Koch Brothers, GOP Mega Donors, Help Bankroll Religious Conservative's 2012 Efforts
Huffington Post
A conservative group led by longtime political activist Ralph Reed has budgeted $10 million for a major 2012 election push to turn out the religious right and block a second term for President Barack Obama, a top executive with his organization told the Huffington Post.

The Faith and Freedom Coalition's effort, which will include voter registration drives at NASCAR races in Florida, Virginia and other key swing states, is part of a much broader attempt to reactivate millions of socially conservative voters to not only defeat Obama but help some favorite conservative congressional candidates. READ MORE

Not Always Clear Who's Funding Politics-Related Ads
NPR
Prominent Jewish Republicans flew to Israel last weekend to join presidential candidate Mitt Romney on his overseas trip. Among them were casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam.

The Adelsons were in the audience Sunday when Romney gave a policy speech in Jerusaleum. And at a fundraising breakfast Monday, Sheldon Adelson sat by Romney's side.

But here's the odd thing: Adelson hadn't actually given a penny to Romney's campaign as of June 30, the last Federal Election Commission reporting deadline. The legal maximum he could donate to the campaign itself would be $5,000 — and that doesn't get you a seat next to the candidate. READ MORE

What Romney's Big Money Means
Buzzfeed Politics
The 2008 election marked the perfection of small-dollar politics, as Barack Obama fueled roughly half of his campaign with the email-driven, impulse-based solicitation that had been pioneered by Howard Dean four years earlier and technically perfected by smaller campaigns and advocacy groups.

This year, technical proficiency — technical improvements, aggressive testing, a huge list, and a willingness to burn through the list by November — may allow Obama to match that small dollar figure, even if fear has to replace hope as the dominant emotion. (Obama depended heavily on big money as well, of course; and Romney has raised some small contributions. READ MORE

Campaigns drown supporters with fundraising e-mails in the race for cash
The Washington Post
Eager to gain advantage in a tight and expensive election year, political campaigns are drowning their most ardent supporters in a deluge of messages begging for cash. The pleas from Obama, Republican challenger Mitt Romney and a host of other political figures are at turns cajoling, intimate and sometimes downright panicked — all aimed at squeezing another $3 or $300 out of loyal donors.

“Nightmare,” read the subject line to one missive sent last weekend by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, warning that Obama could lose. “If we don’t fight back, it’ll be over long before November.” READ MORE

What Romney's big money means
Buzzfeed
The 2008 election marked the perfection of small-dollar politics, as Barack Obama fueled roughly half of his campaign with the email-driven, impulse-based solicitation that had been pioneered by Howard Dean four years earlier and technically perfected by smaller campaigns and advocacy groups...

But this is the year of the big money. It's coming in the side doors, with SuperPACs bigger and better 527s and wealthy conservatives eager to spend against a Democratic incumbent. And it's coming to Mitt Romney through the front door: His campaign says he raised an eye-popping $101.3 million in July, the second nine-figure take in two months.

That money chase shapes campaigns more than their managers like to say, and more than media coverage often reflects. READ MORE

Conventions Lose Appeal for D.C. Lobbyists
Roll Call
Washington, D.C., lobbyists are not exactly jazzed about heading south for the major party conventions.

The sluggish economy, new restrictions on contributions and anti-corporate sentiment has zapped the fun out of the Republican and Democratic national conventions for political players. READ MORE

Adelson vs. Romney
Daily Beast
Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, a major contributor to Mitt Romney’s election effort, is pressing the Republican nominee to come out for the release of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, a major Republican donor and associates of Adelson and Romney tell The Daily Beast. READ MORE

The 1992 act was meant to level the financial playing field in political campaigns.

Under the law, known as the CFLA, candidates for state offices had varying spending limits for primary and general elections. Candidates who agree to abide by the voluntary limits can qualify for public funds if their opponents exceed the cap. READ MORE

NY campaign money laws: A 'license' to spend
Gannett
Flowers, cigars, fancy dinners and legal fees were all put on New York lawmakers’ campaign bills during the last year, according to disclosure reports filed this year.

Sen. Thomas W. Libous, R-Binghamton, spent more than $12,000 at restaurants, not including money for fundraisers, mostly in his hometown or in Albany — even though lawmakers get $165 a day for expenses when they are in the state capital.

Libous also spent $30,000 on lawyers, $2,900 on steak sauce, $1,400 on flowers, $1,300 on candy and $650 on cigars.

And he’s not the only one who likes to dine out, according to a review of the disclosure reports by Gannett’s Albany Bureau. READ MORE

Outside Cash in Missouri Race Could Be a National Model
The New York Times
Missouri’s long, divisive Republican Senate primary draws to a close Tuesday, but after all the intraparty fireworks, it is the incumbent Democrat, Senator Claire McCaskill, who remains in deep trouble.

As the three Republican candidates have battled it out, Ms. McCaskill has had to buckle down as well. Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, David and Charles Koch’s Americans For Prosperity, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the 60 Plus Association have dumped as much as $15 million into the state since July 2011 to keep her on her heels. READ MORE

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