Wonkette

So the FEC investigated Arlen Specter and it turns out he broke every single campaign finance rule. When he ran for re-election in 2004, Specter took a million dollars from people who had already maxed out, failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars from PACs, and missed a reporting deadline before the primary. In his defense though, the rules are complicated and it’s not like the five-term senator has ever run for anything before. MORE »

The Federal Election Commission approved $19 million in matching funds for seven candidates today. Among notables, John Edwards received $8.8 million, and WALNUTS! got what we assume to be an extremely valuable $5.8 million. Huzzah. Most interesting, however, is that Dodd and Biden each received around $1 million, while Tom Tancredo — who is dropping out of the race today (presser at 3 p.m. ET!) — got $2.1 million. So a big wtf there, unless the FEC is playing a prank by giving him 2.1 million pesos instead. [Politico]

Much as it hurts to say this, Stephen Colbert could learn something about campaign law from Fred Thompson. When Thompson began fucking around with a presidential bid earlier in the year, he left Law and Order lest his nuanced method acting be construed as free advertising (or as gay, like teh ghey Hollywood Democrats!) Colbert, who announced his candidacy as both a Democrat and Republican for the South Carolina primaries on the Colbert Report Tuesday night, faces an even riskier situation if he actually runs, since he would be actively campaigning (yeah yeah in the jokey persona, but still) on teevee. Bureaucracy of bureacracies the Federal Election Commission (FEC) thinks this is some huge problem, some violation of their pwecious wittle laws. You know, the same perfect laws that allow Fred Thompson to run for President of the United States of America. MORE »

Katherine Harris has a very, very specific Starbucks order: “Triple Venti, no fat, no foam, extra hot, with pink sugar.” It is her fuel, it is what keeps her going. If she doesn’t get it, she gets angry. Which might be how her cash-strapped campaign ended up spending almost a thousand dollars at Starbucks this fall alone.

The FEC data is here, but a brilliant (and seemingly unemployed) Wonkette Operative crunched the numbers for us:

Total Starbucks runs, July-September: 133
Total cost to the campaign: $948.05

After the jump, the full list of Starbucks trips in that period, with cost and dates of disbursement.

Illustration: Princess Sparkle Pony

MORE »

An email sent out from the Katherine Harris campaign to a large number of volunteers: MORE »

• The Senate renewed key provisions of the Voting Rights Act 98 to 0, yesterday. President Bush is expected to sign it. [WP]

• President Bush spoke before the NAACP, receiving applause for his commitment to the VRA, and boos and heckling over the Iraq war. [WP]
• The FEC announced that former political powerhouse Americans for a Republican Majority, Tom DeLay’s PAC, will “pay $115,000 in fines for violations of federal campaign rules” and shut down permanently. [NYT]
• “While making it plain it wants civilian casualties limited, the administration is also content to see the Israelis inflict the maximum damage possible on Hezbollah.” [WP]
• Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt “claimed millions of dollars in tax deductions through a type of charitable foundation they created that until recently paid out very little in actual charity,” kept or invested the money themselves. [WP]

• FEC decides to permit 527s to continue as is, meaning “even larger sums to be spent influencing races this year and in 2008.” [WP, NYT]
• Bush essentially had no choice but to join talks on Iran. [NYT, WP, W$J]
• Bush says he’s “troubled” by news of civilian killings in Haditha, Iraq: “If, in fact, the laws were broken, there will be punishment.” [NYT]
• Homeland Security Department cuts funding for Washington and New York while boosting support for mid-size cities. [WP, NYT]
• Sen. Hillary Clinton launches Senate campaign with broad swipes at the administration: “I believe that we need a fundamentally new direction. . . We are better than what is happening in America today.” [NYT]

MORE »

• Andrew Card resigns as White House chief of staff; budget director Joshua Bolten is be tapped as replacement. [WP, AP, W$J]
• Senate Judiciary Committee approves two guest worker programs and the legalization of millions of immigrants. [WP, WP, W$J, USAT, LAT]
• Both parties face political tightrope over immigration. Bush: “Newcomers have a special way of appreciating the opportunities of America, and when they seize those opportunities, our whole nation benefits.” [WP, LAT]
• Bush has recently held off-the-record meetings with top reporters; New York Times declines to participate. [NYT]
• FEC restricts political contributions and spending on the internet but puts bloggers in the same category of newspapers. [WP]

MORE »