PAC. Politico. “Top officials at Facebook pumped $170,000 into the company’s new PAC in 2011 — a sure sign that the company is ready to be a political player as it prepares for its IPO this year.”

FCPA SETBACK.  The Post.  “A federal jury in the District this week acquitted two men and was unable to reach a verdict against three others on charges that they tried to bribe foreign officials to win business — the latest courtroom setback for the Justice Department in its largest sting operation targeting such illegal payments by U.S. citizens.”

FL DELEGATE MEMO.  Story here.  “Amid a growing number of questions from some RNC members – and one former RNC chairman, Michael Steele – top party officials sent members a memo today explaining the committee’s position on whether Florida is a winner-take-all state that’s lost half its delegates as punishment for calendar-jumping, or whether its delegates should be allocated proportionately.”

DISCLOSURES HIGHLIGHT… SECRECY.  The Times covers super PAC filings.

WILL ON STATE CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS.  The Post.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

SUPER PACS CLOSE GAP.  The Post.  “Conservative super PACs and other outside groups are helping Republicans close a yawning fundraising gap with President Obama, giving the eventual GOP presidential nominee a better chance at winning the money race by November, according to new disclosures Tuesday.”

CAMPAIGN FINANCE EXPLORER. The Post.

SUPER PAC DEADLINE.  Roll Call.  “All eyes are on the Federal Election Commission website today, as policy wonks, journalists and political players pore through the latest disclosure reports for the super PACs that are dominating the 2012 election.”

LABOR $UPER PAC. Politico.

RE$TORE OUR FUTURE.  Story here.  More from the Times.

MAKE U$ GREAT AGAIN. Story here.

ENDOR$E LIBERTY.  Story here.

PRIORITIE$ USA.  Story here.  “Soros is joined by million-dollar donors such as film producer Stephen Bing and auto insurer Peter Lewis in not contributing to Priorities USA, a group founded by former White House aides to help return Obama to the White House. The pro- Obama organization raised $1.2 million in the second half of 2011, bringing its yearly total to $4.4 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.”

AM XRD$. News here. “The Karl Rove-linked juggernaut Crossroads groups raised $51 million last year – including a whopping $7 million from Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons – but that’s still a far cry from the $300 million the two-pronged outfit intends to spend boosting Republicans and attacking Democrats in the run-up to Election Day.”

OUR DE$TINY PAC. Story here. “The super PAC supporting Jon Huntsman’s aborted presidential bid raised $2.7 million – $1.9 million of which came from his father.”

PALIN FUNDRAISING. Story here. “Sarah Palin’s political action committee raised $756,000 in the second half of last year — a steep drop from the first half, when she as flirting with a presidential bid.”

GINGRICH INC. Story here.

WHAT REPORTS SHOW. NPR. “The big expenses reported by Colbert’s superPAC: $14,000 for his lawyer, former FEC Chairman Trevor Potter; $31,000 for T-shirts; and $56,000 for raising and processing all of those contributions.”

OBAMA’S BUNDLES. The Post. “Obama’s campaign and an affiliated committee run with the Democratic National Committee both filed their fourth quarter financial reports Tuesday, showing a highly effective bundling operation in full gear.”

BACHMANN DEBT. Story here. “New Federal Election Commission records show Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign ended 2011 about $447,000 in debt.”

CAIN CONUNDRUM. Story here. “Herman Cain, barely two weeks after suspending his presidential bid, founded his own super PAC called Cain Connections.”

ROBOCALL REGRET.  Story here.   More here.

REGULAR PAC FUNDRAISING.  Roll Call.  “Super PACs may be sexy, but they are not about to put their tamer predecessors out of business.”

CAMPAIGNS AND SQUARE.  The Times.

STOCK ACT NEWS. Story here. “House Majority Leader Eric Cantor today spoke supportingly of legislation winding its way through Congress that would clearly ban federal lawmakers and their staff from trading securities on insider information.”

