Good morning, here are today’s political law links for Mon., June 18, 2012

2012 POLITICAL MONEY ECOSYSTEM.  The Post.  “Many of the corporate executives convicted of campaign-finance crimes during Watergate could now simply write a check to their favorite super PAC or, if they want to keep it secret, to a compliant nonprofit group. Corporations can spend as much as they want to help their favored candidates, no longer prohibited by law from spending company cash on elections.”

AEI-5

SENATOR MCCONNELL’S SPEECH.  The text of Senator McConnell’s Friday AEI speech is online here. Video is online here.  (Photo:  Sen. McConnell addressing AEI.  My additional photos are here.)

ADELSON PLANS.  HuffPo.  “Adelson has told friends that he might give as much as $100 million in donations this year in support of GOP candidates and conservative issues.”

WH ANSWERS.  Politico.  “The White House is ‘committed to nominating highly qualified individuals’ to lead the maligned Federal Election Commission because ‘the agency … deserves no less,’ it said late Friday in response to a petition from campaign finance reform advocates.”  The full answer is on the White House website here.

TEXT MONEY GAME.  Roll Call.  “In an election increasingly defined by big money, the Federal Election Commission’s recent move to permit campaign contributions via text message strikes many as the perfect antidote.”

MCCCAIN ON CU.  Story here.  “‘Uninformed, arrogant, naive.’ Sen. John McCain used those three words in an interview Sunday to slam the Citizens United decision, the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for political donations from corporations and special interest groups.”

TIMES ON LINGLE TV.  Here.  “Starting last week, channel surfers in Hawaii found something new tucked between the Fox News Channel and CNN Headline News. It’s Channel 110, the one place on cable for all the video you could ever want to watch about Linda Lingle, a former Hawaii governor and current Republican candidate for United States Senate.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Here are Friday’s political law links (6/15/12) and have a great weekend

SEN. MCCONNELL AT AEI. Senator McConnell will address AEI today at 11:15. More here. I’ll be there and hope to share a photo on Monday.

RETIRED MEMBERS’ USE OF FUNDS. The Post. “Those who become lobbyists are much more likely than other former lawmakers to put remaining money to political use — donating to lawmakers who have the ability to help their lobbying clients, according to the report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which tracked 57 House members who left Congress in 2007 and 2008.”

DIMON AND THE SUPER PAC GAME. Story here. “But for such a conspicuous firm whose business is subject to regulation by an array of federal agencies from the Comptroller of the Currency to the Federal Reserve to the newly created Financial Stability Oversight Council, is it odd that Dimon and his colleagues are absent from the world of Super PACS?”

KOCH GOAL.  Politico.  “The Koch brothers’ political operation has increasingly come to resemble its own political party — and later this month in San Diego, it will hold what amounts to its most ambitious convention to date.”

FAITH AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE.  Story here by Dave Levinthal, which begins, “Barack Obama has long cast himself as a warrior against the influence of big money in politics.”

JAIL IN ME PUBLIC FUNDS CASE. Story here. “Burns transferred public funds from his campaign account to his personal account to pay for non-campaign related bills and expenses.”

MD LLC RULE IN THE NEWS. Story here. “Maryland officials say they are drawing closer to closing a campaign-finance loophole that has allowed owners of limited liability companies to give millions in extra donations to state political candidates.”

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HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links for Thurs., June 14th

BUNDLING IN THE NEWS.  Roll Call.  “Romney’s success in outraising President Barack Obama last month was thanks in part to his exclusive team of Beltway lobbyist bundlers, who have collectively pulled in $1.2 million for his campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.”

EDWARDS CASE UPDATE.  The Hill.  “The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that it won’t pursue the remaining five felony charges against former presidential candidate John Edwards.”

SMALL SHOPS ON K ST.  Story here.  “The small lobby shop — staffed with just a few people, or even one person — has become a profitable niche in the influence industry for lobbyists who have traded the comfy confines of established firms for the chance to be their own boss.”

CONGRESSIONAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE IN THE NEWS.  Politico.  “The financial disclosures allow huge ranges in reporting the value of assets, require no reporting of spousal income above $1,000 and often provide an incomplete picture of lawmakers’ real estate assets.”

SPENDING ON CAMPAIGNS.  The Times.  “In recent days, Mr. Adelson, a billionaire casino owner, and his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, gave $10 million to Restore Our Future, a ‘super PAC’ backing Mitt Romney, people with knowledge of the contribution said Wednesday. The move leaves the Adelsons by far the most prolific campaign donors in the country.”

ANTI-ALEC GROUP SCRUTINY.  WFB.  “It is unclear which groups receive funding. Meetings are closed to the public, membership is invite-only, and organizations that receive Democracy Alliance donations are asked not to disclose the information.”

REOPENING CU?  Bloomberg.  “The justices may say as soon as next week whether they will review, or even overturn, a century-old Montana ban on corporate campaign spending, a law enacted to stop copper moguls from buying influence over the state’s politicians.”

ME SUPER PAC DEAL?  Story here.  “Maine’s U.S. Senate candidates apparently won’t follow the example being set in Massachusetts’ high-profile Senate race for diminishing the influence of third-party groups.”

LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ELECTION MONEY RACE.  Will.  “Bethesda Elementary is, however, diligently preparing its pupils for the world Montgomery County hopes is coming. It will be a world in which politics, cleansed of promises and criticism and too much talk, will be perfectly equal and ever so nice.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.