Campaign Finance Reform

Campaign Finance Reform: The Political Shell Game provides an in-depth look at the history of political campaign finance reform with special emphasis on legislative, FEC, and federal court actions from the 1970s to present. In particular, the authors examine the ways that campaigns and independent groups have sought to make end-runs around existing campaign finance rules.

For decades, campaign finance reform has been an on-going topic of discussion. In particular, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) was heralded as a major breakthrough in controlling the flow of money into campaigns. Almost immediately, political players found other ways to financially manipulate the new laws. Campaign Finance Reform: The Political Shell Game provides an in-depth look at the history of political campaign finance reform with special emphasis on legislative, FEC, and federal court actions from the 1970s to present. In particular, the authors examine the ways that campaigns and independent groups have sought to make end-runs around existing campaign finance rules. Oftentimes the loopholes they find make a significant impact on an election, sparking the next round of campaign finance reform. New rules are then enacted, and new loopholes are found. Like a big political shell game, the amount of money in politics never actually decreases, but instead gets moved around from one organization to another.

Part 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Chapter 1. An Overview of Campaign Finance Law
Part 3 Historical Background
Chapter 4 Chapter 2. Political parties and Campaign Finance Law
Chapter 5 Chapter 3. NCPAC and the Development of Third-Party Expenditures
Part 6 The 527s
Chapter 7 Chapter 4. The History of 527 Organizations
Chapter 8 Chapter 5. Swift Boat Veterans and MoveOn.org
Chapter 9 Chapter 6. Analysis of 527 ads in 2004 election
Chapter 10 Chapter 7. Silence Is(n't) Golden: Responding to 527 ads
Part 11 Future of Campaign Finance Reform
Chapter 12 Chapter 8. The Possible Future of 527s
Chapter 13 Chapter 9. The Future of Campaign Finance Laws
Part 14 Afterward: Corporations Are Given a Free Rein