STOCK ACT THREAT. Story here. “A day after the Senate voted in rare bipartisan fashion to open debate on the STOCK Act that would ban insider trading in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid threatened to shut down debate, complaining that senators were acting “ridiculous” and have turned the body into a “circus” by making demands for their amendments to be considered.”

OIL AND MINING CO. TRANSPARENCY.  The Hill.  “Five Senate Democrats are pressing the Securities and Exchange Commission to ‘resist pressure’ to weaken upcoming rules that force oil-and-gas companies to disclose their payments to foreign governments.”

CANDIDATE SALARY IN THE NEWS. Story here. “Congressional candidate Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (aka ‘Joe the Plumber’) is paying himself a salary from campaign funds, according to a Federal Election Commission report filed today.”

E-FILING FOR SEN.  More here.  “In this Internet Age, 81 senators have Twitter accounts for lightning-fast bursts of communication. Yet only a handful of them typically file their campaign finance reports electronically.”

TRIP STORY.  News from Georgia here.  “As Georgia Attorney General, Sam Olens says he is an adversary in what he calls ‘a war against the tobacco industry.’  But in December, he accepted a plane ride from a tobacco lobbyist valued at more than $1,500.  They went to a convention in Palm Beach, FL.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

SUPER PAC IMPACT.  Roll Call.  “Super PACs backing Newt Gingrich have dominated media coverage of the GOP Florida primary that will be decided Tuesday, but their effect is starting to look less than super.”

STOCK ACT MOVES.  Story here.  “The Senate voted, 93-2, on Monday night to kick off debate on the measure.”

EYE OF THE TIGER SUIT.  Story here.  “Newt Gingrich might feel like Rocky Balboa when he takes the stage at campaign events to Survivor’s 1982 hit ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ but it’s the co-writer of the song who is ready for a fight.”

COLBERT DISCLOSES.  Story here.  “Between July 1 and Dec. 31, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow collected more than $825,400, ending the year with nearly $674,000 cash on hand, according to disclosures filed over night with the Federal Election Commission.”

PERRY BURN RATE.  Politico.  “Texas Gov. Rick Perry burned through the bulk of a once-sizable campaign war chest late last year in what became an increasingly desperate attempt to right his listing — and ultimately doomed — presidential campaign, federal financial disclosures released late Monday show.”

SUPER PAC LAUNCH.  Story here.  “The progressive San Francisco-based phone company known as CREDO Mobile today launched a super PAC to oust a cadre of conservative House Members that it’s calling the ‘Tea Party Ten.’”

NEW SUPER PACS.  Story here.  “There’s a new phenomenon in Washington: the Hispanic super-PAC, which aims to give political voice to the nation’s fastest-growing demographic.”

DURKEE HEARING DELAYED.  News from the Chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission here.

COLORADO REPORTING NEWS.  Story here.  “The Colorado Legislature acted quickly and in bipartisan fashion today to require biweekly campaign finance disclosures in advance of this year’s primary elections in June.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

IE UNITS POWER UP.  Roll Call.  “Senate campaign committees tapped two familiar hands to lead their independent expenditures this cycle — a high-stakes gig that controls tens of millions of dollars in spending for 2012 races.”

SUPER PAC DOCUMENTATION ISSUE. Story here. “The pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC ‘Winning Our Future’ claims that, as of Thursday, ‘at least six’ stations in Florida have told the group they need more documentation to run their ads.”

OBAMA ADDRESS MENTIONS BUNDLING. The transcript for President Obama’s weekly address is online here. “The House and Senate should send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it immediately. They should limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact. And they should make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa.”

AD DRAWS LETTER. The Post. “NBC asked GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Saturday to pull a campaign advertisement made up almost entirely of a 1997 ‘Nightly News’ report on Newt Gingrich’s ethics committee reprimand.”

ALLEGATIONS IN NY. The Times. There are allegations that a “campaign would find a way to accept donations that were over the legal limit…”  More here.

