Haley Barbour Criticizes Campaign Finance Law

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Powerhouse Republican fundraiser Haley Barbour today described the current campaign finance laws as a “bad system.”

The former Mississippi governor who now raises money for the American Crossroads super PAC and in the 1990s built the Republican National Committee into a fundraising juggernaut conceded that the system could operate better, and he discussed potential improvements. One of Barbour’s solutions: outlaw campaign contributions from corporations and labor unions.

“The system ought to allow unlimited giving by any person and then let the labor unions and corporations not give,” he told reporters during a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “The two organizations that you are limited in giving money to are the campaign itself and the candidates’ party. Those ought to be the two organizations that we encourage you to give money to.”

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Obama Campaign to Go After ‘Contract-Killer’ Super PAC Ads

President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign strategist David Axelrod warned today that the president’s campaign would respond aggressively to the “Karl and Koch brothers’ contract killers in super PAC-land” and treat their ads as if they came from Mitt Romney himself.

Axelrod was referring to GOP strategist Karl Rove’s group American Crossroads and the billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David, who have bankrolled several conservative political action committees. Both are expected to play a large role in attacking Obama and other Democratic candidates this year.

On a conference call with reporters during which the campaign detailed a $25 million positive ad buy in swing states during the next month, Axelrod said Romney can’t sell his policy prescriptions, which the strategist ripped as backward-looking and as a doubling down on tax cuts for the wealthy.

“He’s basically reduced to running a negative campaign, just as he was in the primaries,” Axelrod said. “We have a different approach.”

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Obama Kicks Off Campaign With a Roar

(Brendan Smialowski / AFP/ Getty Images)

President Barack Obama today cast himself once again as the candidate of hope and change as he kicked off his re-election campaign by trying to recapture the magic of his run four years ago.

“You tell them, it’s still about hope. It’s still about change. …We can make a difference in the life of this country,” Obama exclaimed toward the end of an impassioned, 40-minute speech in Columbus, Ohio. Full story

Newt Gingrich Ends Presidential Campaign

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, share a moment before announcing the suspension of his presidential campaign in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

The winner of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary has gone on to win his party’s nomination in every election since 1980 — until now.

Just less than a year after entering the race, former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) ended his presidential campaign today, a week after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney claimed the mantle of the GOP’s presumptive nominee. Full story

Mitch Daniels: No One Should Rule Out VP Bid

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) said no one should ever turn down an offer for the vice presidential nomination, which is why he hopes no one ever asks him to join the national ticket.

“The one thing I don’t think you should say is, if asked to serve the country, ‘No’. I don’t think anybody should say that,” Daniels said in a wide-ranging interview with Roll Call.  “But other than that, [I] don’t want to, don’t intend to, hope not to,  don’t expect to, and I think there are better choices.”

Days after Mitt Romney became the GOP’s presumptive nominee for president, several of the most-mentioned vice presidential contenders told media outlets that they’re not interested in the gig — statements widely interpreted by insiders as political deflection. Daniels came close to shutting the door himself last weekend, telling “Fox News Sunday” that, if asked to be Romney’s running mate, he’d urge the White House hopeful to reconsider.

But on Wednesday afternoon, during an interview with Roll Call in his expansive office at the state Capitol, Daniels explained his own ambitions in more detail.

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Reports: Newt Gingrich Preparing to End Campaign

(Bill Clark/ CQ Roll Call)

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) is preparing to end his now-longshot bid for the presidency, according to multiple reports.

Senior campaign aides told Fox News that Gingrich will formally exit the race for the Republican nomination on Tuesday. Gingrich indicated he was on his way out while speaking with reporters in Cramerton, N.C., this morning, just hours after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney swept five primaries and was anointed the “presumptive nominee” by the Republican National Committee. Full story

Mitt Romney Accepts GOP Nomination

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Mitt Romney effectively accepted the Republican nomination for president this evening, as he cruised to victory in five primaries and padded his delegate lead over the two other GOP candidates left in the race.

During a speech delivered in Manchester, N.H., where the former Massachusetts governor launched his 2012 campaign nearly one year ago, Romney focused his fire on President Barack Obama with contrasting rhetoric clearly intended to introduce himself to a general election audience and set the tone for the November contest.

The address appeared to serve as an unveiling for a number of themes likely to re-emerge throughout the campaign against Obama, and Romney attempted to turn the president’s “fairness” message against him, arguing that the commander in chief’s dismal record has led to a condition of “unfairness” for millions of Americans.

Among the more memorable lines from Romney’s speech: “A better America begins tonight” and “It’s still about the economy, and we’re not stupid.”

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Obama Raises More Than $53 Million in March; Republicans Pounce

The Obama campaign announced today in a Web video that its collective March fundraising total was “over $53 million.”

The video featured various campaign supporters announcing their small donations to the campaign, followed by a message from campaign manager Jim Messina. The figures include fundraising from the Democratic National Committee.

