Outside Money: Soft Money and Issue Advocacy in the 1998 Congressional Elections - Tapa blanda

David Magleby has done a superlative job looking into the matter of outside money in political campaigns. -- Ron Faucheux, editor-in-chief, Campaigns & Elections/Congressional Quarterly Outside Money challenges the candidate-centered and media-focused perspective on congressional elections and raises troubling questions about the adequacy of campaing communication and the robustness of democratic accountability. -- Thomas E. Mann, The Brookings Institution Outside Money provides the first systematic analysis, using case studies, of a hugely significant and deeply troubling trend in American elections. It is a first-rate piece of work. -- Norman Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute An important and unique contribution to our knowledge of American elections. It should be read by anyone interested in campaigns and elections, interest group politics, and media and politics generally. -- James A. Thurber, Distinguished Professor, American University Candidates, like myself, who have been involved with soft dollar contributions, find them a double-edged sword. Every one of those candidates will tell you where interest group electioneering really helped them and they were grateful for it, and where they wanted to slap those people sill and tell them to get out of their campaign. There is a real problem, in some cases, of being out of control of your own campaign. Do we let the tail wag the dog? That's a terrible situation for a candidate to face, and this book describes it perfectly. -- Lily Eskelsen, former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the Una 2nd Congressional District Call this investigative scholarship. Professor Magleby's research shines a light into the dark corners of American politics, revealing ways that interest groups spend millions to influence elections, often out of public view. -- Brooks Jackson, CNN Correspondent Magleby and his colleagues have provided political scientists with an important glimpse into the broader scope of campaign activities that are often ignored in our explanations of electoral outcomes. He also convincingly argues that this development has implications for our representational system that are worth our attention. * American Review of Politics * This edited volume provides insightful, in-depth analyses of seven competitive congressional races. Recommended at all levels. * CHOICE *

Along with its analysis of soft money strategies and effects,Outside Money offers the first systematic examination of the full range of campaign communications by interest groups and illustrates the shift to the "ground war" by parties and groups in 1998. Election year 2000 is certain to contribute its own chapter to this story of the power of outside money in campaigns, and the challenge to electoral democracy it poses.