But if Mr. Bush doesn’t fade quickly, a head-on-challenge from another candidate roughly in the center of the party would be very hard to pull off. It would require an exceptional candidate, one with enough natural appeal among voters to compensate for a disadvantage in the invisible primary, or enough strength in the invisible primary to fight Mr. Bush.
Zephyr Teachout on Sheldon Silver, Corruption and New York Politics
The structure of private campaign finance has essentially pre-corrupted our politicians, so that they can’t even recognize explicit bribery because it feels the same as what they do every day. When you spend a lifetime serving campaign donors, it may seem easy to serve them when they come with an outright bribe, because it doesn’t seem that different.
In New Congress, Wall St. Pushes to Undermine Dodd-Frank Reform
Put it up for stand-alone vote, get some Democrats on it, and then when you push it onto a must-pass bill, say it’s a bipartisan bill that’s already passed,” said Marcus Stanley, policy director of Americans for Financial Reform, which favors tighter regulation of Wall Street. “The strategy on Dodd-Frank is death by a thousand cuts.”
.. The current efforts to undermine Dodd-Frank have been textbook lobbying. In the first three quarters of last year, the securities and investment industry spent nearly $74 million on lobbying — on 704 registered lobbyists — according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That was on track to easily beat out the $99 million spent in 2013.
.. As of Nov. 16, Wall Street banks and other financial interests had spent $1.2 billion on campaign contributions and lobbying combined, a total that was on track to beat spending in 2010, when Dodd-Frank was being considered in Congress, according to Americans for Financial Reform.
.. For all its sway in Washington, Wall Street is also widely reviled. So, one of the secrets to its success is wrapping itself around a friendlier cause. Lobbyists have contended that measures long sought by the biggest banks and investment houses are actually for community banks, small businesses, farmers and ranchers.
Are Our Courts for Sale?
This ad in North Carolina, however, which aired during the primary season, was a startling departure. First, the money came from an organization called Justice for All NC — which, in turn, was funded primarily by the Republican State Leadership Committee. That is to say, it was the kind of post-Citizens United money that has flooded the political system and polluted our politics.
And then there was its substance. “We want judges to protect us,” the ad began. The voice-over went on to say that when child molesters sued to stop electronic monitoring, Judge Hudson had “sided with the predators.” It was a classic attack ad.
Not surprisingly, the truth was a bit different. In 2010, the State Supreme Court was asked to rule on whether an electronic-monitoring law could apply to those who had been convicted before it passed. Hudson, in a dissent, wrote that the law could not be applied retroactively.
.. “With a relatively small investment, interest groups have opportunities to shape state courts,”