REFUNDS TO LOBBYISTS. Story here. “The Obama campaign will refund donations from five registered lobbyists that were discovered by a campaign-finance watchdog.”

NEWS OF MOVES. Adam Ambrogi is the new Chief Counsel at Senate Rules (h/t Jason Abel).

R TO FACEBOOK. Story here. “In preparation for the fall elections, the company announced today that George Alafoginis will join its election 2012 team. Alafoginis is the former deputy director for online strategy and technology deployment at the Republican National Committee.”

LOBBYIST’S OFFICE SEARCHED. Story here. “Authorities have searched the offices of a former Fiesta Bowl lobbyist suspected of involvement in an illegal campaign contribution scheme.”

LOBBYIST CONTRACTS ENDED. The Times. “Lobbyists for the Egyptian government in Washington have ended their contracts with the country because of growing tensions after a raid by Egyptian authorities on several American nonprofit organizations.”

THE FUTURE OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM. An interview with Fred Wertheimer appears online here.

TWITTER ON THE TRAIL. The Times. “If the 2008 presidential race embraced a 24/7 news cycle, four years later politicos are finding themselves in the middle of an election most starkly defined by Twitter, complete with 24-second news cycles and pithy bursts.”

TARGETING VOTERS.  Story here.  “Campaigns and ‘super PACs’ can single out potential voters with a high degree of specificity thanks to reams of research about the political affiliations, voting habits and even charitable donations of television viewers.”

LOBBYING AND SEMANTICS.  The LA Times.  “There are hundreds — maybe thousands, no one keeps count — of Gingrich-type non-lobbyist consultants in Sacramento. Many, like Gingrich, have learned the legislating ropes, developed relationships and earned redeemable chits in the legislative or executive branches.”

TN:  EASING LOBBYIST LIMITS?  Story here.  “Republican Rep. Philip Johnson of Pegram introduced the bill, which would allow employers of lobbyists to host receptions for standing committees in either chamber. Current law bans receptions, where food and alcohol often are served, unless all 132 state lawmakers are invited.”

FOURTH ANNIVERSARY. Thanks for four years of fun and let’s keep it going! I’ve had a great time maintaining the site and I’ve enjoyed meeting and emailing with so many readers over the years. Thanks for your support and making my links a part of your day.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

ROMNEY TO REVISE. Story here. “Mitt Romney could face new questions about his overseas investments after a campaign official acknowledged to NBC News that his campaign is revising his federal ethics forms to report more than a half dozen offshore holdings, including income from a multi-million dollar Swiss bank account that was not disclosed last year.”

LOBBYING NUMBERS IN. The Post. “Lobbying activity plunged in 2011 for the first time in a decade, most likely driven lower by the struggling economy and legislative gridlock on Capitol Hill, according to new estimates released Thursday.”  The Hill has this report.

FORMER WALKER AIDES CHARGED. Story here. “Two former aides to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker were charged Thursday with allegedly doing political fundraising while working on taxpayer time in the Milwaukee County Executive’s office when he ran it.”

MOVING PAST SOLYNDRA?  Story here.  “President Barack Obama isn’t letting Solyndra scare him away from pushing a green energy agenda.”

CNN PROFILES NANCY WATKINS.  The video report is here.  When I was at Patton Boggs I had the pleasure of working with her and she’s a total pro.

LOBBYIST STATUS.  The Times has this editorial.  “Under the federal lobbying law, Newt Gingrich can legitimately claim that he is not a lobbyist. That alone demonstrates how much the law needs to be changed.”

FL SPENDING.  The Post.  “Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is getting a boost from a pair of wealthy benefactors, but he’s still likely to get drastically outspent on television ads in Florida.”

GINGRICH AND PAST ETHICS BATTLES.  The Times.  “Mr. Gingrich lodged a complaint against Mr. Wright, which cost the Democratic speaker his job. Democrats, in turn, bombarded Mr. Gingrich with accusations of ethical impropriety, which led to a $300,000 fine and a reprimand for bringing discredit to the House.”

CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND PERDUE.  Story here.  “While the State Board of Elections fined The Bev Perdue Committee $30,000 for failing to report numerous flights, Perdue has not been charged or indicted for anything related to the issue. And Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby Jr. has said Perdue won’t face any charges.”

UK LOBBYIST REGISTRY NEWS. Story here. “The British government has opened a consultation to introduce the first statutory register of lobbyists in Westminster, drawing on the experience of a similar transparency register in Brussels, which went online last year.”

GRECO REPORT.  The Post.  “A top European anti-corruption body wants the U.S. to increase transparency of political funding through outside groups that donate millions to support candidates, warning that they could be used to skirt long-established disclosure rules.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

SUPER PAC FINANCING.  CBS.  “Sheldon and Miriam Adelson are among the richest couples in the world with a fortune Forbes estimated at $23 billion, and they’re bankrolling the super PAC that supports Gingrich.”

SUPER PAC SPENDING.  CNN.  “Super PACs have spent $35.4 million on the 2012 presidential race, according to federal campaign disclosures, including $11.4 million on last Saturday’s South Carolina Republican primary and $6.4 million on next week’s contest in Florida.”

SUPER PAC LEGISLATING.  HuffPost.  “Amid growing concern over the growing influence of super PACs, congressional Democrats are set to introduce new legislation designed to bring an increased level of transparency to campaign-related expenditures.”

SUPER PAC LEAN.  The Post.  “Endorse Liberty, an interest group with the sole purpose of helping Rep. Ron Paul’s bid for the presidency, has spent $3.1 million this year without expensive campaign consultants or a full-time staff member.”

SUPER PACS IN H AND S RACES.  Story here. “Third-party political action committees, flexing their muscle in the Republican presidential tilt, also are focusing on U.S. congressional races, observers say.”

LEAKING ETHICS.  The Hill.  “A leak to the media that identified three Republicans who are being investigated by the House Ethics Committee has lawmakers and staffers wondering who the source is, and his or her motive.”

LOBBYIST FEEDBACK.  Roll Call.  “Lobbyists obviously don’t get to write the State of the Union. But the White House did solicit advice from its liberal-leaning outside allies and heard plenty from industry groups such as the NRF. Though some groups were pleased to hear President Barack Obama give their priorities a boost and quickly dispatched press releases cheering him, others are now downplaying the address’s significance at all.”

TECH LOBBYING.  Politico.  “Now, as it celebrates what appears to be a victory in its Capitol Hill fight over fast-moving copyright bills, the tech industry may see itself as an innovator in lobbying, using the tools it created to beat the opposition at its own game on its own turf.”

FUNDRAISER HOSTED.  Roll Call.  “Democratic lobbyist Heather Podesta will host an ‘annual intimate dinner with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’ on Wednesday, according to an invitation obtained by Roll Call.”

PARTIES THROWN.  Story here.  “The first ’48 hour’ reports for lobbyists are starting to trickle in to the Secretary of State’s Office. By law, during a legislative session, lobbyists are required to report expenditures larger than $500 within 48 hours of the spending.”

MAINE PROBE.  Story here.  “A Maine ethics board has given the go-ahead for a deeper investigation into the finances of two political action committees that support efforts to bring a casino to Lewiston last year.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

SOTU EXCERPT.  “I’ve talked tonight about the deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street.  But the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad — and it seems to get worse every year.

Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics.  So together, let’s take some steps to fix that.  Send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress; I will sign it tomorrow.  (Applause.)  Let’s limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact.  Let’s make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa — an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of Washington.”

ETHICS REFORM AND THE SOTU.  Politico.  “President Barack Obama hadn’t even left the Capitol yet when lawmakers began pouring cold water on his call to limit ‘any elected official from owning stock in industries they impact.’”

