Download or read book Dark Money Super PACs and the 2012 Election written by Melissa M. Smith and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2014-02-27 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than two billion dollars. That’s how much money was spent in the 2012 presidential campaign—the most expensive campaign in history. Each party raised and spent more than one billion dollars as the traditional boundaries of campaign financing were ignored. Both parties could do so because they were playing in a game with new rules—rules that largely developed after the 2010 Supreme Court ruling known as Citizens United. That case removed many restrictions on donation limits, particularly for corporations and unions. The result was the development of a new set of political players called “Super PACs” that were allowed to enter the political arena and spend an unlimited amount of money on behalf of clients. This book looks at how Super PACs raised and spent money and influenced the 2012 election. It provides an insightful look at how both right- and left-leaning groups approached the election and impacted the political process.
Download or read book Game Changers written by Henrik M. Schatzinger and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-02-03 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book of its kind to provide an accessible overview of the changes Citizens United brought to political campaigns and political representation, it combines rigorous academic research with many examples of ongoing trends from the campaign trail. Even though campaign finance involves complex legal issues, the book is set up to be engaging for both students of political campaigns and American politics, as well as civically engaged citizens who want to learn more about outside groups and their impact on campaigns and public policy. The book makes the case that Super PACs and dark money groups qualify as game changers of political campaigns not only because of what these groups can do independently from candidates and their increasing ability to match or even exceed candidates’ financial resources, but because their actions influence the political incentives and strategies of candidates and political parties. We also point out evidence that those changes go beyond campaigns—they affect how legislators represent their constituents; how donors put pressure on lawmakers to adopt certain legislation after outside groups supported them; how the regulatory environment can benefit donors as a result of actions taken by federal agencies to repeal or dismantle existing laws; and how extreme positions by politicians can be incentivized and progress stalled when megadonors and outside groups reward political ideologues. Our hope is that this text inspires readers to draw their own conclusions about the effects the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision has had and continues to have on the inner workings of American democracy. Some may even feel moved to take action that will empower ordinary citizens who want to have more of a voice in the democratic process. Given the high stakes associated with elections and the political changes they can bring due to the highly polarized political environment we live in, we believe that this book will add value to not only courses focusing on campaigns, elections, interest groups, and political communication, but also other courses such as introductory American Government courses.
Download or read book Super PAC written by Conor M. Dowling and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-03-21 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent federal court activity has dramatically changed the regulatory environment of campaign finance in the United States. Since 2010, the judiciary has decided that corporations and labor unions may freely spend in American elections, and that so-called "Super PACs" can accept unlimited contributions from private citizens for the purpose of buying election advertising. Despite the potential for such unregulated contributions to dramatically alter the conduct of campaigns, little is known about where Super PACs get their money, where they spend it, or how their message compares with other political groups. Moreover, we know almost nothing about whether individual citizens even notice Super PACs, or whether they distinguish between Super PAC activity and political activity by other political groups. This book addresses those questions. Using campaign finance data, election returns, advertising archives, a public opinion survey, and survey experiments, Super PAC! provides unprecedented insight into the behavior of these organizations, and how they affect public opinion and voting behavior. The first in-depth exploration of the topic, this book will make significant contributions in both political science and applied policy.
Download or read book Super PACs written by Louise I. Gerdes and published by Greenhaven Publishing LLC. This book was released on 2014-05-20 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The passage of Citizens United by the Supreme Court in 2010 sparked a renewed debate about campaign spending by large political action committees, or Super PACs. Its ruling said that it is okay for corporations and labor unions to spend as much as they want in advertising and other methods to convince people to vote for or against a candidate. This book provides a wide range of opinions on the issue. Includes primary and secondary sources from a variety of perspectives; eyewitnesses, scientific journals, government officials, and many others.
