Campaign Finance What Everyone Needs to Know [Paperback]

In 2015, well over half of the money contributed to the presidential race came from roughly 350 families. The 100 biggest donors gave as much as 2 million small donors combined. Can we still say we live in a democracy if a few hundred rich families provide a disproportionate shares of campaign funds? Congress and the courts are divided on that question, with conservatives saying yes and liberals saying no. The debate is about the most fundamental of political questions: how we define democracy and how we want our democracy to work.

The debate may ultimately be about political theory, but in practice it is conducted in terms of laws, regulations, and court decisions about super PACs, 527s, 501(c)(4)s, dark money, small donors, public funding, corporate contributions, the Federal Election Commission, and the IRS.CampaignFinance: What Everyone Needs to Know?explains those laws, regulations, and Supreme Court decisions, fromBuckley v. ValeotoCitizens United, asking how they fit into the larger discussion about how we want our democracy to work.

Acknowledgments
Introduction

1 What is the campaign finance problem?
What is the disagreement between supporters and opponents of reform?
How big a problem is quid pro quo corruption?
Whether the problem is political corruption or political inequality, campaign finance is about paying for election campaigns. How much do they cost?
Do elections cost a lot more now than they used to?
Is it true that the candidate with the most money always wins?
Where do candidates get the money to pay for their campaigns?
What is the role of political parties?
How has Congress regulated money in elections?
What is the state of the Federal Election Campaign Act today?

2 Watergate and Buckley v. Valeo
What was Watergate?
What was the campaign finance part of Watergate?
How did Congress change campaign finance law after Watergate?
Who were Bucklel"