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

In 1995, promising a more active political presence for unions, John Sweeney was elected president of the AFL-CIO. Labor would develop a "new voice," one that could not be ignored or taken for granted by Democratic and Republican politicians. However, by the summer of 2005 opposition to Sweeney's leadership threatened to divide the labor movement. In The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics, Peter L. Francia discusses the effects of Sweeney's controversial tenure as president and assesses labor's influence on American political elections and legislation. Drawing on interviews with union and business leaders, as well as campaign-finance and public-opinion data, Francia argues that Sweeney has employed a more effective and expansive grassroots political operation than his predecessors. He challenges critics who dismiss Sweeney's efforts as a failure but cautions that the decline in union membership presents a serious crisis for the labor movement. When unions emphasize "grassroots" strategies they can effectively compete against the financial power of big business and can make a significant difference in congressional politics. Francia analyzes organized labor's political activities, its coalitions with other interest groups, and its influence on voter turnout, election results, and votes in Congress. He also examines the effects of Sweeney's embrace of progressive causes and labor's increasing willingness to challenge Democrats who vote against labor's interests. For all his successes, Sweeney's tenure has not been without its problems. Labor's presence in American politics is threatened by shrinking membership in unions. Francia suggests that if unions want to remain a viable political force in congressional politics, they must devote more resources to organizing workers.

The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics

Business & Money

Economics

Over the past few decades, many students have developed misinformed opinions about the American electoral process, and Conventional Wisdom and American Elections was written to debunk some of the more common misunderstandings. This book's organization and structure complements courses on campaigns and elections, political parties, political participation, public opinion, the media, Congress, and the presidency. Topics include campaign finance, political participation and voting, the role of campaigns, Internet campaigning, negative campaigning, political parties, and the role the media plays in the electoral process. Each chapter is fairly short, yet the book offers comprehensive coverage of the subject matter. On one hand, it is written so that it is accessible to undergraduate students and contains a minimum of complex statistical analysis. On the other hand, connections to political science research and the role it plays in dispelling falsehoods about campaigns and elections are explicit throughout the text. Conventional Wisdom and American Elections is useful as a pedagogical tool to help 'hook' students into thinking about elections, politics, and political science.

Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions

History

Jody Baumgartner

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Many students develop misinformed opinions about the American electoral process. Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions debunks some of the more common misunderstandings that have arisen about the electoral process in the past few decades. The book's organization and structure complement courses on campaigns and elections, political parties, political participation, public opinion, the media, Congress, and the presidency. Topics include campaign finance, political participation and voting, and the roles played by campaigns, negative campaigning, political parties, and the media in the electoral process. Each chapter is fairly short yet offers comprehensive coverage of the subject matter. The book contains a minimum of complex statistical analysis and is written so that it is accessible to undergraduate students. However, explicit connections are made throughout the text between political science research and the role it plays in dispelling falsehoods about campaigns and elections. The book is useful as a pedagogical tool to help 'hook' students into thinking about elections, politics, and political science. The second edition includes material from the 2008 election, as well as two new chapters that cover campaign finance reform and the selection of vice presidential candidates.

Jody C. Baumgartner

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Books by Peter L. Francia