LOBBYING REFORM AND 2012.  Roll Call.    “The lawyer who a decade ago advised Newt Gingrich on how to engage in advocacy without officially becoming a ‘lobbyist’ is now working to close the loopholes that enable the former Speaker and other Members to avoid public disclosure.”

THANKING WARREN AND BROWN.  The Post.  “Even if the dam ends up springing a few leaks, they deserve credit for trying. Good for them.”

SECOND GINGRICH CONTRACT RELEASED.  News here.  “Though the contract with The Gingrich Group — the speaker’s former company — excludes lobbying, Gingrich advised the company’s chief lobbyist, Mitchell Delk, about ‘business and public policy issues.;”

GINGRICH AND LOBBYING ALLEGATIONS.  The Washington Times.  “Notably, during his work at Freddie Mac, Mr. Gingrich dealt directly with the agency’s chief lobbyist, Craig Thomas, who was identified as “project director” in Mr. Gingrich’s contract. In other words, he was working for the agency’s lobbying shop.”

THOMPSON EARNINGS.  Story here.  “Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson has earned more than $8.5 million in compensation since 2005 from a web of private sector companies that includes a prominent Washington lobbying firm, a medical device manufacturer and a globally recognized consulting firm, according to public filings and reports.”

SUPER PAC GROUND GAME.  The Post.  “They’re hiring field directors, setting up phone banks, building get-out-the-vote teams and crafting a message strategy worthy of a presidential candidate.”

SUPER PAC FL BUY.  Story here.  “A super PAC supporting former House speaker Newt Gingrich has made a $6 million ad buy in Florida, underscoring the new dynamics of the presidential race.”

NYT CONFUSION.  Hans von Spakovsky writes here.  “If a huge corporation such as Microsoft or Exxon was allowed to contribute directly to a federal candidate, the limitation would still apply.”

CONGRESS AND SUPER PACS.  Editorial here.  “In light of the political muscle the super PACs have shown early in this presidential election year, the voters need more than judicial reassurances to secure a level, transparent playing field for campaign funding.”

FORMER SENATE AIDE IN THE NEWS.  The Post.  “A former aide to Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal is facing 10 weekends in jail after bringing a steak knife to a halfway house.”

SCANLON REQUEST DENIED.  Story here.  “A federal appeals court denied a request from the former business partner of convicted Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoffto reduce the $20 million restitution order against him for scamming Indian nations out of more than $80 million.”

GA. ETHICS REFORM?  Story here.  “Currently, Georgia has no caps on gifts from lobbyists, and the annual tab comes to about $1.6 million; most of it is spent on food, trips and event tickets for legislators. Every state surrounding Georgia has some sort of cap or ban on lobbyist gifts.”

EDITORIAL SUPPORTS NY REFORMS.  Here.  “Publicly financed campaigns could help level the playing field. Gov. Cuomo should push to make that happen this year.”

PRISON SOUGHT IN MA CASE.  Story here.  “Federal prosecutors yesterday asked a US judge to sentence Boston developer Arthur Winn to six months in prison and fine him $200,000 for funneling illegal campaign contributions to politicians to get public subsidies for his ultimately failed Columbus Center project.”

WALKER RECALL FUNDRAISING.  Story here.  “Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign announced Tuesday it has raised more than $4.5 million in recall funding throughout the last five weeks, including millions in contributions from out-of-state donors.”

CAMPAIGN FINANCE ACROSS THE WORLD.  CNN.  CNN looks at aspects of campaign finance law in Nigeria, Norway, Russia, and other nations.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

AMERICAN SOLUTIONS AND GINGRICH IN THE NEWS.  NBC News featured a report on American Solutions and it’s online here.

GINGRICH FREDDIE MAC CONTRACT RELEASE.  Story (and a copy of the agreement) here.

