Third-party organizations such as PACs, under FEC rules, are not allowed to coordinate or work directly with candidate campaigns except under very limited circumstances. But recently the Nebraska Democratic Party and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pushed that envelope by developing television and radio political advertisements that featured U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat who is expected to appear on the 2012 ballot. (Nelson has not yet officially launched his 2012 bid and has said he will make his decision next month.)

State Democrats, the DSCC and the Nelson campaign maintain that the ads are not campaign ads because no one is asked directly to support Nelson’s election. Instead, they say, these are issue ads, or ads that are intended to educate voters on specific issues and/or policy debates. It’s estimated that roughly $1 million has been spent on the ad campaign thus far; and, according to Nelson’s campaign, similar ads were run in 2006 at a tune of roughly $1.5 million.

In response, Nebraska Republicans filed a complaint with the FEC, charging that the ads are veiled campaign messages intended for Nelson’s reelection and, therefore, far exceed the $240,000 cap on such coordinated pushes. And American Crossroads, a conservative group founded by Karl Rove, has asked the FEC for an advisory opinion to determine if it can “adopt the tactics” and use federal candidates in its ads. If the FEC rules that such advertisements are indeed issue-based, state parties will no longer be subject to a cap on how much they can spent to help the election hopes of a candidate and third-party groups will have a whole new political buffet at the ready.

On his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, Colbert provided his typical take on the controversy before bringing in his attorney and former FEC head Trever Potter to discuss if the Colbert Super PAC could get in on the action.

“These Ben Nelson issue ads and the kinds of ads that Karl wants to run, they’re not campaign ads, right?” asked Colbert. “They’re just issue ads that happen to have the candidate in them who is campaigning for office. Just because someone is in my ad doesn’t mean that we are coordinating with their campaign — anymore than just because [or] if my penis was in someone’s vagina doesn’t mean we are having sex.”

Ultimately, Colbert signs a letter to the FEC asking the body to approve the American Crossroads’ request. In addition to the letter, which was not read on air, Colbert developed a sample ad, embedded below and featuring former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, to show the FEC members how approving the request would play out in advertisements.

It isn’t the first time Roemer has appeared on The Colbert Report, nor is is the first time the Democrat-turned-Republican has taken on special interest money in politics. His campaign has has a self-imposed ban on special interest money, and will only accept individual contributions of $100 or less.

Both governors cited a need to better protect citizens’ homes, businesses and farms through flood control as their key reasons for leaving the regional interstate organization (PDF), which is comprised of 28 tribes and eight states to “facilitate management of the natural resources of the Missouri River Basin including water resources, fish and wildlife and consideration of the impacts to the economic, historical, cultural and social resources among the basin states, tribes and the federal government.”

In a letter dated Nov. 3 Branstad wrote that he no longer “believe[s] that MoRAST is the best avenue to purse Iowa’s interest and priorities.”

The governors of the Missouri River have formed a Missouri River Working Group which has met twice to discuss the importance of elevating the focus on flood control in the management of the Missouri River. These meetings have provided an opportunity to directly interact with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, other states and relevant federal partners to pursue solutions to the flooding challenges facing our respective states. … I am encouraged by these high-level discussions and remain committed to actively participating in these important discussions about Missouri River management and the recovery work ahead. …

At the recent MoRAST meeting in Rapids City, S.D., MoRAST was not responsive to the perspectives of some states, including Iowa. While seven of the eight Missouri River governors have called for a heightened focus on flood control, MoRAST did not actively pursue this goal at the recent meeting. Moreover, there have been long-standing concerns that MoRAST’s by-laws are too narrowly constrained to adequately represent the diversity of key stakeholders and multiple uses of the river. …

Branstad concluded by writing that “impacted Iowans deserve a fresh approach to Missouri River management.”

Likewise, Heineman indicated that his state’s best interests were better served “by alternate forms of discussion and engagement,” like those happening as a part of the newly formed Missouri River Working Group.

A prominent attorney advising Nebraska state senators said Tuesday that legislators can craft a law that influences routing of crude-oil pipelines without risking an expensive legal defeat.

The legal analysis, from Alan Peterson, a Lincoln attorney with experience in environmental regulatory issues, is sure to provide ammunition for senators seeking legislation to reroute the controversial Keystone XL pipeline around Nebraska’s ecologically sensitive Sand Hills…

“The fear of litigation should not lead us to inaction,” said State Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton, who is taking advice from Peterson in drafting a bill.

