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Theresa A. Amato

Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny Hardcover – June 9, 2009

by Theresa Amato (Author), Ralph Nader (Foreword)

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Ralph Nader’s former campaign manager “takes the biggest swing―not a jab, but a roundhouse punch―at America’s corrupt electoral system” (Phil Donahue).

As the national campaign manager for Ralph Nader’s historic runs for president in 2000 and 2004, Theresa Amato had a rare ringside role in two of the most hotly contested presidential elections this country has seen. In Grand Illusion, she gives us a witty, thoughtful critique of the American electoral system, as well as a powerful argument for opening up the contest as if people and their daily lives mattered.

While making the case for specific reforms in the United States’ arcane system of ballot access laws, complex federal regulations, and partisan control of elections, Amato also offers a spirited history of how third-party and Independent candidates have kept important issues on the table in elections past and contribute to our country’s political life. Even the most fervent Nader critics will think twice about Nader’s role in 2000, thanks to Amato’s trenchant factual analysis.

Looking beyond the Nader story to campaigns waged by challengers John Anderson, Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and others, Amato shows how limiting ourselves to two candidates deprives our country of a robust political life, strips would-be contenders of their free speech and association rights, and cheats voters out of meaningful political choices.

“Amato displays an encyclopedic knowledge of election law, and her recommendations for election reform, including a comprehensive plan for ‘Federal Administration and Financing of Elections,’ are crucial contributions to the debate over election law.” ―Publishers Weekly

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The New Press
Publication date

June 9, 2009
Dimensions

6 x 1 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1595583947
ISBN-13

978-1595583949
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The monumental difficulty of running for president of the United States as a third party or independent candidate is the subject of this informative but sometimes tedious chronicle by Ralph NaderÖs former campaign manager, who frames her crusade to get Nader onto the ballots in the 2000 and 2004 elections as a stand to give voters more voices and more choices. An NYU law school graduate, Amato brings a lawyerÖs sensibility to the book and details the endless technicalities, lawsuits and court rulings that NaderÖs team faced. This diligent chronicling could be essential reading for anyone planning to mount or advise an independent or third party run for president, but it is hard to imagine that the general reader will be captivated by the rented office space scandal of June 2004 and other such complications. Despite the bookÖs flaws, Amato displays an encyclopedic knowledge of election law, and her recommendations for election reform, including a comprehensive plan for Federal Administration and Financing of Elections, are crucial contributions to the debate over election law. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Until you have run, as I did, outside the two major parties, it is impossible to imagine the injustices of the two-party-tilted electoral process. Theresa Amato masterfully exposes the horrors faced by third-party and Independent candidates seeking the chance to compete and provide political choices for the American voter."
―John Anderson, former Independent presidential candidate and chair of the Center for Voting and Democracy

"Theresa Amato takes the biggest swing--not a jab, but a roundhouse punch--at America's corrupt electoral system."
―Phil Donahue

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The New Press; 1st edition (June 9, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1595583947
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1595583949
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.58 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,061,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,138 in Political Parties (Books)
- #3,175 in Elections
- #13,099 in U.S. Political Science

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23 global ratings

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Herman On the Path

Detailed Analysis

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 28, 2017

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A very very DETAILED analysis of how various and different state and federal laws work to make it very difficult for someone to get on the ballots in multiple states to run for national office.

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Rin Peov

A Must Read For All Americans.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

Had this book sitting for awhile, so glad I got around to it. There is no conspiracy theory, no propaganda, just a detailed first hand experience of how corrupt "Democracy" can be. We all love an underdog story in the movies but not so in real life I guess. Change is definitely needed. I LOVE THIS BOOK.

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Barry Krusch

Must-reading for every American

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 13, 2013

Verified Purchase

Just got this book, have only read the 1st chapter, but it is a bombshell. Really, this book is worth getting for the 1st chapter alone, and if your mind is functioning it is going to make your hair stand on end. Chapter 1 deals with ballot access laws from state to state, and all of it is very shocking stuff. Extensively footnoted, too. I can't imagine anyone voting for a Democrat or Republican again after reading this book.

The book is written, and extremely well at that, by the campaign manager for the Nader campaigns of 2000 and 2004. You don't have to be a fan of Ralph Nader to sympathize with what their team had to go through, you could be a fan of Ross Perot, John Anderson, George Wallace, or any independent candidate. Doesn't matter.

Read it and weep. Or better yet, act.

5 people found this helpful

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Fuego-73

A grim look at the election process

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 11, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book takes a very detailed look into the what a third party candidate has to endure to get on the ballot. Amato takes the reader through all the hurdles she had to jump over during Ralph Nader's presidential campaign. A lot of times the reader is shaking his head, wondering "Really? This is what you have to do to get on the ballot?" It seems that both "parties" collude to make life so miserable for third party candidates, that they don't want to ever challenge them. Even if you are only slightly interested in politics, this book is for you.

3 people found this helpful

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NK

Third Party Needed

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 27, 2013

Verified Purchase

I have been a long advocate that any third party out there would be better than our two party tyranny currently. I just finished watching an unreasonable man, and it truly is amazing what Ralph Nader has become to many Americans, treating him as a problem or pest when the man is still making $25,000 a year simply fighting for what many Revolutionaries died for before him. Tragic, but he is one of the few heroes of our time. I look forward to reading this book. Delivery was quick and painless.

One person found this helpful

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Lisa36

NO WONDER NADER HIRED HER.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 23, 2015

Verified Purchase

THIS WOMAN WRITES SUCH TRUTH. SHE IS A FABULOUS WRITER. DO NOT BUY IF YOU ARE A FLUTTER BRAIN.
THIS IS TOUGH SLEDDING BUT WOW….WHAT TRUTHS ARE IN THIS BOOK !!! DO NOT BUY IF YOU ARE A DIEHARD DEM OR REP. THIS IS FOR INDEPENDENT SHARP THINKERS. YEP !! I AM ENTITLED TO MY OPINION.

One person found this helpful

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Brandon Magoon

A Great Book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 9, 2010

Verified Purchase

Grand Illusion is a great book and I strongly recommend it. The American electoral system is a fraud and until we improve ballot access, establish a system of proportional representation and ensure that the votes are counted and counted fairly no election in this country can really be considered legitimate.

3 people found this helpful

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Greg

Get over it Ralph

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 7, 2011

You lost. No one cheated you out of anything. You were on the ballot in all 50 states in 2000 and couldn't capture 5% of the popular vote, let alone a single electoral vote. Those of us old enough to remember you as a "consumer crusader" know you made your name pushing junk science, on par with John Edwards. It is and should be hard work to get on a ballot and get elected. You want it handed to you and that's not going to happen.

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Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny Hardcover – June 9, 2009

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