Checkbook Democracy: How Money Corrupts Political Campaigns [Hardcover]

Darrell M. West (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2000

Counts are being taken before the political conventions convene: not delegates, but dollars. Public officials court donors more than voters, while the party faithful rally around the war chest rather than the platform. Virtually anything goes in campaign finance today, and, as a result, the electoral process is being hijacked by large contributions, secret influence, and increasingly unaccountable government leaders.

In this lively and provocative book, Darrell M. West looks at how politics became such a money chase, why money has become such a pernicious influence on public debate, and what can be done to redeem the corrupted system. Drawing on interviews, memoirs, press coverage, legal depositions, and government documents, West's timely book investigates recent examples of campaign abuses to illustrate how political parties and organizations circumvent post-Watergate reform legislation-and how money has become the key to winning elections and influencing the public. Included in his probe are such cases as the infamous Willie Horton ad in the 1988 presidential campaign, the Christian Action Network, Asian contributions to the Democrats, tobacco company donations to the Republicans, and President Clinton's 1996 campaign infractions. The numerous case studies expose the manifold loopholes and problems in current campaign finance laws, including soft money contributions, independent expenditures, issue advocacy, foreign contributions, and political activism by non-profit organizations.

West's sober evaluation of the exploding costs of campaigns-and escalating cynicism among voters-offers a hard-hitting look at the forces working against reform and makes constructive proposals for reversing this disconcerting trend in contemporary American politics.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the aftermath of Watergate, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that severely limited individual and corporate contributions to political campaigns. As this unsurprising book details, well-heeled contributors have evaded this law by contributing "soft money" to interest groups that don't have to open their books. In some cases, these interest groups, in the guise of "educating" the public about issues, actually "ran election ads in disguise." The author cites a number of cases, including the Willie Horton race-baiting ads used to support George Bush's 1988 campaign and the case of the Christian Action Network, which spent $2 million in 1992 (one of its ads depicted Bill Clinton and Al Gore among pictures of marchers in a Gay Pride parade and asked, "Is this your vision of a better America?"). The Federal Election Commission investigated the ads, but the CAN won its case in court. Even when individuals are fined for violating the campaign finance laws, enforcement is lax--New York Yankees owner George Steinbrennner paid a fine of only $35,000 for money laundering during the 1972 presidential campaign, and President Ronald Reagan later pardoned him. As the author notes, the courts have often interpreted "the freedom of speech as the freedom to spend." However, the recommendations suggested by West, a professor of political science at Brown University, at the end of the book seem merely Band-Aids for a systemic problem; he fails to convincingly rebut the argument that interest groups can advance democracy by allowing citizens with common interests to group together to express their views. In the end, this book, while timely, adds little to an issue already much in the news. (Apr).
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Darrell M. West is Professor of Political Science and Director of the John Hazen White, Sr., Public Opinion Laboratory at Brown University. A political analyst who focuses on mass media, public opinion, and election campaigns, he has appeared on Nightline, the Phil Donahue Show, CNN, and National Public Radio. Among his many other books are Air Wars: Television Advertising in Election Campaigns and The Sound of Money: How Interests Get What They Want. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Northeastern (March 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555534414
• ISBN-13: 978-1555534417
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,179,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Darrell M. West is vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. Previously, he was the John Hazen White Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He is the author of numerous books on American politics, campaigns and elections, mass media, technology policy, and health information technology. He has given lectures in more than a dozen countries around the world. His email is [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not required reading, December 30, 2001

By 

Carl A. Redman (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Checkbook Democracy: How Money Corrupts Political Campaigns (Paperback)

Another reviewer claimed that this should be required reading for all political science students. Although the book and ideas put forth are clear, concise, and powerful, I would only recommend this work to the scholar that is interested in campaign financing. All others would be fine to just read a few articles in Slate or the New York Times on the matter.

The book is basically divided into three sections. The first section (chapters one through eight) deals with "how money corrupts political campaigns," which is fittingly the book's subtitle. Here the author Darrell West, who is a professor at Brown University, addresses this topic wonderfully, providing not only the "how" of money in political campaigns, but also the "who, what, when, and where." Each chapter discusses in detail various incidents that have either led up to the current situation in campaign finances, like the 1976 Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo to among other reforms create the Federal Election Commission, or incidents that have recently contributed to the problem. Illegal financing and sneaky financing are explored from both sides (Democrat and Republican) and this is perhaps the biggest strength of the book.

The chapters include the following topics: The Willie Horton Independent Expenditure, Issue Advocacy and the Christian Action Network, Contribution Limits, Foreign Nationals and the DNC, the Teamsters and the Clinton White House, Big Tobacco and the RNC, and Non-Profits, Foundations, and Tax-Exempt Organizations.

The second part of the book (beginning of chapter 9) deals with why campaign finance is not a hot topic in Washington. The reasons are fairly obvious, but the author does do a nice job of exploring them. The only critique I have is the media factor that West thinks plays into the current system. He argues that journalists make the problem worse by reporting even the slightest campaign blunder, and that this creates cynicism in the public. The cynicism is there because of corruption by many politicians (Clinton, Nixon, et al) and the media's influence is little at best.

The final part of the book (end of chapter 9) is West's suggestions for campaign financing. Reading through the first eight chapters, I was shocked to read about the corruption in campaigns, and kept asking the question of "what can be done?" About fifteen pages is addressed to this question, with West outlining 13 points that could help. The ideas are good; the only problem is that they are mentioned as afterthoughts, when the "what can be done" question really could encompass an entire book. Regardless, this book was a good read, and I do recommmend it to any interested in campaigns.

5.0 out of 5 stars Why money has become a perniciously corruptive influence, August 12, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Checkbook Democracy: How Money Corrupts Political Campaigns (Paperback)

In Checkbook Democracy: How Money Corrupts Political Campaigns, Darrell West draws upon his many years of experience and expertise as Professor of Political Science and Director of the John Hazen White, Sr., Public Opinion Laboratory at Brown University to write an engaging and challenging expose on how modern politics has become a never ending money chase. Professor West cogently explains why money has become a perniciously corruptive influence on public debate and what an alert citizenry can do to redeem the this sad and endemic state of political affairs in an American democracy. Checkbook Democracy should be manditory reading by all political science students and brought to the immediate attention of every non-specialist general reader with a desire for political and campaign finance reforms.