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 Reconstructing Violence by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Vaudeville in the Dark by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book The Papers of Jefferson Davis by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book The Contest for the Delaware Valley by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book The Salt Line by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Debugging the Link between Social Theory and Social Insects by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Figure Studies by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book The Real South by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Literary Partnerships and the Marketplace by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Revenge of the Teacher's Pet by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Handbook on Japanese Military Forces by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book On the Front Lines of the Cold War by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Black Aperture by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book Radical Spiritual Motherhood by Rodney A. Smith
Cover of the book The Louisiana Populist Movement, 1881-1900 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