Political Communication and Campaign Finance Reform

As the momentum for a California Constitutional Convention builds, a proposal from Steven Hill, Director of the Political Reform Program, to empower citizen delegates has generated

Ten years ago, the United States held its first billion-dollar election -- that was roughly the amount spent by all candidates for Congress and the presidency put together. The same year brought the first large-scale campaign finance scandal since Watergate, best remembered for the almost accurate metaphor of President Bill Clinton selling overnights in the Lincoln Bedroom in exchange for large contributions to the Democratic Party. And both took place at a time when Americans were deeply disconnected from politics;… more

"The billion-dollar election." Get used to that phrase, because you’ll be hearing it a lot over the next year and a half. That’s the total that all candidates for the presidency are expected to spend on their campaigns between now and 2008. It’s a staggering figure that critics will surely cite as evidence that money has thoroughly corrupted politics. Newt Gingrich shocked the bluenoses back in 1996, when he said that there was too little money in politics, not too… more

The principle of “one person, one vote” is a cornerstone of American Democracy.  But since our public elections are financed by private contributions, it often seems as though that cornerstone principle has been replaced by “one dollar, one vote,” and that the more dollars one can spend, the more votes one can buy.