The New York Times/Editorial – Mr. Obama and the ‘Buffett Rule’ – President Obama accomplished two things when he made the case on Tuesday for the so-called Buffett Rule, which would require millionaires to pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes. He persuasively argued that it would be a step toward fairness in a tax code tilted in favor of the wealthiest Americans. Not incidentally, it allowed him to take an implicit shot at his virtually certain opponent, Mitt Romney, both personally and politically...[However], Mr. Obama must ensure that the Buffett Rule does not become a substitute for ending [the Bush-era] tax cuts. READ MORE
Washington Post – American Crossroads vs. President Obama – The biggest news of the 2012 presidential election on Tuesday wasn’t Rick Santorum dropping out of the Republican primary. It was American Crossroads, a conservative super PAC, launching television ads in six swing states hitting President Obama…The Crossroads ads, which began airing in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia and attack the incumbent for his handling of gas prices, are the first of what is expected to be an extended air assault on Obama by the conservative group. READ MORE
Cox Newspapers – Major corporations drop support of ‘stand your ground’ group - A conservative advocacy group that promotes ready-made bills for like-minded lawmakers around the country — a version of Florida's "stand your ground" law among them — has come under fire since the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford. At least four major corporations have dropped funding commitments to the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, which also promotes voter-registration laws that require photo identification. The Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said Tuesday it would not award another grant to ALEC once it pays the balance of a $376,000 education grant that it awarded to the conservative group last year. Gates Foundation spokesman Chris Williams told Reuters no single issue prompted the foundation's decision, but "the broader criticisms of ALEC have certainly contributed to our thinking about this." READ MORE
Rolling Stone – Why GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson is mad, bad and a danger to the republic – Time may be up for Newt Gingrich; but his biggest backer is not going away. Sheldon Adelson, the casino billionaire who with his wife donated $16.5 million dollars to a Newt-linked Super PAC – and later said he might be willing to up that to $100 million – has made it plain he’ll eagerly switch his allegiance to whichever Republican faces Barack Obama in the fall…And here's the thing: What does it suggest when a man under three federal investigations can plan on spending up to $100 million dollars to elect the man with authority over the agencies conducting those investigations? READ MORE
Politico – Foster Freiss, Santorum’s millionaire backer, swings to Romney – Foster Friess, the retired investor who spent nearly $1.7 million boosting Rick Santorum’s presidential run, is ready to help Mitt Romney. “I’m obviously going to be of help in whatever way I can,” Friess told POLITICO Tuesday afternoon, hours after Santorum suspended his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, cementing Romney’s status as the party’s presumptive nominee. READ MORE
National Journal – Aaron Schock and the FEC: A case study of the super PAC era – Here's yet another consequence of the confusing super PAC era: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., may have irritated members of his conference by donating to an anti-incumbent super PAC before the Illinois primary, but Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., could have violated campaign finance rules when he solicited Cantor's donation. Last week, Roll Call reported that Cantor donated $25,000 to the Campaign for Primary Accountability as a way of supporting freshman Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill, against fellow Republican Rep. Don Manzullo in a member-versus-member primary in the state's 16th District (The group ultimately spent over $220,000 against Manzullo). According to both Cantor's camp and Schock himself, Cantor cut the check at Schock's request. That's where Schock treads dangerously close to the line drawn by the FEC. READ MORE