Former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff is staying on message: "I'm not taking contributions from special interest groups," he told Democrats in Logan County this week (via Sterling's Journal-Advocate). "We need to break the death grip those groups have on Congress." Meanwhile, Romanoff's target, fellow Democrat and U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, is calling for an end to politics as usual in Washington, D.C., introducing legislation that would limit lobbying and reform the filibuster system, which allows minority senators to bog down popular legislation (via the Fort Collins Coloradoan). Not to be outdone, Romanoff is calling for a complete ban on filibustering. The political ping-pong comes with about two weeks to go before critical party caucuses take place. Bennet's bill goes deep into the weeds of the Senate's frustrated political process. Sparing you the legislative language, which "itself is quite arcane," notes The Huffington Post, the gist is to lower the bar for cloture votes that end debate and force a vote on legislation. Republicans are predictably questioning Bennet's actions, as Romanoff chides another aspect of his opponent's legislation---limits on lobbying---reports The Denver Post. Pointing out that Bennet has accepted nearly $1 million from political action committees, Romanoff spokesman Ken Gordon charges, "This is why getting big money out of politics did not make it to his list of needed reforms."