Download or read book Super PAC written by Justin Bonest Phillips and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his dissent in Wisconsin Right to Life (2007) Justice David Souter declared there to be a "century-long tradition of legislation and judicial precedent" designed to restrict corporate and union influence in elections.1 Three years later Justice John Paul Stevens, dissenting in Citizens United (2010), stated that "[t]he Court today rejects [this] century of history when it treats the distinction between corporate and individual campaign spending as an invidious novelty."2 These rulings freed corporations and unions to contribute unlimited funds to outside groups dedicated to influencing federal elections via advertisements. As a result, the 2012 U.S. presidential election saw over one billion dollars spent on campaign advertisements from outside groups.3 This thesis examines one of the largest spenders, the Super Political Action Committee (Super PAC), and other outside money groups, from a number of perspectives. It begins by examining the long-standing freedom of speech debate as it has influenced campaign finance and the legislative and judicial antecedents of Super PACs in the battle over campaign finance reform. Next it reveals some of the consequences of this complex history, embodied by Super PACs and two other outside groups which flooded the 2012 election with advertisements. This thesis then concludes with two case studies. First, it offers a quantitative and qualitative media content analysis of presidentially focused advertisements produced by two of the largest Super PAC spenders in the 2012 election, American Crossroads (conservative) and Priorities USA Action (liberal). This is followed by an empirical case study, to measure the statistical impact of these advertisements on voters in Denver, Colorado using a primary data set. Results showed that Priorities advertisements had a significant positive effect on President Obama's polling performance. They also marginally helped Governor Romney, demonstrating the so-called 'boomerang' effect where negative advertising can have an unintended backlash. Pro-Obama advertisements reduced the number of undecided voters, while pro-Romney advertisements may have increased their number. The contrasts between the two campaigns revealed from the media analysis may help explain their differential effects, but the potential of Super PACs to influence elections was confirmed. 1 Supreme Court of the United States, "Federal Election Commission V. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc." (551 U.S., June 25, 2007), accessed February 25, 2013, http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/05pdf/04-1581.pdf. Page 19 (Souter Dissent). 2 Supreme Court of the United States, "Citizens United v Federal Election Commission" (558 U.S. 310, January 21, 2010), accessed July 18, 2012, http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf. Page 3 (Stevens Dissent) 3 The Center for Responsive Politics, "Outside Spending", 2013, accessed July 10, 2013, http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/fes_summ.php.
Download or read book Dark Money written by Jane Mayer and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2017-01-24 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR Who are the immensely wealthy right-wing ideologues shaping the fate of America today? From the bestselling author of The Dark Side, an electrifying work of investigative journalism that uncovers the agenda of this powerful group. In her new preface, Jane Mayer discusses the results of the most recent election and Donald Trump's victory, and how, despite much discussion to the contrary, this was a huge victory for the billionaires who have been pouring money in the American political system. Why is America living in an age of profound and widening economic inequality? Why have even modest attempts to address climate change been defeated again and again? Why do hedge-fund billionaires pay a far lower tax rate than middle-class workers? In a riveting and indelible feat of reporting, Jane Mayer illuminates the history of an elite cadre of plutocrats—headed by the Kochs, the Scaifes, the Olins, and the Bradleys—who have bankrolled a systematic plan to fundamentally alter the American political system. Mayer traces a byzantine trail of billions of dollars spent by the network, revealing a staggering conglomeration of think tanks, academic institutions, media groups, courthouses, and government allies that have fallen under their sphere of influence. Drawing from hundreds of exclusive interviews, as well as extensive scrutiny of public records, private papers, and court proceedings, Mayer provides vivid portraits of the secretive figures behind the new American oligarchy and a searing look at the carefully concealed agendas steering the nation. Dark Money is an essential book for anyone who cares about the future of American democracy. National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist LA Times Book Prize Finalist PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Finalist Shortlisted for the Lukas Prize
Download or read book Campaigning in the Twenty First Century written by Dennis W. Johnson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-02-12 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In view of the 2016 US election season, the second edition of this book analyzes the way political campaigns have been traditionally run and the extraordinary changes that have occurred since 2012. Dennis W. Johnson looks at the most sophisticated techniques of modern campaigning—micro-targeting, online fundraising, digital communication, the new media—and examines what has changed, how those changes have dramatically transformed campaigning, and what has remained fundamentally the same despite new technologies and communications. Campaigns are becoming more open and free-wheeling, with greater involvement of activists (especially through social media) and average voters alike. At the same time, they have become more professionalized, and the author has experience managing and marketing the process. Campaigning in the Twenty-First Century illustrates the daunting challenges for candidates and professional consultants as they try to get their messages out to voters. Ironically, the more open and robust campaigns become, the greater is the need for seasoned, flexible, and imaginative professional consultants. New to the Second Edition Includes coverage of the 2012 and 2014 elections, looking ahead to 2016. Updates coverage of campaign finance since the landmark Citizens United Supreme Court decision. Adds to the discussion of demographic and technological changes in elections since 2012.
