Campaign Contributions

Author : John Samples
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 391 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2008-09-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226734637

Get Book

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 : David M. Primo,Jeffrey D. Milyo
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2020-10-19
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226712949

Get Book

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.

Author : Khayyam Zev Paltiel
Publisher : Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration ; Ottawa : available from Print. and Pub., Supply and Services Canada
Page : 130 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 1976
Category : Political Science
ISBN : COLUMBIA:CU53533402

Get Book

Party, Candidate, and Election Finance by Khayyam Zev Paltiel Pdf

Author : Lynda W. Powell
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2012-03-06
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780472028276

Get Book

The Influence of Campaign Contributions in State Legislatures by Lynda W. Powell Pdf

Campaign contributions are widely viewed as a corrupting influence but most scholarly research concludes that they have marginal impact on legislative behavior. Lynda W. Powell shows that contributions have considerable influence in some state legislatures but very little in others. Using a national survey of legislators, she develops an innovative measure of influence and delineates the factors that explain this great variation across the 99 U.S. state legislative chambers. Powell identifies the personal, institutional, and political factors that determine how much time a legislator devotes to personal fundraising and fundraising for the caucus. She shows that the extent of donors' legislative influence varies in ways corresponding to the same variations in the factors that determine fundraising time. She also confirms a link between fundraising and lobbying with evidence supporting the theory that contributors gain access to legislators based on donations, Powell's findings have important implications for the debate over the role of money in the legislative process.

Author : Raymond J. La Raja,Brian F. Schaffner
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2015-10-06
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780472052998

Get Book

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 : Dan Clawson,Alan Neustadtl,Mark Weller
Publisher : Temple University Press
Page : 294 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 1998
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1566396263

Get Book

Dollars and Votes by Dan Clawson,Alan Neustadtl,Mark Weller Pdf

Recent scandals, including questionable fund-raising tactics by the current administration, have brought campaign finance reform into the forefront of the news and the public consciousness. Dollars and Votes goes beyond the partial, often misleading, news stories and official records to explain how our campaign system operates. The authors conducted thorough interviews with corporate "government relations" officials about what they do and why they do it. The results provide some of the most damning evidence imaginable. What donors, especially business donors, expect for their money is "access" and access means a lot more than a chance to meet and talk. They count on secret behind-the-scenes deals, like a tax provision that applies only to a "corporation incorporated on June 13, 1917, which has its principal place of business in Bartlesville, Oklahoma." After a deal is worked out behind closed doors, one executive explains, "it doesn't much matter how people vote afterwards." Ordinary contributions give access to Congress; megabuck "soft money" contributions ensure access to the President and top leaders. The striking truth revealed by these authors is that half the soft money comes from fewer than five hundred big donors, and that most contributions come, directly or indirectly, from business. Reform is possible, they argue, by turning away from the temptation of looking at specific scandals and developing a new system that removes the influence of big money campaign contributors. Author note: Dan Clawson, Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is the author of Bureaucracy and the Labor Process and past editor of Contemporary Sociology. Alan Neustadtl, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, is the co-author (with Dan Clawson and Denise Scott) of Money Talks: Corporate PACs and Political Infuence. Mark Weller teaches sociology at San Jose State.

Author : Lott, John R,Stephen G. Bronars,University of Western Ontario. Political Economy Research Group
Publisher : London, Ont. : Political Economy Research Group, University of Western Ontario
Page : 158 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 1994
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0771416547

Get Book

Do Campaign Donations Alter How Politicians Vote? by Lott, John R,Stephen G. Bronars,University of Western Ontario. Political Economy Research Group Pdf

Author : Robert G Boatright
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2011-03-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780472051441

Get Book

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 : Bruce Ackerman,Ian Ayres
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 313 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2008-10-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780300127010

