Description
Scholars of congressional elections have falsely identified two different eras of campaigns--the party-centered campaign era of the 19th century and the subsequent candidate-centered era--argues Parker (political science, Montana State U.), who counters that campaigns have never been uniformly party-centered or candidate- centered. Instead, it is the competition for resources, primarily money and reputation, and the institutional rules and partisan capacities that affect the distribution of said resources that determine whether candidates will accept party dominance in their quest to win office or will take matters into their own hands. He tests this theory against 120 years of congressional elections and uses it to explain candidate and party behavior following the passage of the Federal Election Campaign Act and to predict the consequences of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold). Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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A new understanding of what really matters in our electionsPrevailing wisdom holds that the pivot of American political campaigns has shifted over the past century from the parties to the candidate. David C. W. Parker challenges this conventional notion, arguing that campaigns center on neither orientation but are, more simply, resource dependent.The Power of Money in Congressional Campaigns examines the historical development of party, interest-group, and candidate power in the American congressional election process. Parker takes a broad view of the electoral terrain, considering both primary and general elections, and discerns distinct patterns emerging during the twentieth century. He proposes a new theoretical model based on the need for candidates to accumulate enough financing and reputation to compete successfully, showing the importance of the rules governing this process.Analyzing case studies of elections over more than a century, Parker argues that campaign behavior boils down to the determination to gather the resources needed to win. He shows that changes in electoral rules over time have affected the strategies candidates and parties use to accumulate campaign resources. He also suggests how the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002 may influence the relationships among political actors and affect the quality of democratic discourse.Unlike many studies of the election process, this book provides a broad understanding of why candidates, parties, and interest groups pursue particular strategies. The Power of Money in Congressional Campaigns is a corrective analysis of how candidates campaign, and how Americans choose their leaders.
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