Money, Power, and Elections

How Campaign Finance Reform Subverts American Democracy

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book Money, Power, and Elections by Rodney A. Smith, LSU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Rodney A. Smith ISBN: 9780807156322
Publisher: LSU Press Publication: April 7, 2014
Imprint: LSU Press Language: English
Author: Rodney A. Smith
ISBN: 9780807156322
Publisher: LSU Press
Publication: April 7, 2014
Imprint: LSU Press
Language: English

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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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.

More books from LSU Press

Cover of the book Overtones of Opera in American Literature from Whitman to Wharton by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Parallel Histories by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book The Salt Line by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Captive Voices by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Curses and Wishes by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Acadian Odyssey by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Landscapes of the Heart by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Music Theater and Popular Nationalism in Spain, 1880-1930 by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book In the Cause of Liberty by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book The New Orleans of George Washington Cable by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book The New Orleans Jazz Scene, 1970-2000 by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Confederate Outlaw by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Normans and Saxons by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Venera by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Black Labor, White Sugar by Rodney A. Smith
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy