11-10 political law links

CFR IN THE NEXT CONGRESS.  HuffPo.  “The Senate will likely be led next year by the primary antagonist to campaign finance reformers, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).”

D MONEY ALLIANCE. WFB. “The network of political and policy groups backed by the shadowy liberal donor club the Democracy Alliance was responsible for more than one of every three dollars spent by super PACs during the 2014 election cycle, public records show.”

CHRISTIE AND CFR.  CSMonitor.  “The governor took on the nation’s byzantine array of campaign finance laws Thursday – including the shadowy networks of anonymous ‘dark money’ that flowed through independent political groups this year.”

TESTER ON CFR. WT.  “He told a group of law professors and federal election officials there Friday that big money and a wealthy few are drowning out the voices of regular folks.”

RULING IN KOBACH.  Bloomberg.  “Arizona and Kansas were blocked from enforcing a requirement of proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration, a federal appeals court said in a victory for the Obama administration and minority-rights advocates.”

AR:  NEW LAWS.  Natlawreview.com.  “Amid the thrill of victory and agony of defeat this Election Day, Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment that will have a major impact on those involved in the political and legislative process there.”

MN:  LAWSUIT PAUSE.  Star Tribune.  “A federal judge has agreed to temporarily put on hold a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s campaign coordination law and how it applies in cases involving political speech.”

MO:  AMENDMENT PROPOSED.  KSPR.  “Missourians may get a chance to vote on cracking down on lobbyists and campaign finance.”

NE:  STEPPING DOWN EARLY.  Omaha.com.   “Lautenbaugh, 49, who works as a trial attorney, resigned with less than two months remaining in his second term. He said lobbying opportunities had recently emerged, which compelled him to hasten his departure.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.  I’ll send around the next set of links on Wednesday.

Fri. political law links

WHERE MONEY GOES.  Fayobserver.com.  “Who got the cash? If you watched even a little bit of TV in the past few months,you would have seen that television stations received a lot of it. Some radio stations did, too.”

LESSIG’S FOLLY.  Politico.  “Tuesday, voters shrugged and cast their ballots for business as usual, leaving Mayday and Lessig — who emerged as its public personae — facing questions about the disconnect between its bold predictions and results.”

SILICON VALLEY LOSERS.  Re/code.  “While the big story Tuesday night was the Republican wave that gives control of the Senate back to the GOP in January, there were plenty of smaller races that are of interest to the tech community.”

BACKER AWARDED. TheYCC.org. “Every year since 2010, the Young Conservatives Coalition awards the Young Professional Conservative Leadership ‘Buckley Award’ to a select group of five young professionals in recognition of significant achievements in advancing the conservative cause.”

CT:  LOOPHOLES BEMOANED.  Courant.  “Public campaign financing allows candidates to get contributions in amounts that many people can give and to make a credible run for office.”

MI:  LOBBYIST ETHICS.  Lansing State Journal.  ” A new Government Affairs Academy is meant to ensure those who advocate at the Capitol ‘operate at the highest level of lobbying ethics and best practices,’ according to a news release from the East Lansing-based Michigan Society of Association Executives, the group sponsoring the academy.”

PA:  LITTLE PETE’S AND DONATIONS.  Phillymag.com.  “In a twist to the Little Pete’s story, it turns out the developer of the proposed 300-room hotel — there’s already a Hudson Hotel in midtown Manhattan — is a recent contributor to Councilman Johnson’s campaign committee.”

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.

Thurs. political law links

SMALL BIZ AND CFR.  Tech Cocktail.  “In the midst of the GOP’s gain of the Senate yesterday, a recent poll conducted by the Small Business Majority shows that entrepreneurs feel disadvantaged in the American electoral process and believe that big business has an unfair influence on politicians.”

SUPER PACS REV.  WP.  “In the aftermath of Tuesday’s crushing defeats, the Democratic donor class is already turning its attention to the 2016 presidential contest and ramping up what is expected to be a massive outside flanking operation to back an expected White House bid by Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

ROLE OF REFORM.  WY Public Media.  “Hardy says although he appreciates the support he did receive, he doesn’t feel he was campaigning on equal footing. He says campaign finance reform could have helped his chances a great deal.”

VOGEL ON MONEY ROLE.  Politico.   “After two cycles during which conservative megadonors’ record spending was plagued by flawed candidates and internecine squabbling, their side’s big money operatives got to do some gloating on election night.”

WHAT’S IT MEAN?  Influence.  “The big takeaway from election night for downtowners is that lobbyists are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.”

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

A FIRST.  Bloomberg.  “While Americans may be getting used to presidential campaigns costing hundreds of millions of dollars, no congressional race in history had ever reached the $100 million mark—until now.”

BURN RATE.  ABC.  “The 2014 House and Senate midterms will cost around $3.67 billion, the Center for Responsive Politics estimates, with over $100 million more in undisclosed “dark money” spent by certain kinds of outside groups.”

AR:  WHAT VOTERS DID.  Governing.  “A ballot measure aimed at tightening ethics laws and changing term limits in Arkansas bucked expectations and passed 53-47. The measure, officially called Issue 3, bans lobbyist gifts to state officials, prohibits direct corporate and union contributions to candidates and lengthens the time period before former lawmakers can become lobbyists (from one to two years).”

CA:  MEASURE PASSED.  Voice of OC.  “County voters have approved a ballot measure that would allow agencies other than the District Attorney to enforce Orange County’s campaign finance limits for county-level offices, according to results from the county Registrar of Voters.”

MT:  SPOUSE LETTER ISSUE.  Great Falls Tribune.  “Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl said a man who contacted legislative candidates last week and offered to write and mail so-called “spouse letters” has returned to his home state of Illinois.”  More context on spouse letters here.

NY:  CUOMO, BIG DONORS, AND LOOPHOLES.  NYT.  “Of the many advantages Mr. Cuomo had enjoyed heading into his re-election campaign — the heavy Democratic enrollment edge in New York, the visible stage that incumbency provides — few have proved more important than his bank account.”

TX: LAWSUIT ON BLACKOUT. Najvar Law Firm. “Late Tuesday afternoon, Houston City Council candidate Trebor Gordon filed a First Amendment lawsuit challenging a discriminatory Houston ordinance that prevents city candidates from fundraising until February.”

WI:  WAUSAU VOTES.  Wausau Daily.  “Wausau residents don’t think corporations should have constitutional rights, and believe that regulating how money is spent in political campaigns is not the same as infringing on free speech.”

CAN:  RESIGNATION AFTER CONVICTION.  Reuters.  “A Canadian member of parliament who sat as an independent resigned his seat on Wednesday following a court conviction last week for violating campaign financing rules.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.