The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne has an op-ed today on fighting big money influence in our elections post-Citizens Uinted. He looks to the Fair Elections campaign that is underway in New York state that could bring public financing to state legislative races.

The big money Roberts Court has been consistent, you have to give them that. E.J. Dionne has piece today in the Washington Post that brilliantly breaks down the Roberts Court cow-towing to corporate interests and big money in our elections.

"Don't hate the players, hate the game." That old saying seems particularly appropriate for our current campaign finance system that seems to reward those who least deserve it. The Washington Post's Ezra Klein had a piece yesterday bemoaning how despite bringing our economy to the brink of collapse, being bailed out by the taxpayers, and getting protected in Congress, Wall Street continues to be the go-to spot for high-dollar campaign fundraising.

With the pending U.S. Surpreme Court ruling in McComish v.

One of the most important aspects of Fair Elections-style reform (sometimes referred to as "Clean Elections") is that it allows candidates to spend much more time with the voters in their community. Instead of spending countless hours dialing for dollars or attending high-priced fundraisers, candidates are able to better get to know the people the seek to serve, and when elected, legislate in their interest.

The Washington Post's Ezra Klein has a piece today asking the question: why aren't more conservatives for campaign finance reform? Using the ongoing protests in Wisconsin over public sector unions as a backdrop, Klein ponders why there seems to be so much outrage at the campaign contributions the public sector unions make to elected offficials who they negociate with vs. the much larger amounts spent by corporations, who do the same thing.

The Washington Post reports that an effort, led by Public Campaign Action Fund, to expose the huge problem of big corporate money in politics is going full steam ahead. Buoyed by the fights in Wisconsin and Ohio (and other parts of the country), the message that corporate interests are negatively impacting middle class America is taking hold, and could be a major issue in the coming 2012 elections.

The Washington Post reports that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed an ethics complaint against the two lawmakers who missed their swearing-in for the 112th Congress while attending a fundraiser, contending, among other things, that the two congressmen violated federal law and House rules by holding a fundraiser in the Capitol.

The Washington Post reports on how many incoming Republicans, despite running anti-Washington D.C. campaigns, are embracing the fundraising culture inside the beltway. And Roll Call has a story on "outsider" Sen.-elect Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and how he's already courting big bucks from the very "insiders" he ran against.   

From the Washington Post story:

The official launch of the Campaign for Fair Elections, a nationwide effort to pass the Fair Elections Now Act (S. 752, H.R. 1826) was picked up by the Washington Post, Huffington Post, and the Associated Press.