The Washington Post reports on how many incoming Republicans, despite running anti-Washington D.C. campaigns, are embracing the fundraising culture inside the beltway. And Roll Call has a story on "outsider" Sen.-elect Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and how he's already courting big bucks from the very "insiders" he ran against.   

From the Washington Post story:

The Huffington Post has a story today highlighting how newly elected lawmakers are quickly learning what's important in Congress--fundraising.   

For partisans and pundits, last night's election results weren't unexpected. The more troubling story, though, is the very real impact record-breaking fundraising and spending will have on the next Congress.

Our political system is more squarely in the hands of big donors and special interests than ever before. 

In a memo released last night, we provided some of the key trends from this cycle:

Yesterday, Public Campaign Action Fund released a report projecting that House candidates, collectively, will raise and spend more than one billion dollars this election cycle--a record breaking statistic. With so much time raising money, the report asks, how much time is left for candidates to actually spend time talking with voters.

We at Public Campaign Action Fund love a good concert as much as the next person, so we're not going to bash people for choosing to see Taylor Swift at the Verizon Center in DC tomorrow.

I was perusing the upcoming Congressional fundraisers over at PoliticalPartyTime.org and noticed that a few lobbyists and members of Congress will be in attendance--but for fundraisers. I have a feeling it's not the concert of choice for middle-aged members of Congress. Here's the list:

Politico spoke to a dozen freshman congressmen about the pressures of fundraising and found that nearly all lament the arduous process.

"They described days packed with research about potential donors, trips down the block to the boiler-room-style call centers operated by the campaign committees and hours of mind-numbing calls dialed from cramped cubicles.

 

The New York Times political blog, The Caucus, reports that big donors have wriiten a letter to Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif.) that says enough is enough - it's time to pass Fair Elections style campaign reform.

The Public Campaign Action Fund issued a press release today on Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) fundraiser hosted by mortgage and insurance industry PAC's and lobbyists. The special interest fundraiser comes after Grassley voted against a bill opposed by the hosts to allow bankruptcy judges to renegotiate mortgages. The Huffington Post posted a story on the release.

An article in the April issue of Reader's Digest asks "How can your congressman serve you when he's constantly hunting for campaign cash?" The piece, which highlights Public Campaign, goes on to lambast the money chase, offering Clean Elections as a solution.

Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), the Buckeye State’s senior senator, announced today that he would not be running for reelection in 2010. Check out this sentence from his statement:

I must devote my full time, energy and focus to the job I was elected to do, the job in front of me, which seeking a third term – with the money-raising and campaigning that it would require – would not allow me to do.