Download or read book Citizens United and the 2012 Election written by Daniel Leveton and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Campaign finance has long been a controversial political subject in the United States and was made more so by the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United. The ruling struck down limits on donations made to and spent by outside groups supporting candidates or causes, including money donated by either corporations or individuals. Perhaps just as importantly, the ruling also allowed some donors to remain anonymous, thereby potentially shielding them from outside criticism. As expected, the change in campaign finance rules led to a surge in political advertising along with the birth of new political advocacy groups known as "super PACs" (political action committees). This study reviewed how that new influx of money was spent during the 2012 campaign for president, and more specifically if candidate and PAC spending differed in the type of negative advertising used (personal attacks vs. issue attacks). If there were significant differences, the success or failure of advertising strategy could affect decisions made in the next presidential election in 2016. This study determined that the amount of negative advertising created far exceeded positive for all sponsors, and perhaps more importantly there was little difference in the type of attack ads produced by the candidates’ campaigns and their supporting PACs.
Download or read book Collision 2012 written by Dan Balz and published by Penguin Group. This book was released on 2014-08-26 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the bestselling author of The Battle for America 2008 and longtime Washington Post correspondent, an inside view and analysis of the Obama-Romney presidential race In 2008 a bright young candidate triumphed on a theme of change and hope. Four years later an embattled President struggled against an apocalyptically divided and divisive Congress, a war that won’t end, and an economy that casts a dark penumbra over every spark of good news. His opponent, a well-heeled businessman who couldn't seem to stand on his own business record, withstood unexpected and extreme opposition to capture the nomination of a party whose main platform and principles with which he was historically and fundamentally at odds. The 2012 Election, once predicted to be a boring run at a popular President, took on a new urgency with the infamous 2010 midterm shellacking and equally infamous Citizen United ruling, and delivered drama and tension as the Republicans tried to reconcile the factions at war within their party and Democrats faced the tsunami of super Pac money flooding local and regional elections. As with his last book, The Battle for America 2008, Washington Post correspondent Dan Balz uses a combination of superb sources and long, deep reporting experience to take us both deep inside and far beyond Campaign HQs in Chicago and Boston. He tracks the nuances of Beltway politics and the thinking behind the scenes to show how Obama regained his footing, and to speculate about whether this election actually did anything to change the toxically poisonous atmosphere inside the Beltway, the increasing hostility and disenchantment with politicians outside, and the frightening effect of the torrent of money being poured out by special-interest groups beholden to no voter or law? Will there be anything in this election that will heal the political process in America? Special highlights include two much talked-about post-election interviews with Romney and Christie which have been making headlines, as well as a new afterword.
