Campaigns, Congress, and Courts

Book excerpt: Campaigns, Congress, and Courts presents a political history of the passage, judicial interpretation, and administration of federal campaign finance law from 1907 to the present. The volume focuses on the post-Watergate years and analyzes the ideological and partisan conflicts which shape congressional and public debate over how, or whether, to regulate political money. The book opens with an account of the first law, then moves to the Watergate period while explaining the background of the 1970's reforms. Subsequent chapters examine the origin and passage of legislation through case studies, focusing on congressional debates and roll call votes; analyze the arguments of reformers and their opponents in court battles over these laws; demonstrate how the press and public opinion effect the legislative climate; assess the creation of the Federal Election Commission, its quasi-judicial role, and the political cross pressures to which it is subject; and explain the rise of labor and business PACs.