Nebraska legislators are worried that a spill from the pipeline would do great damage not only to the Sand Hills but to the Ogalala aquifer as well, which supplies nearly all of the freshwater for the state.

Republican Gov. Dave Heineman’s decision means Nebraska, where the $7 billion Keystone XL Pipeline project has faced some of its greatest resistance, doesn’t want to just leave the matter to the federal government. The State Department, which has authority over the pipeline because it would cross the U.S. border, is expected to decide whether to approve a permit for the project by year’s end.

Pipeline opponents, including a coalition of environmentalists, ranchers and landowners, sought the special session to consider a proposal that would have given the state control over the pipe’s route. Lawmakers, however, said last week that the measure wouldn’t likely survive a court challenge.

Heineman says he supports the building of the pipeline, but wants the route changed so it doesn’t threaten the fragile ecosystems of his state.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that Mitt Romney will be in attendance Thursday at a reception hosted by Nebraska. Gov. Dave Heineman, former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub and First National Bank of Omaha Chairman Bruce Lauritzen. Tickets are $1,000 for the event and, for an extra $1,500, attendees can have their picture snapped with Romney.

The Omaha reception is a private affair; however, the pre-event in Council Bluffs, which has not yet been formally announced, is anticipated to be open to the public. In addition, those close to the campaign indicate that additional Iowa stops are being considered.

Sheila Murphy — currently the chairwoman of the Republican Party of Harrison County — and brother Kip Murphy — who formerly worked for “Americans for Rick Perry” — will advise Santorum on state field operations, particularly in southwest Iowa.

The brother and sister consulting team previously worked for the Nebraska Republican Party. Kip served as statewide field director for the NRP, and Sheila as statewide field director for “Victory 2000″ for the NRP. Kip also worked as field director for the campaign of U.S. Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb.

“Sheila and Kip are among the hardest working activists in western Iowa,” said the former Pennsylvania senator. “They have proven to be super-organizers and well respected conservatives in a critical part of the First-in-the-Nation caucus state. I am looking forward to working with both Sheila and Kip as we move to victory in the Iowa caucuses.”

Roberts came in third place in the 2010 Republican primary, garnering about 8.6 percent of the vote. He now serves as head of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.

Findley finished second to incumbent Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, garnering 42.8 percent of the vote. She now serves as legal counsel to Gov. Terry Branstad.

Santorum came in fourth in the Ames Straw Poll, with 9.8 percent of the vote. He has averaged 2.6 percent support in national polls, according to Real Clear Politics.

According to the National Partnership for Women and Children:

The findings could shed light on a point of contention in the abortion-rights debate and potentially affect clinical care for preterm infants.

Researchers used electroencephalography to compare preterm infants’ brain activity in response to a touch and a heel prick. Infants born at 28 to 35 weeks of development showed comparable brain activity for the touch and heel prick, but infants born at more than 35 weeks of gestation exhibited a greater response to the heel prick than the touch.

During its most recent legislative session, Florida was among a handful of states that considered one of these medically disputed “fetal pain” bills. Even though Florida eventually did not enact House Bill 321, Idaho, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas and Indiana all passed bills this year that make such restrictions.

Harvard researchers also released a study this past May that shows found “fetal pain” bills were “neither scientifically nor constitutionally sound.”

Jennie Linn McCormack, a mother of three from Pocatello, Idaho, was initially arrested and prosecuted in December 2010 for inducing her own abortion, when she was between 20 and 21 weeks of gestation, with the abortion pill RU 486, which she bought on the Internet, reports Reuters. She was charged under a 1972 state law that classifies ending one’s own pregnancy as a felony, before a judge threw out her case for lack of evidence. Now McCormack is suing the attorney that prosecuted her, Mark Hiedeman.

Idaho’s new late-term abortion law — signed and enacted immediately by Republican Gov. Butch Otter in April — makes it a felony to perform an abortion after 20 weeks, except in a situation where the mother’s life is in danger. Though this law was not in effect when McCormack took the abortion drugs, her suit includes both the 20-week abortion ban and the 1972 law; in the suit she claims she induced her own abortion because of the general lack of access to abortions for women in her state. According to the Associated Press, McCormack was single and unemployed when police arrested her after discovering the dead fetus in a box at her home.