Download or read book Financing the 2016 Election written by David B. Magleby and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2019-04-30 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Money and politics in an election that broke the mold Beginning with the 1960 election, readers could turn to one book for an authoritative and comprehensive examination of campaign finance at the federal level. Now, the latest in this respected series, Financing the 2016 Election, explores the role of money in one of the most unconventional elections in modern American history. A team of leading scholars has dug into the roles played by political parties and special interest groups (including their “Super PACS”) in the presidential and congressional elections of 2016. David Magleby and his team of experts examined Federal Elections Commission reports and interviewed dozens of key participants, including representatives of virtually all the major interest groups active in the 2016 election cycle. They place that election in the context of how U.S. elections have been financed during recent decades—a context that illustrates how dramatically different campaign finance is today from the past. Among the most important changes has been the growth of so-called Super PACS, which have become increasingly important both in the financing they provide candidates and in their ability to act independently, both for and against candidates. Overall, Super PACS doubled their spending in 2016 from four years earlier. Taking a comprehensive approach, this book helps readers understand how the financing of elections—including the increasing reliance by candidates on outside special interest groups—ultimately affects politics and public policy.
Download or read book CORRUPT written by Dick Morris and published by Humanix Books. This book was released on 2023-10-17 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Within these incendiary pages, Dick Morris, America’s reigning Dean of political strategy and tactics, completely unmasks the treasonous behavior of arguably the worst first family to ever darken the doors of the White House.” — From the Foreword by Peter Navarro WAKE UP AMERICA! Each day brings shocking new revelations of the depth and breadth of the corruption of the Biden family. From China to Ukraine to Moscow to Iraq to Kazakhstan to Costa Rica to Florida to Romania and stops in between the Biden family has been in enriching itself by trading off the public offices and power accumulated by its mastermind: Joe Biden. The corruption of our own, elected leaders is the crux of America’s difficulties. United States laws do not prevent politicians, and even Presidents(!), from using their families to take bribes and payoffs before, during, and after they serve us in public office. New York Times bestselling author Dick Morris is a winning presidential strategist and the man Time magazine dubbed “the most influential private citizen in America.” In his new book, CORRUPT: The Biden Family's Dark Money, Morris lays-out the case against the Biden family and years of corruption and grift at the expense of taxpayers and the security of the United States. Since 2016, Dick Morris has been a behind-the-scenes adviser to Donald Trump, playing a key role in Trump’s surprise 2016 win. And now, as the 2024 elections approaches, President Biden’s corruption — and that of his family — are emerging as key issues, and Morris argues President Trump MUST win in 2024 to clean-up the dangerous cancer that has taken-over the White House and is endangering the security of the United States and the world. Stronger ethics laws embracing all the opportunities for theft that a big family offers are a partial answer. But the real answer is to stop electing weak people who succumb to easy-money around the world and especially to Chinese entreaties to office. There is no room for corruption at the top of our government and according to Morris, there is NO excuse for not electing Donald J. Trump in 2024 to clean it up. “Within these pages, both Joe Biden and Communist China are revealed to be extreme dangers to an American nation now threatened from within by a variety of cultural, social, and economic crises largely of Biden’s making and threatened from without by an authoritarian and fascist regime now engaged in the most rapid military buildup of a fascist regime since World War II — even as this Communist Chinese regime aligns itself ever more closely with America’s other major existential threats in Russia, Iran, North Korea.” — Peter Navarro
Download or read book The Financiers of Congressional Elections written by Peter L. Francia and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Individual donors play a critical role in financing congressional elections, accounting for more than half of all money raised in House campaigns. But significant donors (defined here as those contributing more than $200) are the least understood participants in the system. Defenders assert that contributing money to campaigns is part of a broader pattern of civic involvement and is free speech that gives a voice to various interests. Detractors argue that these contributions are undemocratic, enabling wealthy citizens to overwhelm the voices of the many and to promote narrow business and policy interests. These divergent assessments were raised in connection with the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002 and continue to characterize the debate over campaign finance reform. So who really contributes and why? How much and to how many candidates? What are the strategies used by political campaigns to elicit contributions and how do the views of significant donors impact the campaign-finance system? What do donors think about campaign-finance reform? This book investigates these vital questions, describing the influence of congressional financiers in American politics.