Anti-Abortion Groups Rally Behind Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney will likely pick up two endorsements from national abortion-rights opponent groups today, two days after former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) ended his presidential bid.

The Susan B. Anthony List, which previously endorsed Santorum and had been campaigning for him, announced in a statement this morning that it is backing the former Massachusetts governor. National Right to Life is announcing its presidential endorsement at a press conference this morning at the National Press Club, and it is presumed the group will back Romney. Full story

Rick Santorum Suspends Presidential Campaign

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Updated | 2:35 p.m. Former Sen. Rick Santorum suspended his presidential campaign today at a press conference in Gettysburg, Pa.

“We made the decision to get in this race at our kitchen table, against all the odds,” Santorum said. “And we made a decision over the weekend that while this presidential race for us is over for me, and we will suspend our campaign effective today, we are not done fighting.”

The decision for Santorum comes one week after losing the Wisconsin primary and two weeks before the primary in his home state of Pennsylvania.

Santorum’s exit essentially clears the way for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to become the GOP nominee. Two other candidates are still technically in the race, former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) and Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), but they have won a total of two states. Romney had 661 delegates following his wins on April 3, according to the Associated Press.

“Miracle after miracle, this race was as improbable as any race that you will ever see for president,” Santorum said. “Against all odds, we won 11 states. Millions of voters, millions of votes. We won more counties than all the other people in this race combined.”

Maryland: Mitt Romney Snags Easy Win

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Updated 9:31  p.m. | Mitt Romney easily won the Maryland primary tonight, putting the finishing touches on his quest for the Republican presidential nomination.

Continuing his string of wins in moderate Northeastern states, the former Massachusetts governor did well enough in exit polls that the Associated Press called the race less than 15 minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m.

Updated 8:46 p.m.

Romney was projected to win a primary in Washington, D.C., by multiple news outlets before 9 p.m., when polls close in Wisconsin.

Updated 9: 31 p.m.

News networks also called Wisconsin for Romney around 9:30 p.m., essentially ending the Republican primary season.

In a defiant speech, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum vowed to stay in the race.

Biden Back to Iowa on Wednesday

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Vice President Joseph Biden will deliver remarks in Iowa on Wednesday for the second time this month.

Biden will speak at PCT Engineered Systems in Davenport about the administration’s efforts to improve the economy and the importance of manufacturing. It’s the third in a series of speeches Biden is delivering on the economy, which kicked off two weeks ago in Toledo, Ohio. Full story

Supreme Scenes: The Health Care Arguments (PHOTOS)

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

The Supreme Court kicked off the widely anticipated arguments over President Barack Obama’s health care law today. You can read Steven Dennis‘ roundup from the opening day arguments here.

Today’s proceedings were more procedural than anything, with both sides in agreement that the case should be heard now and not in three years’ time.

Justices on both the liberal and conservative wings of the court pressed attorneys for ways around an 1867 law that prohibits people from filing a lawsuit against tax provisions until after they have already paid the tax in question. Both sides of the lawsuit agree that an exemption should be granted, but for different reasons, although the court appointed an attorney to defend the notion — held by a lower court — that the case won’t be ripe until 2015.

Tuesday’s arguments over the constitutionality of the individual mandate are expected to be much more heated. Indeed, on this first day there was more drama outside the court than inside the chamber. Full story

Mitt Romney Does Hill Meet and Greet With Jim DeMint

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) met with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Capitol Hill this morning, an event described by sources as a courtesy call that occurred at the former Massachusetts governor’s request.

Following their one-on-one discussion, DeMint and Romney were joined by a small group of additional Members, sources said. DeMint’s office declined to discuss the meeting but made clear that no endorsement of Romney was forthcoming. DeMint endorsed Romney in 2008 but has declined to back a White House candidate this time around.

“Senator DeMint has made it very clear he’s not endorsing in the presidential primary, he’s simply been meeting with candidates out of courtesy. Senator DeMint is focused on electing principled conservatives to the Senate like Don Stenberg, Ted Cruz, Mark Neumann and Josh Mandel,” DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton said in an emailed statement, referring to GOP candidates the Senator has endorsed in Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin and Ohio, respectively.

Virginia: Obama’s Numbers Up; Senate Race Still Tied

There is no doubt that President Barack Obama's performance in Virginia will have some degree of effect on Tim Kaine's (left) Senate campaign, either positive or negative. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

With no end in sight for the GOP presidential nomination fight, President Barack Obama’s numbers are on the rise in the Old Dominion.

A Quinnipiac University poll released today found Obama’s support in Virginia reaching new heights, while the Senate race remains within the margin of error.

In a race with Mitt Romney, Obama hit 50 percent support and led the likely GOP nominee by 8 points, up from a 4-point margin last month. Likely Senate nominee Tim Kaine (D) has not received the same kind of boost against George Allen (R), as the battle of the former governors remains a statistical tie, where it’s been since Kaine entered the race last April. Full story