A User S Guide To Campaign Finance Reform

Author : Gerald C. Lubenow
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 180 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Law
ISBN : 0742517950

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A User's Guide to Campaign Finance Reform by Gerald C. Lubenow Pdf

Is campaign finance reform dead or alive? Can Congress really fix the problems that American voters perceive in their electoral system? This book assumes that voters are the end users of campaign finance reform, and it questions whether average citizens really know what they are asking for or what they may get when they demand change. In this book, ten prominent political scientists and commentators challenge the conventional wisdom about the role of money in campaigns and elections. They look at the level of campaign spending in recent times, the judicial perspective on spending as a First Amendment right, the current diversity of donors, the media spin on the subject, and the act of contributing as a form of political participation. The inimitable Norm Ornstein wraps it all up with a model reform proposal that is at once more moderate than McCain-Feingold and yet radical in its own way. Published under the auspices of Berkeley Public Policy Press."

Author : Brennan Center for Justice
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 472 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Law
ISBN : STANFORD:36105063003300

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Writing Reform by Brennan Center for Justice Pdf

Author : Deborah Goldberg
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Bill drafting
ISBN : OCLC:1365650024

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Writing Reform by Deborah Goldberg Pdf

Author : Raymond J. La Raja,Brian F. Schaffner
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2015-10-06
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780472052998

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Campaign Finance and Political Polarization by Raymond J. La Raja,Brian F. Schaffner Pdf

Efforts to reform the U.S. campaign finance system typically focus on the corrupting influence of large contributions. Yet, as Raymond J. La Raja and Brian F. Schaffner argue, reforms aimed at cutting the flow of money into politics have unintentionally favored candidates with extreme ideological agendas and, consequently, fostered political polarization. Drawing on data from 50 states and the U.S. Congress over 20 years, La Raja and Schaffner reveal that current rules allow wealthy ideological groups and donors to dominate the financing of political campaigns. In order to attract funding, candidates take uncompromising positions on key issues and, if elected, take their partisan views into the legislature. As a remedy, the authors propose that additional campaign money be channeled through party organizations—rather than directly to candidates—because these organizations tend to be less ideological than the activists who now provide the lion’s share of money to political candidates. Shifting campaign finance to parties would ease polarization by reducing the influence of “purist” donors with their rigid policy stances. La Raja and Schaffner conclude the book with policy recommendations for campaign finance in the United States. They are among the few non-libertarians who argue that less regulation, particularly for political parties, may in fact improve the democratic process.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 1982
Category : Campaign funds
ISBN : IND:30000068299753

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Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees by Anonim Pdf

Author : John Samples
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 391 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2008-09-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226734637

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The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform by John Samples Pdf

At first glance, campaign finance reform looks like a good idea. McCain-Feingold, for instance, regulates campaigns by prohibiting national political parties from accepting soft money contributions from corporations, labor unions, and wealthy individuals. But are such measures, or any of the numerous and similarly restrictive proposals that have circulated through Washington in recent years, really good for our democracy? John Samples says no, and here he takes a penetrating look into the premises and consequences of the long crusade against big money in politics. How many Americans, he asks, know that there is little to no evidence that campaign contributions really influence members of Congress? Or that so-called negative political advertising actually improves the democratic process by increasing voter turnout and knowledge? Or that limits on campaign contributions make it harder to run for office, thereby protecting incumbent representatives from losing their seats of power? Posing tough questions such as these, Samples uncovers numerous fallacies beneath proposals for campaign finance reform. He argues that our most common concerns about money in politics are misplaced because the ideals implicit in our notion of corruption are incoherent or indefensible. The chance to regulate money in politics allows representatives to serve their own interests at a cost to their constituents. And, ironically, this long crusade against the corruption caused by campaign contributions allows public officials to reduce their vulnerability by suppressing electoral competition. Defying long-held ssumptions and conventional political wisdom, The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform is a provocative and decidedly nonpartisan work that will be essential for anyone concerned about the future of American government.

Author : Robert G Boatright
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2011-03-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780472051441

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Interest Groups and Campaign Finance Reform in the United States and Canada by Robert G Boatright Pdf

Interest groups shape tactics in response to restrictions on campaign activities

Author : Louise I. Gerdes
Publisher : Greenhaven Publishing LLC
Page : 113 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2014-05-20
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN : 9780737768640

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Super PACs by Louise I. Gerdes Pdf

The passage of Citizens United by the Supreme Court in 2010 sparked a renewed debate about campaign spending by large political action committees, or Super PACs. Its ruling said that it is okay for corporations and labor unions to spend as much as they want in advertising and other methods to convince people to vote for or against a candidate. This book provides a wide range of opinions on the issue. Includes primary and secondary sources from a variety of perspectives; eyewitnesses, scientific journals, government officials, and many others.

Author : Raymond J. La Raja
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 308 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2008-03-05
Category : History
ISBN : 0472050281

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Small Change by Raymond J. La Raja Pdf

All democracies face the dilemma of how to pay for politics. Money fuels the campaigns that inform and mobilize voters. But private political contributions raise the specter of undue influence, or, worse, political corruption. This book reviews the history of America's efforts at federal campaign finance reform.

