The laws that govern money in politics in New York State are at least 30 years out of date. The Brennan Center is urging the Governor Elect to finally change the way business is done in Albany by prioritizing ethics and campaign finance reforms.

So what’s it like to be a campaign finance reformer during the first election after Citizens United? Here’s a typical day.

The confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan provided a miniature seminar on constitutional law. Kagan was asked over 500 questions and she discussed topics as diverse as gun rights to partial birth abortion. But front and center has been the January 2010 Supreme court case, Citizens United v. FEC. This was the case that granted corporations the same right to spend money on elections as a living, breathing human being. . . .

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued an order that can only be described as irresponsible. About two months from the primary election and five months from the general, the Court blocked the state of Arizona from providing its publicly-funded candidates with so-called trigger funds – additional public grants triggered by the high spending of nonparticipating opponents or hostile third parties.