Get Book

Voting with Dollars by Bruce Ackerman,Ian Ayres Pdf

divdivIn this provocative book, two leading law professors challenge the existing campaign reform agenda and present a new initiative that avoids the mistakes of the past. Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres build on the example of the secret ballot and propose a system of “secret donation booths” for campaign contributions. They unveil a plan in which the government provides each voter with a special credit card account containing fifty “Patriot dollars” for presidential elections. To use this money, citizens go to their local ATM machine and anonymously send their Patriot dollars to their favorite candidates or political organizations. Americans are free to make additional contributions, but they must also give these gifts anonymously. Because candidates cannot identify who provided the funds, it will be much harder for big contributors to buy political influence. And the need for politicians to compete for the Patriot dollars will give much more power to the people. Ackerman and Ayres work out the operating details of their plan, anticipate problems, design safeguards, suggest overseers, and show how their proposals satisfy the most stringent constitutional requirements. They conclude with a model statute that could serve as the basis of a serious congressional effort to restore Americans’ faith in democratic politics./DIV/DIV

Author : Tom Flanagan
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Page : 243 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2014-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780773590366

Get Book

Winning Power by Tom Flanagan Pdf

Campaigns are central to the practice of modern democracy and integral to political participation in the twenty-first century. In Winning Power, Tom Flanagan draws on decades of experience teaching political science and managing political campaigns to inform readers about what goes on behind the scenes. While the goal of political campaigning - using persuasion to build a winning coalition - remains constant, the means of achieving that goal are always changing. Flanagan dissects the effects of recent changes in financial regulation and grassroots fundraising, the advent of the "permanent campaign," as well as the increase in negative advertising. He pulls these themes together to show how tactics are employed at specific points in a campaign by providing a firsthand account of his management of the Wildrose Party campaign in Alberta's 2012 provincial election. Lifting the veil of campaign secrecy, he provides a candid account of the successes and mistakes the newly formed party made in an election that nearly toppled the four-decade-long dynasty of Alberta's Progressive Conservatives. Modeling its campaign on the 2006 campaign that brought Stephen Harper to 24 Sussex Drive, Wildrose combined grassroots fundraising, an innovative platform that reached out to its electoral coalition, a carefully scripted leader’s tour, as well as negative and positive advertising in the race towards leadership. Success for the party seemed within reach until breakdowns in message discipline in the campaign’s final week caused the Wildrose tide to ebb. Citing diverse sources such as game theory, evolutionary psychology, and Aristotelian rhetoric, Flanagan explores the timeless aspects of campaigning and emphasizes new strategies of coalition-building. For future campaigners, Winning Power provides textbook illustrations of what does and doesn't work.

Author : Lisa Young,Harold J. Jansen
Publisher : UBC Press
Page : 236 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2011-02-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780774818940

Get Book

Money, Politics, and Democracy by Lisa Young,Harold J. Jansen Pdf

In 2004, Jean Chrtien's Liberals banned corporations and unions from contributing financially to political parties. In 2008, opposition leaders were prepared to defeat the Conservative Party over its proposal to eliminate public subsidies to parties. In this book, prominent political scientists explore the underlying issues that led to the showdown. Are publicly funded parties compatible with democracy? What effects has party finance reform had on elections and on the balance of power between parties and donors and between national parties and local organizations? Contributors show that campaign finance reforms have shaped party organization and electoral competition, contributing to successive minority governments.

Author : W. T. Stanbury,Canada. Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing
Publisher : Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing
Page : 784 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : Law
ISBN : UOM:39015032305040

Get Book

Money in Politics by W. T. Stanbury,Canada. Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing Pdf

Author : K. Filip Palda,Fraser Institute (Vancouver, B.C.)
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 150 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 1991
Category : Law
ISBN : UOM:39015025194815

Get Book

Election Finance Regulation in Canada by K. Filip Palda,Fraser Institute (Vancouver, B.C.) Pdf

Author : United States. Federal Election Commission
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 24 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 1976
Category : Campaign funds
ISBN : STANFORD:36105114094985

Get Book

Campaign Guide on Contributions and Expenditures by United States. Federal Election Commission Pdf

Author : Stacy B. Gordon,Stacy B. Gordon Fisher
Publisher : Psychology Press
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Law
ISBN : 0415949777

Get Book

Campaign Contributions and Legislative Voting by Stacy B. Gordon,Stacy B. Gordon Fisher Pdf

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.