The Obama campaign will signal to donors that they endorse funding of SuperPACs, which some see as a backslide on campaign finance principles but which senior campaign officials characterized as “a reflection of the law as it currently stands.” The campaign will support Priorities USA, a PAC designed to support the President’s re-election campaign. Cabinet [...]

What we’ve learned so far in the short primary season is that political advertising still has a major impact. Newt Gingrich was obliterated in Iowa and Florida by a negative ad attack, and that also played a role in Mitt Romney losing his grip on South Carolina. While polling indicates that the President has benefited [...]

An interesting new study from political scientists Keith Poole and Christopher Hare at the University of Georgia finds that Barack Obama is the most conservative Democratic President of the modern era. Using a modified version of DW-NOMINATE scores, the duo find that Democratic Presidents have gotten moderately more conservative over the past several decades, while [...]

There’s actually a little more confusion than initially reported about Susan G. Komen’s actual commitment to restoring Planned Parenthood funds. They certainly wanted everyone to think that they were changing their policy. Upon closer inspection of their statement, however, they may be trying to take credit for a change in policy without actually doing so. [...]

The fallout from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity’s decision to eliminate funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings continues. Jeffrey Goldberg gets some inside knowledge. Komen’s public rationale for cutting off the funding claims to take the pressure off their own decision-making. They adopted a rule, they said, stating that any [...]

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure denied funding for breast cancer screenings to Planned Parenthood today, in an anti-abortion frenzy designed to hurt the women’s health provider. The effect was a glancing blow. In the past 24 hours, 6,000 donors have delivered $400,000 to Planned Parenthood, almost half of the annual donation from Susan [...]

I cannot think of $1 million better well spent on American political activities than donations to the Colbert SuperPAC. Seriously. TV political satirist Stephen Colbert kicked off the reporting by filing a statement showing $1 million in contributions to his group, Americans for A Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow. You can see his announcement and filing here. [...]

It appears that Mitt Romney will win the Florida primary going away, as polls show a double-digit lead or more. Newt Gingrich has downplayed the loss already and vows to take the fight to Super Tuesday and all the way to the convention if necessary. Gingrich’s problem is that there aren’t 10 Sheldon Adelsons willing [...]

Could Brad Miller, who just yesterday announced his retirement from Congress, be urged to turn around and run in the Governor’s race in North Carolina? It could happen. Hours after Miller made his announcement yesterday, Bev Perdue, the embattled governor of the state, announced that she would not seek re-election. Polling showed that Perdue would [...]

Antonin Scalia thinks that everyone should be blamed but him for the hash that the Citizens United decision, among other things, has made of the campaign finance system. Super PACs have raised more than $30 million just three races into the 2012 presidential race, according to the website opensecrets.org, run by The Center for Responsive [...]

Today is the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. If you think it’s going well, ask your local Presidential candidate how he likes those SuperPAC ads. Several actions are taking place today. The “Occupy the Courts” movement will hold rallies in front of major courthouses, including the US Supreme Court (in New [...]