MORE ETHICS DOCS?  The Post.  “The leader of the 1990s ethics investigation into misdeeds by then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich rejected the idea Monday of releasing additional information from the probe, saying the 15-year-old published report covers all the pertinent aspects of the case.”

STATE OF K ST.  Politico.  “K Street boom days have come and gone.”

AM X-RDS PLANS.  CNN.  “American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, the two groups he helped found, plan to raise $300 million this year to defeat President Obama, elect Republicans to Congress, and block the Democrats’ agenda.”

AT&T SCALING BACK.  The Hill.  “Telecom behemoth AT&T has begun shedding lobbyists in the wake of its failed merger with T-Mobile.”

UNION SPENDS IN R PRIMARY RACE.  Story here.  “An unlikely combatant has jumped into the big-money battle between independent groups running ads weighing in on the Republican presidential primary: a national union representing public employees.”

LIGHTSQUARED AND LOBBYING RULES.  Story here.  “U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa said Monday that the owner of LightSquared and a possible representative of the company may have broken ethics rules when they contacted his office about winning approval for LightSquared’s planned mobile broadband network.”

GOOGLE’S DC SPENDING.  CBS.  “Google nearly doubled its federal lobbying expenditures last year, surpassing rival Microsoft in dollars doled out to persuade legislators to consider its policy positions.”

WARREN-BROWN DEAL.  The Post.  “Under the terms of the deal, each campaign would agree to donate half the cost of any third-party ad to charity if that ad either supports their candidacy or attacks their opponent by name.”

SUPER PAC ACTION FIGURES.  Story here.  “A super PAC supporting Paul, Revolution PAC, is selling action figures of the candidate to raise money for their efforts.”

MS. ADELSON GIVES.  The Times.  “A wealthy supporter of Newt Gingrich will donate $5 million to a ‘super PAC’ supporting his candidacy, providing a significant infusion of cash to the group as it seeks to defend Mr. Gingrich in Florida ahead of next week’s Republican primary, a person with knowledge of the contribution said on Monday.”

SHAYS TO ANNOUNCE.  Roll Call.  “Former Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) will formally declare his candidacy for Senate at noon Wednesday at the Old State House in Hartford.”

GRASSLEY TWEET-JACKED. Politico.  “The Twittter account of Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a former supporter of the anti-piracy legislation PIPA, was hacked Monday by a follower of the Anonymous ‘hacktivist’ group.”

OFA’S ONLINE ADS.  ClickZ.  “The South Carolina primary day ad is the third in what could become a long series of primary day homepage takeovers from the Obama team.”

JUDGE LIFTS LIMITS.  Story here.  “In a 32-page decision, a federal judge has declared it unconstitutional for the city of San Diego to cap political party donations to candidates at $1,000.”  More here.

KING RETURNS FUNDS.  Story here.  “Attorney General Gary King has returned part of a $15,000 campaign contribution some said violated the state’s cap on the size of political donations.”

GOVT CORP. GIVING.  News from Canada.  “Under provincial legislation, a prohibited corporation could be fined up to $10,000 for making an improper donation. Political parties and constituency associations are barred from knowingly soliciting or accepting donations from such corporations, but face a maxi-mum fine of only $1,000.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

COLBERT POKING FUN. Story here. “He said he must stand for corporations because, without legs, they cannot stand for themselves.”

COLBERT AND HIS UNFUNNY RUN. Colbert King explains here. “It’s one thing to play presidential politics for laughs. It’s quite another matter to run ads against candidates.”

SUPER PAC FL BLAST. Politico.

SCALIA ON SUPER PACS. Story here. “Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has a simple solution for people who do not like all the political advertisements unleashed by the court’s decision two years ago that ended limits on corporate contributions in political campaigns – change the channel or turn off the TV.”

SUPER SUPER PAC.  Politico.  “Here’s how it works: under new federal rules, a traditional PAC and super PAC may operate under one roof. These hybrid operations can raise and spend unlimited amounts of cash to promote or oppose candidates, as any super PAC can, while simultaneously giving limited amounts of money directly to campaigns and committees, like a traditional political action committee.”

