The fundamentals of campaign finance in the U.S. : why we have the system we have / Diana Dwyre and Robin Kolodny.

Author/creator Dwyre, Diana author.
Other author Kolodny, Robin, 1964- author.
Other author Michigan Publishing (University of Michigan), publisher.
Format Book
PublicationAnn Arbor [Michigan] : University of Michigan Press, 2024.
Copyright Date©2024
Descriptionxvii, 373 pages : charts ; 23 cm
Subjects

Summary Before the U.S. campaign finance system can be fixed, we first have to understand why it has developed into the system we have. The nature of democracy itself, the American capitalist economic system, the content of the U.S. Constitution and how it is interpreted, the structure of our governmental institutions, the competition for governmental power, and the behavior of campaign finance actors have all played a role in shaping the system. The Fundamentals of Campaign Finance in the U.S. takes care to situate the campaign finance system in the context of the broader U.S. political and economic system. Dwyre and Kolodny offer readers a brief tour through the development of the campaign finance regulatory structure, highlighting the Supreme Court's commitment to free speech over political equality from Buckley v. Valeo (1976) through the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA, 2002). They also examine the driving force behind campaign finance reform-corruption-through historical, transactional, and institutional perspectives. While diving into the insufficiency of the disclosure and enforcement of campaign finance laws and calling attention to multiple federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, and (principally) the Federal Election Commission, the authors show how a narrow view on campaign finance makes change difficult and why reforms often have limited success. By examining the fundamentals, Dwyre and Kolodny show the difficulties of changing a political system whose candidates have always relied on private funding of campaigns to one that guarantees free speech rights while minimizing concerns of corruption.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 325-357) and index.
Issued in other formOnline version: Dwyre, Diana. Fundamentals of campaign finance in the U.S. Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2024 9780472904532
LCCN 2024008367
ISBN9780472056880
ISBN9780472076888 (hardcover)
ISBN0472076884
ISBN0472056883
ISBN(ebook other)

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