Good morning, here are today’s political law links (Tues., June 26, 2012)

SCOTUS AND CU.  The Post.  “A narrowly divided Supreme Court on Monday reaffirmed its landmark 2010 decision allowing corporations to spend unlimited money on elections, deciding that a state court was wrong to uphold Montana’s century-old ban on political spending by businesses.”  The Times report is here.  The decision is here.  WH reaction is here.

ATP AND DRIVE TO AMEND.  Roll Call.  “The Supreme Court’s Monday ruling to strike Montana’s ban on corporate campaign spending opens a new chapter in the political money wars, fueling an improbable but increasingly vocal movement to amend the Constitution.”

$3 BILLION AND COUNTING.  CNN.  “Campaigns, parties, and PACs have raked in over $2.9 billion so far this year, and spent over $2 billion, according to a Federal Election Commission analysis of the first 15 months of the 2012 cycle released on Monday.”

CONTESTS AND CAMPAIGNS.   DId you ever take the time to read (or be tasked with preparing) the fine print on those campaign contests for free dinner and the like?  There are a number of legal issues involved.  WFB and here.

BRACING FOR THURSDAY.  Roll Call.  “On K Street, waiting for the Supreme Court’s health care ruling goes something like this: schedule post-decision client conference calls, write multiple drafts of talking points for different outcomes, and hole up in a conference room trying to figure out whether constitutional law-speak can translate into English.”

LOBBYING BIZ SCRUTINY.  Politico.  “‘The model has changed, and I think it’s going to be very difficult for these holding company lobbying firms to compete,’ said Ivan Adler, a headhunter at McCormick Group. ‘It’s all about talent, and if given a choice I think that talent would not like to be under the yoke of a holding company.'”

KENNEDY ALUM PROFILE.  The Hill.  “Holly Fechner has received a first-class Washington education. Having spent eight years in the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) employ, Fechner was a key cog in the Senate legend’s machine that kept the upper chamber in motion, churning out bill after bill.”

MN LOBBYING.  Story here.   “Local governments in Minnesota spent more than $8.3 million to lobby state government last year, according to a new state report.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY. 

Good morning, here are Monday’s political law links for June 25, 2012

POST ON INSIDERS. Here. “One-hundred-thirty members of Congress or their families have traded stocks collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars in companies lobbying on bills that came before their committees, a practice that is permitted under current ethics rules, a Washington Post analysis has found.”

ANONYMOUS RESCUE. Politico. “An anonymous donor has agreed to pay up to $20,000 to cover expenses the town incurs as a result of a visit by President Barack Obama, Town Council Chairman Jay Gooze said Sunday.”

TIMES ON ADELSON. Here.

MCCONNELL ON DISCLOSURE. Sen. McConnell echoed the points of a recent speech he made in this Post piece. “My main target was the Obama administration’s attempts to single out its critics through federal agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Department of Health and Human Services, and even through a proposed executive order aimed at denying critics government contracts.”

POST URGES BUNDLER DISCLOSURE. Here. “Campaign finance laws don’t require candidates to release the names of their bundlers, except in the case of registered federal lobbyists. But the Romney campaign’s refusal to identify those who bring in a quarter-million dollars or more differentiates it not only from the Obama campaign but also from those of the past two Republican contenders for the White House, President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Both released lists of their major fundraisers, along with the scale of their harvests.”

OLGILVY’S FUTURE. Roll Call. “Sources familiar with Ogilvy Government Relations and WPP say the lobby shop and its parent company had a brewing conflict over profit sharing and management matters.”

PUBLIC FUNDING TERMINATION. Story here. “A Senate-passed measure to end public subsidies for the national political party conventions is expected to win quick approval in the House, delivering a long-awaited, if symbolic, victory to opponents of public campaign financing.”

NAMING SUPER PACS. Story here.

LOBBYING BAN IN BILL.  Story here.  “Legislation to bar former high-ranking government employees from lobbying on behalf of certain foreign countries, including China and Saudi Arabia, could wind up boosting business for the firms that already do.”  The Hill has prior coverage here:  “Under the ban, former members of Congress and the administration would not be allowed to lobby on behalf of certain foreign governments, including China, for the first 10 years after they leave office.”

CA CAMPAIGN FINANCE LANDSCAPE. Here. “The best reform would be an immediate repeal of Proposition 34, and removing all limitations on direct contributions to candidates. This should be accompanied by much better disclosure laws so voters know well before the election who is putting money into a campaign.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are my political law links for Fri., June 22, 2012

D SUPER PAC DANGER.  Roll Call.  “Campaign finance reports filed Wednesday yet again point to the basic problem facing Democrat-friendly super PACs as they struggle to catch up with their GOP counterparts: Wealthy liberals are still not playing the big-money game.”

LOWELL ON EDWARDS CASE.  The Post.  “With respect to former senator Edwards, the department spent more than three years and millions of dollars to invent a criminal theory of campaign-law violations to pursue someone who was basically trying to hide an extramarital affair.”

CHAMBER AND GOOGLE.  Story here.  “A group of shareholders planned to urge Google Inc. at the company’s annual meeting today to drop its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.”

BAUER V. ROVE.  HuffPo.  “The Obama campaign’s top lawyer fired off a letter to Karl Rove Thursday, demanding a retraction of a ‘mystifying’ comment Rove made and raising questions about his upcoming appearance at a Mitt Romney campaign event.”

SUPREMES CITE CU IN CASE ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY.  Knox. v.SEIU, Local 100: “Public-sector unions have the right under the First Amendment to express their views on political and social issues without government interference. See, e.g., Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm’n, 558 U. S. ___ (2010).”  Meaning for the Montana case?

DISAFFILIATION.  That was the topic of an advisory opinion approved by the Federal Election Commission yesterday.

PUBLIC FUNDING FOR CONVENTIONS ENDING AFTER 2012?  Story here.  “A bipartisan push to eliminate millions of federal dollars earmarked to each party’s conventions was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate on Thursday, handing a win to critics who say taxpayer money shouldn’t be spent on orchestrated presidential nominating coronations at a time of severe budget constraints.”

BATTLE ON VOTING ISSUES.  Story here.  “Groups on the left are spending more than they have in any previous election to lawyer up, get voters registered early and flood polling locations with trained poll workers and election watchdogs.”

DISCLOSURE DUEL.  David Keating and Sheila Krumholz debate disclosure at US News.

NAME CHANGE IN DC.  Story here.  “The board is now called the D.C. Board of Elections. The official change comes after the enactment of the city’s ethics law, which created the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, earlier this year.”

LOBBYIST PRIVILEGE ISSUE.  Story here.  “In the latest skirmish in a legal battle about taxes paid by online-travel companies, a Leon County circuit judge heard arguments Wednesday about email exchanges involving a lobbyist for industry giant Expedia.”

LOBBYIST CHARGED IN RI.  Story here.  “A federal grand jury has leveled conspiracy and fraud charges against the congressional lobbyist of the now-defunct Middletown firm at the center of a 15-year scheme that allegedly looted $10 million through bogus contracts with the Navy.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.