SUPER PACS 101.  Q&A here.  “Technically known as independent expenditure-only committees, super PACs can’t work directly with candidates or their campaigns, but they may raise and spend unlimited funds to pay for online, television and radio advertising and handbills.Because there are no limits on contributions, super PACs can raise vast amounts of money to support a cause or a candidate. As of Friday, 286 groups organized as super PACs reported receipts of $32.01 million and total expenditures of $33.11 million.”

SMITH ON CU AT 2. WSJ. “The U.S. government argued in Citizens United that it had the right to ban the publication of books, pamphlets and movies that advocated the election or defeat of a candidate if they were produced or distributed by unions or corporations, such as Random House, Barnes & Noble and DreamWorks. That position is the one that deserves scorn. Fortunately, no new amendment was needed to defeat it—only the First Amendment and a Supreme Court willing to uphold it.”

FORMER MEMBER AND PROJECT HE SUPPORTED. The Times. “Experts in federal earmarking — a practice of financing pet projects that has been forsaken by many members of Congress as a toxic symbol of political abuse — said they could not recall a case in which a former lawmaker stood to benefit so directly from an earmark he had authorized.”

GINGRICH ETHICS MATTER IN THE NEWS. Story here. “Newt Gingrich offered further explanation Sunday of the 1997 ethics investigation against him that resurfaced in recent days on the presidential campaign trail.”

FREDDIE MAC ATTACK.  The Post.  “Romney intends to attack Gingrich for his work with Freddie Mac at a housing-themed round-table session in Tampa on Monday morning and, at a media availability shortly thereafter, plans to call for Gingrich to release his work product with the firm, the official said.”

ROMNEY TAX RELEASE.  The Post.  “Hoping to put to rest the mounting controversy over his personal finances, Mitt Romney said Sunday that he will release his 2010 tax returns and an estimate for 2011 Tuesday. The Republican presidential candidate had said previously that he would make some of his tax information public in April.”

SANTORUM TAX RELEASE.  Story here.  “Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum promised Sunday that he will release his tax records as early as Tuesday—and certainly sometime this week.”

CHAMBER LOBBYING.  The Hill.  “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce cut its lobbying spending nearly in half in 2011, according to lobbying disclosure reports filed Friday.”

GIFFORDS RETIREMENT AND ELECTIONS.  News here.  “Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ decision to step down this week instead of finishing her term means many of the voters in what’s now Congressional District 8 will see two rounds of primary and general elections this year.”

SCOTUS OCCUPIED.  Story here.  “Protesters descended on the U. S. Supreme Court on Friday as part of the nationwide effort that Occupy Wall Street has dubbed ‘Occupy the Courts.’ The rallies at courthouses around the country were to challenge a 2010 Supreme Court decision that largely removed limits on union and corporate spending in support of political campaigns.”

NM GOV ON LOBBYING REFORM.  Story here.  “Gov. Susana Martinez on Sunday called on state legislators to prohibit themselves from becoming lobbyists for two years after leaving office.”

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND LOBBYING BILL? Story here. “Lobbyists who fail to register their activities could be fined €30,000 and jailed for two years under proposed legislation to be published by Fianna Fáil today.”

THANKS AND WELCOME. Many thanks to Rick Hasen for mentioning my site last week. Just so any new subscribers know what to expect, you’ll get one email a day with my set of links, usually around 9 a.m, Monday through Friday.  Need to read them earlier in the day?  They’re online at www.PoliticalActivityLaw.com around 7:30 a.m. My links are mainly intended for those with an unusually high interest in political law news and views, including the topics of campaign finance rules, lobbying laws, House and Senate ethics and travel rules, and related areas on the local, state, and sometimes international level. I don’t necessarily read everything I link to or endorse views found in items I link to.  I hope you find the links valuable and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or links you’d like to share.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.