Top Political News: June 4, 2012

With many conservatives already suspecting that he is a conservative of convenience, Mitt Romney apparently hasn't done himself any favors in their eyes with the man he chose to lead his presidential transition.
But some of Leavitt's experience has been of the wrong kind, according to some conservatives. Since leaving public service, Leavitt has worked as a consultant who as advocated for the health care insurance exchanges central to the Affordable Care Act, known by detractors and supporters alike as ObamaCare.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/06/04/154293359/romney-rekindles-conservative-doubts-with-white-house-transition-pick?ft=1&f=1014

Even those who would seek to level the playing field by allowing candidates and parties to raise more money directly believe that the genie may already be out of the bottle. Many rich donors have come to like superPACs, which allow them to control their own messages.
"I do think the current system will get worse until we have significant reforms," says Nick Nyhart, president of the Public Campaign Action Fund, which favors fundraising limits.
"As bad as things are in 2012, they will continue to get worse in 2014 and 2016 unless we have some change," Nyhart says. "The current system cannot hold.

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/29/153914560/big-money-and-the-ballot-box?ft=1&f=1014

Think "grass-roots politics," and what's the first thing that comes to mind?
How about two dozen multimillionaires with open checkbooks?
That's what an NPR analysis of annual IRS filings by Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies shows. Despite its name and the repeated use of the word "grassroots" in those documents, nearly 90 percent of the $77 million raised by the Karl Rove-founded group in its first 18 months came from donors who gave at least $1 million.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/06/01/154168293/npr-analysis-crossroads-gps-funded-heavily-by-1-million-plus-donations?ft=1&f=1014