Campaign Finance Reform The Political Shell Game

For decades, campaign finance reform has been an on-going topic of discussion. In particular, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) was heralded as a major breakthrough in controlling the flow of money into campaigns. Almost immediately, political players found other ways to financially manipulate the new laws. Campaign Finance Reform: The Political Shell Game provides an in-depth look at the history of political campaign finance reform with special emphasis on legislative, FEC, and federal court actions from the 1970s to present. In particular, the authors examine the ways that campaigns and independent groups have sought to make end-runs around existing campaign finance rules. Oftentimes the loopholes they find make a significant impact on an election, sparking the next round of campaign finance reform. New rules are then enacted, and new loopholes are found. Like a big political shell game, the amount of money in politics never actually decreases, but instead gets moved around from one organization to another.

Melissa M. Smith is assistant professor of communication at Mississippi State University.
Glenda C. Williams is associate professor of telecommunication and film at the University of Alabama and 2009-2010 president of the Broadcast Education Association.
Larry Powell is professor of communication studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Gary A. Copeland is professor and chair of the Telecommunication and Film Department at the University of Alabama.