Your search for: "campaign finance reform"

"A wonderful, timely, and accessible book about one of the most pressing public questions of our time: the issue of campaign finance reform. Bedeviling our nation's political community for more than twenty-five years, the dispute over how best to regulate political campaign funding--and hence ...

"A wonderful, timely, and accessible book about one of the most pressing public questions of our time: the issue of campaign finance reform. Bedeviling our nation's political community for more than twenty-five years, the dispute over how best to regulate political campaign funding--and hence political campaign speech--has pitted free speech advocates against good government reformers, Democrats against Republicans, and courts against legislatures. Bradley Smith's highly readable book navigates all of these crosscurrents in a balanced way that informs the reader of the basic elements of the debates, while deftly skewering the key components of the conventional wisdom by arguing for the elimination of laws limiting campaign funding."--Joel Gora, Brooklyn Law School

"To date no one has written a sustained, book-length argument for the deregulation of campaign financing. Bradley Smith's "Unfree Speech is a welcome step in filling that gap. He addresses numerous important themes, including the inroads on freedom of speech caused by campaign finance regulation, the tendency of reformers to exaggerate the harms of campaign finance and to seek increasing restrictions on speech, and the tendency for the burden of regulation to fall most heavily on everyday citizens."--Daniel Lowenstein, UCLA

Part memoir, part public policy analysis, Lost in Washington grew out of the author's experience as senior policy adviser to Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota. An insider's look at "how Washington really works", the book traces the history of three major policy initiatives sponsored by Wellstone ...

Part memoir, part public policy analysis, Lost in Washington grew out of the author's experience as senior policy adviser to Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota. An insider's look at "how Washington really works", the book traces the history of three major policy initiatives sponsored by Wellstone after his election to the U.S. Senate in 1990: a proposed national energy strategy, campaign finance reform, and health care reform. All three became the focus of contentious public policy debates, and a decade later they remain unresolved issues on the national political agenda.

According to Barry M. Casper, the persistent failure of Congress to take action on these matters reflects not simply a lack of legislative accountability but a fundamental breakdown of American democracy. Most ordinary citizens today feel excluded from the political process, unable to exert any real influence on the issues that most affect their lives. One source of this alienation is money -- more specifically, the inordinate influence,exercised by well-funded special interest groups that finance American election campaigns. Another is the concentration of too much congressional power in too few hands.

To break the legislative deadlock and reinvigorate the democratic process in America, Casper proposes broadly based but locally centered political action. Pointing to the success of the Clean Money Campaign Reform initiative, which has already passed in several states, he advocates a strategy of building grassroots organizations state-by-state until sufficient momentum is gained to compel federal legislation. He also proposes a National Citizens Agenda-Setting Initiative that would allow organized citizens to forcepolicy proposals onto the congressional agenda. With these two additional tools, he believes, nationwide social movements can much more readily be constructed from the bottom up, inviting ordinary citizens in rather than sh

A captivating look at one of America's most prominent and fascinating public figures Bestselling author, war hero, presidential candidate, champion of the most politically sticky issue to rock Washington since Watergate-campaign finance reform- there may be no better known senator than John McCain ...

A captivating look at one of America's most prominent and fascinating public figures Bestselling author, war hero, presidential candidate, champion of the most politically sticky issue to rock Washington since Watergate-campaign finance reform- there may be no better known senator than John McCain. From Democrats to Republicans, many Americans relate to John McCain's straight-talking form of politics. In Man of the People: The Life of John McCain, political journalist Paul Alexander offers the only objective, in-depth account of this remarkable politician's journey-from Naval Academy student to Presidential hopeful. Readers will follow McCain from his rich Navy roots through his twenty-one year tour in the Navy, and then behold as he evolves into one of our country's most distinguished yet controversial political leaders. With insider access, Alexander flushes out the personal history to present a candid portrait of the political evolution of McCain. From the WWII hero grandfather who aggressively helped destroy the Japanese military machine to McCain's growth from Navy plebe to Reagan foot soldier, Alexander uncovers what makes McCain tick, how he evolved into a politician with a cause that has endeared him to Democrats and antagonized the Republican party leadership. Political insider, radio talk show host, and well-known journalist Paul Alexander followed McCain from the Presidential campaign trail to stumping for campaign finance reform. McCain's life is not only the story of the most compelling politician since Ronald Reagan but also the history of the transformation of American politics over the last thirty years. Through McCain's personal history-from Vietnam veteran to Reagan go-to guy to a key figure in the Keating S&L crisis to military campaign critic, Alexander pulls back the public curtain to reveal the private man. In doing so, he exposes military machinations, Vietnam controversy, POW torture, mental depression, and political intrigue. John McCain continues to push the political system, thus capturing the attention of the American public. The straightforward, no-nonsense style that has become his hallmark shines through every page of this telling biography.