cover image Checkbook Democracy: How Money Corrupts Political Campaigns

Checkbook Democracy: How Money Corrupts Political Campaigns

Darrell M. West. Northeastern University Press, $47.5 (224pp) ISBN 978-1-55553-441-7

In the aftermath of Watergate, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that severely limited individual and corporate contributions to political campaigns. As this unsurprising book details, well-heeled contributors have evaded this law by contributing ""soft money"" to interest groups that don't have to open their books. In some cases, these interest groups, in the guise of ""educating"" the public about issues, actually ""ran election ads in disguise."" The author cites a number of cases, including the Willie Horton race-baiting ads used to support George Bush's 1988 campaign and the case of the Christian Action Network, which spent $2 million in 1992 (one of its ads depicted Bill Clinton and Al Gore among pictures of marchers in a Gay Pride parade and asked, ""Is this your vision of a better America?""). The Federal Election Commission investigated the ads, but the CAN won its case in court. Even when individuals are fined for violating the campaign finance laws, enforcement is lax--New York Yankees owner George Steinbrennner paid a fine of only $35,000 for money laundering during the 1972 presidential campaign, and President Ronald Reagan later pardoned him. As the author notes, the courts have often interpreted ""the freedom of speech as the freedom to spend."" However, the recommendations suggested by West, a professor of political science at Brown University, at the end of the book seem merely Band-Aids for a systemic problem; he fails to convincingly rebut the argument that interest groups can advance democracy by allowing citizens with common interests to group together to express their views. In the end, this book, while timely, adds little to an issue already much in the news. (Apr).