Overview

This book not only takes a comprehensive and sobering look at America's dysfunctional political system that allows wealthy interests to buy our elections, laws, and politicians, but prescribes the only remedy that will realistically get money out of politics once and for all: campaign spending limits.Campaign spending limits is not a new idea. It's not reinventing the wheel. Federal spending limit laws were passed in 1911 (Publicity Act Amendments), 1971 (Federal Election Campaign Act or FECA), and 1974 (FECA Amendments). By 1975, 34 states had also passed laws restricting a candidate's spending in state and local elections. In response to Watergate, the nation's biggest political scandal, the far-reaching 1974 FECA Amendments sought to permanently remedy the systemic rot of the entire political system. Its primary tool was campaign spending limits. There is no other method, including public financing, term limits, or a Citizens United v. FEC nullification that would come close to solving the problem.But those who stood to lose their fortunes and political dominance when the 1974 law passed fought back--all the way to the United States Supreme Court. And they won. In 1976, the Court obligingly quashed all federal and state campaign spending limit laws before they could take root. The case, Buckley v. Valeo, is the granddaddy of all campaign finance rulings, with all subsequent campaign finance decisions standing on its shoulders, including Citizens United. A constitutional amendment overturning Buckley is the only realistic way to permanently get money out of politics. It will return to citizens the power to manage elections and control the amount of money flowing to candidates, incumbents, and ballot initiatives from all wealthy political players seeking to rig the system in their favor.

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