The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226734633
Total Pages : 391 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform by : John Samples

Download or read book The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform written by John Samples and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Political Finance Reforms

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Publisher : International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)
ISBN 13 : 9176713563
Total Pages : 37 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (767 download)

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Book Synopsis Political Finance Reforms by : Yukihiko Hamada

Download or read book Political Finance Reforms written by Yukihiko Hamada and published by International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). This book was released on 2021-02-04 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Money is a necessary component of any democracy: it enables political participation, campaigning and representation. However, if it is not effectively regulated, it can undermine the integrity of political processes and institutions, and jeopardize the quality of democracy. Therefore, regulations related to the funding of political parties and election campaigns, commonly known as political finance, are a critical way to promote integrity, transparency and accountability in any democracy. Political finance regulations must adapt and adjust to political, economic and societal changes. This report contributes to the discussion of the future of political finance by exploring the following trends, opportunities and challenges related to money in politics that need to be taken into consideration when improving political finance systems: · mainstreaming political finance regulations into an overall anti-corruption framework; · supporting the implementation of existing political finance regulations and monitoring their performance; · harnessing digital technologies to ensure transparency and accountability in political finance; and · designing targeted political finance measures to encourage the inclusion of underrepresented groups in politics.

Small Change

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Publisher : University of Michigan Press
ISBN 13 : 9780472050284
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (52 download)

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Book Synopsis Small Change by : Raymond J. La Raja

Download or read book Small Change written by Raymond J. La Raja and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2008-03-05 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Campaign Finance and Political Polarization

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Publisher : University of Michigan Press
ISBN 13 : 0472052993
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (72 download)

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Book Synopsis Campaign Finance and Political Polarization by : Raymond J. La Raja

Download or read book Campaign Finance and Political Polarization written by Raymond J. La Raja and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2015-10-06 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illuminating perspective on the polarizing effects of campaign finance reform

Buying the Vote

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Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0199340005
Total Pages : 393 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (993 download)

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Book Synopsis Buying the Vote by : Robert E. Mutch

Download or read book Buying the Vote written by Robert E. Mutch and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Campaign finance reform has always been motivated by a definition of democracy that does not count corporations as citizens and holds that self-government works best by reducing political inequality. In the early years of the twentieth century, Congress recognized the strength of these principles by prohibiting corporations from making campaign contributions, passing a disclosure law, and setting limits on campaign expenditures. These reforms were not controversial at the time, but conservative opposition to them appeared in the 1970s. That opposition was well represented in the Supreme Court, which has rolled back reform by granting First Amendment rights to corporations and declaring the goal of reducing political inequality to be unconstitutional. Buying the Vote analyzes the rise and decline of campaign finance reform by tracking changes in the way presidential campaigns have been funded since the late nineteenth century, and changes in the debate over how to reform fundraising practices. A close examination of major Supreme Court decisions shows how the Court has fashioned a new and profoundly inegalitarian redefinition of American democracy"--

Campaign Finance Reform

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Publisher : Lexington Books
ISBN 13 : 0739145673
Total Pages : 156 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Campaign Finance Reform by : Melissa M. Smith

Download or read book Campaign Finance Reform written by Melissa M. Smith and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2010-06-02 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades, campaign finance reform has been an on-going topic of discussion. In particular, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) was heralded as a major breakthrough in controlling the flow of money into campaigns. Almost immediately, political players found other ways to financially manipulate the new laws. Campaign Finance Reform: The Political Shell Game provides an in-depth look at the history of political campaign finance reform with special emphasis on legislative, FEC, and federal court actions from the 1970s to present. In particular, the authors examine the ways that campaigns and independent groups have sought to make end-runs around existing campaign finance rules. Oftentimes the loopholes they find make a significant impact on an election, sparking the next round of campaign finance reform. New rules are then enacted, and new loopholes are found. Like a big political shell game, the amount of money in politics never actually decreases, but instead gets moved around from one organization to another.

Costs of Democracy

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019909313X
Total Pages : 383 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis Costs of Democracy by : Devesh Kapur

Download or read book Costs of Democracy written by Devesh Kapur and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-13 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most troubling critiques of contemporary democracy is the inability of representative governments to regulate the deluge of money in politics. If it is impossible to conceive of democracies without elections, it is equally impractical to imagine elections without money. Costs of Democracy is an exhaustive, ground-breaking study of money in Indian politics that opens readers’ eyes to the opaque and enigmatic ways in which money flows through the political veins of the world’s largest democracy. Through original, in-depth investigation—drawing from extensive fieldwork on political campaigns, pioneering surveys, and innovative data analysis—the contributors in this volume uncover the institutional and regulatory contexts governing the torrent of money in politics; the sources of political finance; the reasons for such large spending; and how money flows, influences, and interacts with different tiers of government. The book raises uncomfortable questions about whether the flood of money risks washing away electoral democracy itself.

