The National Campaign for Fair Elections has released non-partisan voter registration guides for all 50 states and DC. The guides, compiled by lawyers, have been made available to "help volunteers, organizers, and leaders navigate the complex rules that govern voter registration in each state".

The FEC unanimously approved McCain's decision to back out of public financing for the primaries.

Citizens Against Government Waste details the decades of pork inspired by Senator Ted Stevens following his indictment. CAGW attributes "a total of 1,452 pork-barrel projects worth $3.4 billion between 1995 and 2008" to Stevens.

The Sunlight Foundation has launched a site to help track the "Political Partying Circuit" at the 2008 conventions and through November. It's called Party Time. You can search for parties by Beneficiary, Host, Venue, Type of Entertainment, or other lawmakers mentioned. You can also forward party invitations you have received to help fill the database.

Every now and then in this business we're lucky enough to come across a politician who truly tells it the way he sees it. Former South Carolina Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings has been in politics long enough to have a pretty clear idea of how things work in Washington (he was first elected to the Senate in 1966), and in his recent July 25th appearance on Bill Moyers' "Journal" on PBS, the Senator spoke about the endless money chase that has come to define his chamber today.

In such a climate, Hollings continued, it's all but impossible to get real governing done. "I've talked to the senators; you ask them, they know they're not getting anything done... They're grown men and they're conscientious women... but they know that all they're doing is on a money treadmill. That's all it is."

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Last week, hundreds of Americans for Campaign Reform members contacted their Representatives and Senators to reinforce their support for publicly funded elections. It is critical that our elected officials understand that we, the American people, will not rest until we have regained control of our political system.

View full size. Word cloud created from messages sent to Congress by Americans for Campaign Reform supporters. Created by Wordle.net and shared under Creative Commons license.

During his major speech last week on energy policy, Al Gore talked about how big special interests like oil and gas -- the source of some $124 million in federal campaign contributions since 2000 -- were influencing our nation's energy policy:

"It's a very serious problem for our democracy. If we keep going back to the same policies that have never ever worked in the past and have served only to produce the highest gasoline prices in history alongside the greatest oil company profits in history, nobody should be surprised if we get the same result over and over again. [Members of] Congress...are being stampeded by lobbyists for special interests that know how to make the system work for them instead of the American people."

John Rauh appeared on the Democracy Now! radio network Monday, June 23rd to discuss the future of publicly funded campaigns following Senator Obama's decision to forgo the public system. John was joined by Massie Ritsch, Communications Director of the Center for Responsive Politics.

Listen here:

Click here to play

Political journalist Brad Cook attended Americans for Campaign Reform's Evening to Honor Senator Rudman and his coverage in New Hampshire Business Review perfectly encapsulated the spirit of the night:

The dinner pointed out several things....the affection for Rudman and the fact that his former staff members came from all over the country to honor him was testimony to his personality, effectiveness and legacy.

But the most important lesson of the evening was that bipartisanship, addressing problems in a cooperative way, is the only way government is going to be able to solve problems.

We were awed by the sheer number of supporters who took the time to sign a thank you card for Senator Rudman. We were also inspired by the personal messages of support for public funding that many of you included.

We created a mosaic of the 900+ signatures in the shape of the Just $6 logo and presented it to Senator Rudman at the event on May 13th.

If you signed the card and would like to find your name, click the link below. Then press the Control (CTRL) and 'F' keys simultaneously and type in your name.

Our movement needs the active participation and energy of our nation's younger generations if we are to succeed. The good news is that today's youth are keenly aware of the problem of money in politics. It is for this reason that Mobilize.org is holding a summit this July. They'll discuss solutions and empower members of the Millennial Generation to develop innovative clean elections practices, with an emphasis on public finance reforms.

They'll also award thousands of dollars in grants and help the winners launch their ideas. You can download the application packet at here (it's a PDF) or learn more here.

The photos are in from our Evening to Honor Warren Rudman (May 13th, 2008 in Bedford, New Hampshire). As you can see, we had a great turnout to thank the former Senator and current Americans for Campaign Reform Co-Chair.

Speakers honored Senator Rudman for his work in the Attorney General's Office, the US Senate, and most recently, for publicly funded elections. The evening featured former Senators Howard and Nancy Kassebaum Baker, former New Hampshire Governor Walter Peterson, and other notable figures.

A special thanks goes to Truda Bloom for photographing the event. Click on a photo for more information about it.

Populist author Jim Hightower recently visited the Citizen Times newspaper in Asheville, North Carolina, where he called upon his fellow citizens to demand publicly funded elections.

In his new book, "Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go With the Flow", Hightower challenges the average person to create the change we need:

"Don’t underestimate how much power plain ol' citizens actually have if they get organized behind a good idea,” Hightower writes in "Swim Against the Current."

"That's what happened in North Carolina in 2000, when a coalition of Tar Heel groups, assembled under the banner of North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections (NCVCE), determined to break the iron fist of money in state politics."

The positive results of the judicial campaign reform law Hightower cites include the election of four women, including the first African-American woman to be popularly elected to North Carolina's top court, and the first woman elected chief justice.