McCormack’s case -– depending on how far up the court system it goes –- could impact the five other states that have banned abortion after 20 weeks, beginning with Nebraska in 2010, followed by Kansas, Indiana, Oklahoma and Alabama.

“Maintaining and protecting Nebraska’s water supply is very important to me and the residents of Nebraska,” Heineman said in the letter. “This resources is the lifeblood of Nebraska’s agriculture industry.”

Heineman’s letter lends a high-profile Republican voice to ongoing efforts by environmentalists, ranchers, public lands groups and many Democrats to scuttle the project, which would carry Canadian oil sands from Alberta to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

The Nov. 2 gala, to be held at the Newseum in Washington D.C., is intended to celebrate AUL’s 40th anniversary in the presence of about 80 federal lawmakers.

Co-chairing the event with Perry are U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.); the keynote speaker has yet to be confirmed.

AUL has listed as “honorary hosts” 16 U.S. senators — all Republicans — including Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), John McCain (Ariz.), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.). Among the 63 U.S. House representatives listed as “honorary hosts” are 2012 GOP presidential contenders Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.). Other attending GOP representatives influential in the anti-abortion rights movement include Reps. Trent Franks (Ariz.), Mike Pence (Ind.), Joe Pitts (Pa.), Paul Ryan (Wis.), Cliff Stearns (Fla.) and Allen West (Fla.).

Reps. Renee Ellmers (N.C.), Bill Huizenga (Mich.), Randy Hultgren (Ill.) and Chris Smith (N.J.) all participated in last month’s press conference about the report AUL drafted to encourage Congress to investigate — and then defund — Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

AUL’s gala is a pricey affair: The organization is asking supporters to become sponsors — for $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 in order to offset the costs of the event.

In a recent lengthy profile on Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, the Christian Science Monitor describes how Yoest — who is not a physician, attorney nor lawmaker, though she has a doctorate of philosophy in government — has become “Public Enemy No. 1″ for abortion-rights advocates. In November, the group will celebrate its influence on select laws, such as defending the Hyde Amendment before the U.S. Supreme Court and establishing the “intellectual groundwork” for the fetal homicide legislation that has passed in 38 states.

Despite four decades of lobbying and drafting model legislation to enact abortion restrictions throughout the country, much of the national recognition AUL has earned has come in 2011. Yoest’s group has taken credit for 22 of 86 anti-abortion laws enacted this year, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

In February, Mother Jones blamed AUL for controversial laws cropping up in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota that, if interpreted in a certain way, would have allegedly legalized the killing of abortion providers. AUL denied the accusation, claiming that however lawmakers might have adapted AUL’s model “Pregnant Woman Protection Act” was out of the organization’s control.

Ten days after the AUL gala, Yoest will set sail as a guest speaker on a National Review-sponsored cruise.

As of yet, Perry has not signed the Susan B. Anthony List’s highly-publicized anti-abortion pledge, but in other ways, Perry has already presented himself as an ardent abortion opponent and dedicated evangelical Christian. Perry’s relationship with AUL has been positive since he became governor of Texas in 2000. When AUL released its annual “Defending Life” publication of model legislation, Perry’s testimony was used to promote the publication:

This state-by-state scorecard of progress in the effort to defend life lets elected officials, grassroots activists and citizens know exactly where we are on our shared priority. I am proud that the report reflects the sweeping reforms we have enacted in Texas, saving thousands of lives in the process. This is not a book you leave on the shelf to collect dust. This information is ammunition in a fight that is far from over. I know you will find this guide informative and useful as you continue to promote and protect life in your state.

In AUL’s latest “State of the States” report card, Texas ranked fifth — making it one of the most restrictive states regarding abortion rights.

In May, Perry signed a controversial Texas bill into law requiring women seeking abortions to wait 24 hours after seeing a sonogram of their fetus. The law is facing litigation. He also signed into law a bill making “Choose Life” license plates available to Texas drivers, directing the revenue from those plates to state crisis pregnancy centers.

According to a recent analysis by NARAL Pro-Choice America about Perry’s abortion-related legislative record, “many of the laws he signed inject political interference into women’s private decision-making.”

Among the highlights of Perry’s record, NARAL noted that the governor signed a proclamation declaring April 2009 “Abortion Recovery Awareness Month” in Texas.