Money, Power, and Elections

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Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 0807156329
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Money, Power, and Elections by : Rodney A. Smith

Download or read book Money, Power, and Elections written by Rodney A. Smith and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2014-04-07 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

The Day After Reform

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Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 9780914341567
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (415 download)

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Book Synopsis The Day After Reform by : Michael J. Malbin

Download or read book The Day After Reform written by Michael J. Malbin and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Utilizing surveys, reports, and interviews, looks at the states to see how campaign finance reforms have worked out in fact, after organizations have had a chance to adapt to them.

Dollars and Democracy

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780823220953
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (29 download)

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Book Synopsis Dollars and Democracy by : Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Special Commission on Campaign Finance Reform

Download or read book Dollars and Democracy written by Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Special Commission on Campaign Finance Reform and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our federal campaign finance system is in a state of disarray. The current regulatory scheme is not curbing, and may be abetting, the enormous increase in campaign contributions and expenditures. The enormous influence of major campaign donors on the process of government is a growing cause of national concern. The Special Commission of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York has spent the past two years studying the current system and developing a blueprint for reform. Composed of members with diverse political views and extensive legal and government experience, the Commission takes a fresh look at how to limit the undue influence of private money in federal elections. The result is a highly readable report that tells how the current system, established in the wake of the Watergate scandal, is being manipulated by monied special interests, and how the system can be reformed. The report addresses: how to develop a level playing field for candidates; how to limit the amount of money flowing into campaigns while allowing candidates to mount effective races; how to curb the use of soft money and issue advocacy while preserving the role of political parties; and how to structure a system that will restore public confidence in government. This account is must reading on an issue that is moving to the center of the national stage.

Campaign Finance & American Democracy

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022671313X
Total Pages : 279 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Campaign Finance & American Democracy by : David M. Primo

Download or read book Campaign Finance & American Democracy written by David M. Primo and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-11-13 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook

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Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
ISBN 13 : 0815797885
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (157 download)

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Book Synopsis The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook by : Anthony Corrado

Download or read book The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook written by Anthony Corrado and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2006-03-30 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook has been integrated with the award-winning and frequently visited Brookings website to provide a timely, interactive tool for policymakers, journalists, and scholars. Four of the country's leading experts on campaign finance reform have contributed original essays on important facets of finance law and administration. The essays are accompanied by a list of corresponding documents available on the website. The book offers a thorough overview and analysis of this highly controversial issue, including the history of campaign finance regulation and the current state of the law, current practices and trends in the flow of money, the constitutional debate, the use of political party money, issue advocacy, public financing of presidential elections, implementing and enforcing campaign finance laws, and campaigning on the internet. The authors conclude with a broad overview of alternative approaches to reform. The related website (www.brookings.edu/campaignfinance) features sidebars that correspond to the book's chapters as well as associated documents. The site is frequently updated with recent developments in campaign finance regulation and analyses of current court cases and administrative decisions. There are also links to advisory opinions from the Federal Elections Commission, nonprofit organizations that study reform, and related publications-.

Unfree Speech

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400824710
Total Pages : 301 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Unfree Speech by : Samantha Sellinger

Download or read book Unfree Speech written by Samantha Sellinger and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-02-09 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time when campaign finance reform is widely viewed as synonymous with cleaning up Washington and promoting political equality, Bradley Smith, a nationally recognized expert on campaign finance reform, argues that all restriction on campaign giving should be eliminated. In Unfree Speech, he presents a bold, convincing argument for the repeal of laws that regulate political spending and contributions, contending that they violate the right to free speech and ultimately diminish citizens' power. Smith demonstrates that these laws, which often force ordinary people making modest contributions of cash or labor to register with the Federal Election Commission or various state agencies, fail to accomplish their stated objectives. In fact, they have worked to entrench incumbents in office, deaden campaign discourse, burden grassroots political activity with needless regulation, and distance Americans from an increasingly professional, detached political class. Rather than attempting to plug "loopholes" in campaign finance law or instituting taxpayer-financed campaigns, Smith proposes a return to core First Amendment values of free speech and an unfettered right to engage in political activity. Smith finds that campaign contributions have little corrupting effect on the legislature and shows that an unrestrained system of contributions and spending actually enhances equality. More money, not less, is needed in the political system, Smith concludes. Unfree Speech draws upon constitutional law and historical research to explain why campaign finance regulation is doomed and to illustrate the potentially drastic costs of efforts to make it succeed. Whatever one thinks about the impact of money on electoral politics, no one should take a final stand without reading Smith's controversial and important arguments.

Financing Politics

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Financing Politics by : Herbert E. Alexander

Download or read book Financing Politics written by Herbert E. Alexander and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

A User's Guide to Campaign Finance Reform

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 9780742517950
Total Pages : 180 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (179 download)

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Book Synopsis A User's Guide to Campaign Finance Reform by : Gerald C. Lubenow

Download or read book A User's Guide to Campaign Finance Reform written by Gerald C. Lubenow and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2001 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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."

Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 268 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns by : Julie Ballington

Download or read book Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns written by Julie Ballington and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

The States of Campaign Finance Reform

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Publisher : Ohio State University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780814209240
Total Pages : 158 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis The States of Campaign Finance Reform by : Donald August Gross

Download or read book The States of Campaign Finance Reform written by Donald August Gross and published by Ohio State University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: