We've touched on former presidential candidate and former Gov. Mitt Romney's (R-MA) now he does/now he doesn't support for public financing of elections, principally in the context of his work as Governor to abolish the voter-approved Clean Elections system in Massachusetts.  Here, Romney talks to PolitickerME before a speech at Maine Republican Convention, and comes out against public financing of elections, while saying he's not familiar with Maine's Clean Elections program.

Hey, Maine's District 1, stop hogging the Clean Elections supporters! Seriously though, we put out a statement today on the high level of support for the Voters First Pledge, and full public financing of campaigns, among congressional candidates in the district in the wake of a dust-up between two candidates -- both supportive of Clean Elections -- over campaign fundraising. Read more about what's going on here.

Two years ago as President of Common Cause Chellie Pingree was asking candidates to sign the Voters First Pledge and commit to supporting full public financing of congressional campaigns. Now, as a candidate for Congress from Maine, where Clean Elections was passed in 1996, Pingree is signing on to Public Campaign Action Fund's 2008 Voters First Pledge. We look forward to seeing many more candidates take this pledge.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has agreed to hear arguments on the so-called "millionaire's amendment" to the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCRA, aka McCain-Feingold). The millionaire's amendment exempts candidates facing wealthy self-financing opponents from certain federal campaign contribution limits established in BCRA. This article in The Hill notes that the ruling could impact the Clean Elections laws in Arizona and Maine.

Frances More Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet and Democracy’s Edge has put together a mini-documentary in two parts on money in politics and Clean Elections, which features an extensive interview with Deborah Simpson, a Maine state legislator, community activist, single mom, and former waitress who ran using Clean Elections.  Part one  is available here, part two is coming later  this month.  Check it out!

You may be familiar with the work of Jim Hightower, a writer, commentator and co-editor of The Hightower Lowdown. Hightower is a longtime proponent of Clean Elections, and in this article featured on AlterNet he paints a vivid contrast between the pay-to-play political culture of Washington, DC and the voter-driven politics of empowerment working in cities and states with Clean Elections.