Preliminary Syllabus

Preliminary Syllabus

Government 374

MONEY IN AMERICAN ELECTIONS

Fall, 2006

Professor Clyde Wilcox

ICC 679

202-687-5273; fax=5858

www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/wilcoxc

This is a seminar about the role of money (and its substitutes) in American elections. The 2006 Congressional elections are only the second set of elections since the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), and we will closely follow the flow of money in the 2006 campaigns.

This is the second time that this course has been taught, so I welcome student feedback (and patience) as the course unfolds. This also means that the syllabus may be revised once or twice once the semester starts.

This course is a seminar, not a lecture course. Students are expected to do the readings before each class, and participate in class discussion. Note that class discussion constitutes 25% of the final grade in the course. Believe it or not, I can tell when you haven't done the readings, and if you consistently come to class unprepared, your participation grade will suffer. In most class sessions, we will combine some lecture material with a discussion of readings. We will also have guest speakers in several sessions, for usually about 1/2 of the class.

Guest speakers will represent diverse points of view. Students are permitted to ask tough questions and to challenge the positions of speakers but I do require that you do so politely. Speakers give of their time freely, and they are entitled to respect.

This course works best when students actively seek information outside of class -- from web sites, newspapers, and other sources, and share them with other students.

GRADING:

Final Exam 30% Paper 35% Class Discussion 25% Book Review 10%

Grades are based on a final exam (which will either be open book or take home), a research paper, a written book report, and class discussion. There is a fair amount of reading per class session, but the class only meets once a week.

Students will prepare one 3-4 page critical book review. Students may review books on the list at the end of the syllabus, or suggest others to the instructor for approval. Book reviews are due Nov 3.

Students will also write one medium length (15-20 page) paper on a research topic. All topics must be cleared with the instructor. Research papers are not literature reviews -- I expect you to actually gather information about a topic. I am willing to look at outlines of papers, and even comment on drafts, but I do not require that you submit these. The Washington community is a rich source of information on this topic, and I urge you to take advantage of it. You will waste a wonderful opportunity if you wait to the last minute and then merely research through the internet. Papers are due the last day of class.

I understand that computer hard drives freeze and printers die, so it is important that you back up your paper on floppy disk from time to time. Also please note that I will enforce the university’s policy on plagiarism. Familiarize yourself with university policy at http://www.georgetown.edu/undergrad/bulletin/regulations6.html

There are many sources that you should consult; below are a few web sites that you can explore.

Campaign Finance Institute http://www.cfinst.org/

Center for Responsive Politics http://www.opensecrets.org/

Federal Election Commission http://www.fec.gov/index.html

Stanford Law School archive for McConnell v. FEC http://lawschool.stanford.edu/library/campaignfinance/ (This is a monster site)

Texts

The following books are available for purchase at the bookstore. This course is overenrolled, so it is possible that the bookstore may not have enough copies. Please order copies from Amazon.com or some other source if this is the case.

Bradley A. Smith, Unfree Speech Princeton University Press, 2006.

David Magleby, Financing the 2004 Election. 2006, Brookings.

Michael J. Malbin, The Election After Reform. Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.

David Schultz, Money, Politics, and Campaign Finance Reform Law in the States. Carolina Academic Press, 2002.

Bruce Ackerman & Ian Ayres, Voting with Dollars. Yale University Press, 2002.

Recommended but not required:

Anthony Corrado, Thomas Mann, Daniel Ortiz, and Trevor Potter, The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook. Brookings, 2006. (note that this is not at the bookstore, but Brookings is in town and sells it at their store. You can also buy this used at Amazon.com). Note that we will have several chapters accessed through the internet, but it is easier to just buy the book and be done with it.

Topics and Readings

September 1: Introduction

September 8: Money in Elections, an Overview

·  “Financing Politics: A Global View” M. Pinto-Duchinsky. Journal of Democracy. - Blackboard

·  Ackerman and Ayres, Part 1 (ch 1-4)

·  Rose-Ackerman, Corruption and Government Ch 8.*

·  Schultz, Introduction

·  Bailey, “The Two Sides of Money and Politics” – Blackboard

·  Magleby, et al, Ch 1

September 15: A History of Campaign Finance Regulation in the US

·  Smith, Ch 2

·  Corrado,Chapter 1 of Handbook http://www.brookings.edu/gs/cf/sourcebk01/InternetChap1.pdf

·  Potter, Chapter 2 of Handbook http://www.brookings.edu/gs/cf/sourcebk01/InternetChap2.pdf

·  Malbin, “Thinking About Reform” in Malbin, ed Life After Reform

·  Corrado, “The Legislative Odyssey of BCRA” in Malbin, ed. Life After Reform

·  Magleby et al., Ch 2

(Note: some of this will be redundant, so skim as needed).

September 22: The Supply of Money – Who Gives and Why?

