McComish/Campaign Finance/Etc Topsy-turvey rulings The Courier-Journal does not agree with the McComish ruling. "Preposterously, the majority (which at least did not strike down the constitutionality of public financing) argued that the law suppressed free speech, because privately financed candidates might restrict their campaigning in order to avoid allowing opponents to qualify for the extra money. Say what?"
The Washington Post editorial "But the court turned the First Amendment on its head in rejecting the rest of the Arizona system. The law did not squelch speech; it encouraged it..."
LOL George Will: "The Arizona law's fate actually was sealed in 1791, when the First Amendment was ratified"
"The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from the Green Party of Connecticut challenging state requirements for third party candidates to qualify for public campaign funds."
An editorial from Arizona: " The decision, however, seems to turn the First Amendment on its head, arguing that more money for publicly financed candidates would chill the speech of the candidates with private funding when the evidence in Arizona and other states shows that more public money increases campaign-related speech all around."
"To the court, it was less about protecting the little guy's right to be heard than preserving the big guy's ability to dominate the conversation."
"In a rebuke to the influential conservative lawyer and Republican National Committeeman, lawyers for the Federal Election Commission have deemed [James Bopp's] plans for a game-changing new breed of super PAC illegal."
Congress/2012 "The pro-Democrat super-PAC founded by two former White House aides will start airing response ads to the $20 million Crossroads GPS spots that launched this week, in a string of states that includes Iowa and Florida, sources told POLITICO."
The Obama campaign is facing some criticism for a new web video for the campaign that was shot in the White House. "Mary Boyle, the vice president for communications at the good-government group Common Cause, contends that the Web video ISN'T analogous to raising money from the Lincoln Bedroom. 'It's encouraging small-dollar contributions, something we think is important." And, later: ""It all goes back to our broken campaign system."
The House Ethics Committee is staffing up, hiring six new counsels and 4 internally appointed additional counsels.
Lawmakers are calling on several federal agencies to investigate whether the natural gas industry has provided an accurate picture to investments on the profitability of fracking.
CREW has called for an investigation into whether Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) forced her congressional staff to contribute and work on her campaign.
Other
News from Maine: Andrew Bossie, the executive director of the Maine AIDS Alliance, will be leaving to become the Maine Citizens for Clean Elections' first executive director.
Speech and gay marriage The Wall Street Journal says, "Hey hippies, why aren't you going after Wall Street donors in New York for backing the marriage equality push?"
Our friend at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign writes, that Wisconsin lawmakers " have no problem letting the wealthiest interests buy all the politicians and take ownership of our government. But even they understand that disaster awaits them if these transactions are on public display. So they are conspiring to keep them secret."