Author : Rodney A. Smith
Publisher : LSU Press
Page : 210 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2006-05-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780807131282

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Money, Power, and Elections by Rodney A. Smith Pdf

Have campaign finance reform laws actually worked? Is money less influential in electing candidates today than it was thirty years ago when legislation was first enacted? Absolutely not, argues Rodney A. Smith in this passionately written, fact-filled, and provocative book. According to Smith, the laws have had exactly the opposite of their intended effect. They have increased the likelihood that incumbents in the House and Senate will be reelected, and they have greatly diminished the chances that candidates who are not wealthy will be elected. Smith's claims are supported by convincing data; he collected and analyzed information about all federal elections since 1920. These data show clearly that money matters now more than ever. Smith thinks that reform legislation has created a new inequality for candidates that, if left unchecked, threatens to destroy the American electoral process by obliterating the foundational principle of free speech. He argues that "money buys speech" and when candidates lack money to buy media time and space they are effectively silenced. Their inability to "speak freely" violates the most significant intentions of our nation's founders: that a sovereign citizenry elect its own leaders based on a free exchange of ideas. For Smith, campaign finance reform has unwittingly unbalanced the checks and balances created by the Framers of the Constitution. After presenting a detailed historical overview of how we have reached the present crisis, Smith proposes a simple solution: institute a process that completely discloses relevant information about campaign donors and recipients of donations. All disclosures would be available to the media, which would be able to investigate and report them fully. Only then, Smith believes, will the United States have the opportunity to be the democratic republic that its founders intended.

Author : James Ciment
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 2056 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2015-03-04
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781317459712

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Social Issues in America by James Ciment Pdf

More than 150 key social issues confronting the United States today are covered in this eight-volume set: from abortion and adoption to capital punishment and corporate crime; from obesity and organized crime to sweatshops and xenophobia.

Author : Julie Ballington
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 268 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Campaign funds
ISBN : STANFORD:36105114323129

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Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns by Julie Ballington Pdf

This handbook provides a general description of the different models of political finance regulations and analyses the relationship between party funding and effective democracy. The most important part of the book is an extensive matrix on political finance laws and regulations for about 100 countries. Public funding regulations, ceilings on campaign expenditure, bans on foreign donations and enforcing an agency are some of the issues covered in the study. Includes regional studies and discusses how political funding can affect women and men differently, and the delicate issue of monitoring, control and enforcement of political finance laws.

Author : Anthony Corrado,Thomas E. Mann,Trevor Potter
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 512 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2004-05-26
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0815715846

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Inside the Campaign Finance Battle by Anthony Corrado,Thomas E. Mann,Trevor Potter Pdf

In 2002 Congress enacted the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), the first major revision of federal campaign finance law in a generation. In March 2001, after a fiercely contested and highly divisive seven-year partisan legislative battle, the Senate passed S. 27, known as the McCain-Feingold legislation. The House responded by passing H.R. 2356, companion legislation known as Shays-Meehan, in February 2002. The Senate then approved the House-passed version, and President George W. Bush signed BCRA into law on March 27, 2002, stating that the bill had "flaws" but overall "improves the current system of financing for federal campaigns." The Reform Act was taken to court within hours of the President's signature. Dozens of interest groups and lawmakers who had opposed passage of the Act in Congress lodged complaints that challenged the constitutionality of virtually every aspect of the new law. Following review by a special three-judge panel, the case is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003. This litigation constitutes the most important campaign finance case since the Supreme Court issued its decision in Buckley v. Valeo more than twenty-five years ago. The testimony, submitted by some of the country's most knowledgeable political scientists and most experienced politicians, constitutes an invaluable body of knowledge about the complexities of campaign finance and the role of money in our political system. Unfortunately, only the lawyers, political scientists, and practitioners actually involved in the litigation have seen most of this writing—until now. Ins ide the Campaign Finance Battle makes key testimony in this historic case available to a general readership, in the process shedding new light on campaign finance practices central to the congressional debate on the reform act and to the landmark litigation challenging its constitutionality.

Author : Harland Prechel
Publisher : Emerald Group Publishing
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2008-10-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781848551787

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Politics and Public Policy by Harland Prechel Pdf

Focuses on one of the central themes in political sociology: the relationship between political power and the policy formation process. This work examines the exercise of power in two arenas: the interlocking networks among policy-planning organizations, and the effects of PACs on the voting behavior of elected officials in Canada and the US.

Author : David M. Primo,Jeffrey D. Milyo
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2020-10-19
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226712949

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Campaign Finance and American Democracy by David M. Primo,Jeffrey D. Milyo Pdf

In recent decades, and particularly since the US Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision, lawmakers and other elites have told Americans that stricter campaign finance laws are needed to improve faith in the elections process, increase trust in the government, and counter cynicism toward politics. But as David M. Primo and Jeffrey D. Milyo argue, politicians and the public alike should reconsider the conventional wisdom in light of surprising and comprehensive empirical evidence to the contrary. Primo and Milyo probe original survey data to determine Americans’ sentiments on the role of money in politics, what drives these sentiments, and why they matter. What Primo and Milyo find is that while many individuals support the idea of reform, they are also skeptical that reform would successfully limit corruption, which Americans believe stains almost every fiber of the political system. Moreover, support for campaign finance restrictions is deeply divided along party lines, reflecting the polarization of our times. Ultimately, Primo and Milyo contend, American attitudes toward money in politics reflect larger fears about the health of American democracy, fears that will not be allayed by campaign finance reform.