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.

The Financiers of Congressional Elections: Investors, Ideologues, and Intimates (Power, Conflict, and Democracy: American Politics Into the 21st Century)

Politics & Social Sciences

Peter L. Francia

John C. Green

Paul S. Herrnson

Lynda W. Powell

Clyde Wilcox

Politics & Government

Columbia University Press

The State of the Parties: The Changing Role of Contemporary American Parties (People, Passions, and Power: Social Movements, Interest Organizations, and the P)

Every four years, The State of the Parties brings readers up to date on American party organizations and activities. With the dual themes of polarization and innovation, the new edition is an essential primer on party politics.

Daniel J. Coffey

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Every four years, The State of the Parties brings readers up to date on party action in election years and in between. With the dual themes of continuity and change characterizing the new edition, this essential party primer includes: three new chapters on party roles in the 2008 election, a section on the impact of party resources for the campaign, extensive coverage of party mobilization efforts via the Internet and local activity, and new chapters covering topics ranging from Republicans' fall from grace to party governance under Nancy Pelosi to President Obama's role in party politics, and as always, a distinguished roster of contributors. List of Contributors: John R. Petrocik, Howard L. Reiter, John S. Jackson III, David Magleby, Melanie J. Blumberg, William C. Binning, Melody Crowder-Meyer, Daniel M. Shea, Ronald B. Rapoport, Kira C. Allmann, Daniel Maliniak, Barbara Trish, Michael J. Malbin, Aaron Dusso, Gregory Fortelny, Brendan Glavin, Raymond J. La Raja, Costas Panagopoulos, J. Quin Monson, Kelly D. Patterson, Jeremy C. Pope, Rebekah E. Liscio, Jeffrey M. Stonecash, Mark D. Brewer, Nancy L. Rosenblum, Richard M. Skinner, R. Lawrence Butler, Walter J. Stone, Matthew Pietryka

The Diminishing Divide: Religion's Changing Role in American Politics

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution forbids the creation of an official state church, and we hear the phrase "separation of church and state" so frequently that it may surprise us to note that no such barrier exists between religion and politics. Religion is, and always has been, woven into the fabric of American political life. In the last two decades, however, the role of religion in politics has become more direct—almost a blunt, self-conscious force in the political process. The national consequences of this "diminishing divide" between religion and politics have brought new groups into politics, altered party coalitions, and influenced campaigns and election results. Churches and other religious institutions have become more actively engaged in the political process, and religious people have increased the level and broadened the range of their political participation. While the public is more accepting of the role of religion in shaping today's political landscape, the issue of how much political power certain religious groups enjoy continues to provoke concern.Drawing on extensive survey data from the Pew Research Center, the National Election Studies, and other sources, The Diminishing Divide illuminates the historical relationship between religion and politics in the United States and explores the ways in which religion will continue to alter the political landscape in the century before us. A historical overview of religion in U.S. politics sets the tone as the book examines the patchwork quilt of American religion and the changing role of religious institutions in American political life since the 1960s. The book explores the complex relations between religion and political attitudes, as well as that of religion and political behavior—particularly with respect to party affiliation and voting habits. Finally, The Diminishing Divide offers a look at the future. As candidates and elected officials increasingly air their personal faith in public places with apparent political intent, and as parishioners are marshaled into political action by clergy and political groups, the authors lay out the background against which religion's power in American political life will be played in the new century.

History

Andrew Kohut

Scott Keeter

Robert C. Toth

World

Brookings Institution Press

The essays in this collection are the product of a conversation among scholars, spanning national borders and disciplinary boundaries, about the increasing integration of Canada, Mexico, and the United States and the development of a continental perspective. This conversation has been underway for some time, reflecting the causes, challenges, and consequences of economic, cultural, and political integration in North America. The conjunction of national elections in all three of the great North American democracies in 2000 offered us the opportunity to deepen this conversation and engage in scholarly discourse from a continental perspective. Taken together, the essays in this book provide a vivid portrait of North American democracies at the turn of the century.

Elections of 2000: Politics, Culture, and Economics in North America (Law, Politics, and Society)

Mary Kirtz

Rick Farmer

University Of Akron Press

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Books by John C. Green