Campaign Finance

• Race against SOPA doesn’t end with cash: Candidates challenging House incumbents who strongly supported SOPA aren’t finding it easy to raise funds from the internet activists who helped kill the bill. (Politico)
• Contractors can’t contribute: A Federal District Court issued a ruling that will allow the FEC to continue preventing individuals with federal contracts from contributing to federal candidates or political parties while a case challenging that rule’s constitutionality works its way through the legal process. (Lobby Comply)

Lobbying

• Lobbyists eye donation limits: Recent analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows that an elite network of lobbyists are on track to hit the $117,000 limit for individual giving to federal candidates, PACs, and party committees this election cycle. (Roll Call $)
• Preparing for the lame duck apocalypse: Federal lobbyists are already preparing themselves for the post election lame duck session that they are expecting to be the busiest period of the year. Many important issues will likely be ignored during election season and have to be dealt with before the end of the year. (The Hill)

• Taking stock of open data: More than 50 countries have endorsed the Open Government Declaration and joined the OGP. To coincide with this week’s OGP meeting in Brazil the Open Knowledge Foundation is launching an Open Data Census to monitor the status of open data worldwide. (Open Knowledge Foundation)
• Provide the data and they will come: African open-source project Ushahidi shared some insights that they plan to present to the OGP conference in Brasilia. Notably, they stress that providing open data portals will allow citizens to become literate in the use of government information. (Ushahidi)
• 21st century diplomacy: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will issue policy guides to all US embassies to help them modernize diplomacy through technology. Many embassies have already embraced social media and other tools. (Federal Computer Week)

• Shadow Elite: How the World’s New Power Brokers Undermine Democracy, Government, and the Free Market.GMU Public Policy. 12:00-1:00 pm. 3301 Fairfax Drive, ARlington, VA 22201.
• Congressional Forum on Campaign Finance. House Administration Democrats. 1:30-3:30 pm. 1310 Longworth House Office Building.