·  Individuals – Francia et al, Ch 2, 3*

·  Interest Groups – Boatright et al, “BCRA’s Impact on Interest Groups and Advocacy Organizations.”*

·  Interest Groups – Magleby, et al, ch 8

·  Interest Groups -- Stephen Stephen Ansolabehere, et al. “Are PAC Contributions Linked to Lobbying? Blackboard

·  Parties – Magleby, et al., Ch 7

September 29: The Demand for Money

·  Francia, et al., Ch 4

·  Herrnson, Congressional Elections (4th edition), Ch 5

·  Stephen Ansolabehere, et al. “Why is there so little money in American Campaigns?” Blackboard

·  Magleby, Ch 4-6

October 6: Is Disclosure Enough?

·  Wilcox, Transparency and Disclosure in the US Blackboard

·  Campaign Finance Institute: Website Woes -- http://www.cfinst.org/disclosure/pdf/websitewoes.pdf

·  Potter, Campaign Finance Dislosure Laws, Ch4 of Handbook http://www.brookings.edu/gs/cf/sourcebk01/InternetChap4.pdf

·  Go to FEC web page, track the contributions from a PAC

·  Go to the Center for Responsive Politics web page, track contributions to a candidate

Note: there is repetition in this, skim as needed

October 13: Enforcement: Guest Speaker Wesley Joe

·  Wilcox, Campaign Finance Law Enforcement in Canada and the US*

·  http://www.citizen.org/documents/BCRATables.pdf

·  Thomas Mann, Enforcing Campaign Finance Law

http://www.brookings.edu/gs/cf/sourcebk01/InternetChap8.pdf

October 20 The Impact of BCRA

·  Malbin (entire)

·  Magleby, et al, Ch 1 (review), Ch 9

October 27 Interest Groups in Elections, A Broader View (Guest Speaker Chuck Cunningham, NRA)

November 3: The effects of money

·  Dennis Thompson, Ethics in Congress, pp 34-48. *

·  Brooks Jackson, Honest Graft pp 82-94 *

·  Smith, Ch 7

·  more readings to follow

November 10: The Deregulatory alternative

·  Smith, (entire)

November 17: Other Reforms

·  Ackerman and Ayres, Voting with Dollars (entire)

·  Paying for Politics, Blackboard

·  Thomas Mann, Chapter 10 of Handbook, The Reform Agenda http://www.brookings.edu/gs/cf/sourcebk01/InternetChap10.pdf

·  Magleby, Ch 9 (review)

December 1: The Presidential Campaign System and Reform. Guest speaker, Michael Malbin.

NOTE: We will meet at the Campaign Finance Institute, 1990 M Street, NW,
Suite 380 Washington, DC 20036. Phone: 202-969-8890. This is relatively close to the Foggy Bottom metro, and to GWU.

·  Review Malbin, Ch 11

·  CFI Small Donor Grant Proposal, on Blackboard

Books for potential review:

Note that this is a suggested list, but that other books are entirely acceptable, if cleared by me.

Thomas Gais: Improper Influence: Campaign Finance Law, Political Interest Groups, and the Problem of Equality. University of Michigan Press, 1998.

Rodney A. Smith, Money, Power, and Elections: How Campaign Finance Reform Subverts American Democracy. Louisiana State University Press, 2006.

Joel Thompson and Gary Moncrief. Campaign Finance in State Legislative Elections. CQ Press, 1998.

Michael J. Malbin and Thomas Gais, The Day After Reform: Sobering Campaign Finance Lessons from the American States. The Rockefeller Institute Press, 1998.

David B. Magleby and J. Quin Monson, The Last Hurrah: Soft Money and Issue Advocacy in the 2002 Congressional Elections. Brookings, 2004.

Peter Francia, The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics. Columbia University Press, 2006.

David B. Magleby, J. Quin Monson, and Kelly D. Patterson, Dancing without Partners: How Candidates, Parties, and Interest Groups Interact in the Presidential Campaign. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007.

J. Tobin Grant and Thomas J. Rudolph, Expression vs. Equality: The Politics of Campaign Finance Reform. Ohio State University Press, 2004.

Jennifer A. Steen. Self-Financed Candidates in Congressional Elections. University of Michigan Press, 2006.

Anthony Corrado, Thomas E. Mann, and Trevor Potter. Inside the Campaign Finance Battle. Brookings: 2003.

Mark J. Rozell, Clyde Wilcox, and David Madland. Interest Groups in American Campaigns (2nd edition). CQ Press, 2006.

Clifford Brown, Lynda Powell, and Clyde Wilcox. Serious Money: Fundraising and Contributing in Presidential Campaigns. Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Peter Francia, Paul Herrnson, John Green, Lynda Powell, and Clyde Wilcox. The Financiers of Congressional Elections: Investors, Ideologues, and Intimates. Columbia University Press, 2005.

Gerald Lubenow, A User’s Guide to Campaign Finance Reform, Rowman and Littlefield, 2001.

Diana Dwyre and Victoria Farrar-Myers, Legislative Labyrinth: Congress and Campaign Finance Reform. CQ Press. 1998.