Download or read book The Politics Industry written by Katherine M. Gehl and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2020-06-23 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading political innovation activist Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter bring fresh perspective, deep scholarship, and a real and actionable solution, Final Five Voting, to the grand challenge of our broken political and democratic system. Final Five Voting has already been adopted in Alaska and is being advanced in states across the country. The truth is, the American political system is working exactly how it is designed to work, and it isn't designed or optimized today to work for us—for ordinary citizens. Most people believe that our political system is a public institution with high-minded principles and impartial rules derived from the Constitution. In reality, it has become a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly—the Democrats and the Republicans—and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between the players. Tragically, it has therefore become incapable of delivering solutions to America's key economic and social challenges. In fact, there's virtually no connection between our political leaders solving problems and getting reelected. In The Politics Industry, business leader and path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis—and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework—to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today. Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change—a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. Their bracing assessment and practical recommendations cut through the endless debate about various proposed fixes, such as term limits and campaign finance reform. The result: true political innovation. The Politics Industry is an original and completely nonpartisan guide that will open your eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all. THE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATION The authors will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Institute for Political Innovation.
Download or read book Super PACs Political Action Committees written by Derrick D. Jamison and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Super PACs emerged after the U.S. Supreme Court permitted unlimited corporate and union spending on elections in January 2010. These entities have been permitted to accept unlimited contributions and make unlimited expenditures aimed at electing or defeating federal candidates. Super PACs may not contribute funds directly to federal candidates or parties. This book explores what super PACs are, how they developed, what they raised and spent in the 2010 election cycle, and issues that appear on the horizon for 2012.
Download or read book Billionaires Ballot Bandits written by Greg Palast and published by Seven Stories Press. This book was released on 2012-09-25 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A close presidential election in November could well come down to contested states or even districts--an election decided by vote theft? It could happen this year. Based on Greg Palast and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s investigative reporting for Rolling Stone and BBC television, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps might be the most important book published this year--one that could save the election. Billionaires & Ballot Bandits names the filthy-rich sugar-daddies who are super-funding the Super-PACs of both parties--billionaires with nicknames like "The Ice Man," "The Vulture" and, of course, The Brothers Koch. Told with Palast's no-holds-barred, reporter-on-the-beat style, the facts as he lays them out are staggering. What emerges in Billionaires & Ballot Bandits is the never-before-told-story of the epic battle being fought behind the scenes between the old money banking sector that still supports Obama, and the new hedge fund billionaires like Paul Singer who not only support Romney but also are among his key economic advisors. Although it has not been reported, Obama has shown some backbone in standing up to the financial excesses of the men behind Romney. Billionaires & Ballot Bandits exposes the previously unreported details on how operatives plan to use the hundreds of millions in Super-PAC money pouring into this election. We know the money is pouring in, but Palast shows us the convoluted ways the money will be used to suppress your vote. The story of the billionaires and why they want to buy an election is matched with the nine ways they can steal the election. His story of the sophisticated new trickery will pick up on Palast's giant New York Times bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.
Download or read book Political Advertising in the United States written by Erika Franklin Fowler and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-05-04 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Political advertising is as important as ever, ad spending records are broken each election cycle, and the volume of ads aired continues to increase. Political Advertising in the United States is a comprehensive survey of the political advertising landscape and its influence on voters. The authors, co-directors of the Wesleyan Media Project, draw from the latest data to analyze how campaign finance laws have affected the sponsorship and content of political advertising, how 'big data' has allowed for more sophisticated targeting, and how the Internet and social media has changed the distribution of ads. With detailed analysis of presidential and congressional campaign ads and discussion questions in each chapter, this accessibly written book is a must-read for students, scholars and practitioners who want to understand the ins and outs of political advertising.
Download or read book Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations written by United States. Federal Election Commission and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
