Abstract
Melissa M. Smith, Glenda C. Williams, Larry Powell, and Gary A. Copeland, Campaign Finance Reform: The Political Shell Game. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2010, 148 pp., $26.95 (paperback).
The strength of the book is the short chapters on discrete topics related to political advertising by 527s and, more broadly, how electioneering groups change to avoid campaign finance laws. The concise book includes a history of pre-BCRA independent spending by groups such as the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC), the rise of 527 organizations in the aftermath of BCRA, a description of what happened in the 2004 election, and case studies of paradigmatic 527s, such as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and MoveOn.org. There is also an interesting (though slightly out of place) chapter about how politicians should respond to negative advertising. The case of John Kerry's “non-response” to the Swift Boat organization's scathing ads is held up as the classic example of how not to respond.
The chapters are mostly descriptive, relying on some previous research to make key points. The strongest chapters, most of them by Melissa Smith, tend to make clear links between the implementation of laws and the response of various partisan actors. On the other hand, some chapters make statements that are not demonstrated in the literature, and indeed contradicted in other chapters of the book. For example, in the chapter on political parties, it is argued that recent campaign finance laws, BCRA in particular, have served to increase the role of political parties. I would argue the opposite—that parties have been ill served by the laws. Indeed, a later chapter points out that money has flowed away from parties and increasingly toward short-lived 527 organizations. Moreover, the book is premised on the notion that campaign money has been squeezed outside the traditional system of candidates and parties, flowing into the 527 organizations.
Overall, the book is fairly well-balanced, even though most chapters betray a bias toward stronger regulation of 527s without considering the likely consequences. For the most part, however, the authors recognize attempts at regulating campaign money are, if not futile, very difficult—hence, the subtitle of the book, The Political Shell Game.
The closing chapters on the future of campaign finance reform do a solid job explaining why reform is so difficult, and illustrate the fluidity of the campaign finance system. In particular, these chapters show nicely how the federal courts have such a significant impact on the regulation of money in politics. There are good, basic explanations of how recent court cases, such as Wisconsin Right to Life v. Federal Election Commission and SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission, will affect the political terrain. Regrettably, the book was published before Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, but the Afterword provides a concise and well-argued statement of its likely consequences. The underlying message does not change—527s can relatively easily circumvent statutes to run campaign ads against candidates. Citizens United will likely make it easier.
The book has some problems. First, there is no introduction to pull the book together and explain its approach. While many teachers might simply assign discrete chapters to introduce students to various aspects and consequences of campaign finance law, an introduction would help instructors frame key questions and themes to guide discussion. Second, the book does not introduce students very well to theory and concepts that would aid them in understanding how campaigns work. The metaphor of a “shell game” is fine, but it would be advantageous to explain, in a structured way, the incentives of different actors in the political system (parties, interest groups, candidates, etc.). Occasionally, concepts are tossed out without any explanation. In Chapter 2, for example, the terms “congruity principles,” “disassociation principle,” and “inoculation theory” (p. 39) are used to reference strategies of thwarting negative ads, but the terms are never defined for the reader who is likely to be a novice in this domain.
The one chapter that emphasizes some theory and concepts actually seems a bit out of place as a topic for this book. This is the chapter about how politicians should respond to negative advertising. The author offers three alternatives: inoculation (pre-empt the attack by warning your supporters it is coming), strategic silence (when the expectation is that the negative ad will backfire or disappear based on norms and expectations of the targeted audience), and speaking out (confess, counterattack, etc.) (pp. 100–104). It is quite obvious that the author thinks Kerry should have taken the “Rovian” way and counterattacked relentlessly. While this advice seems sound, the chapter could have benefitted from tightening the link to 527s and the new campaign environment. Would this advice have applied equally well in the 1970s and 1980s campaigns? What has changed now that 527s are prevalent? To be sure, 527s are a primary source of negative advertising, but it is not clear that negative ads would be fewer if 527s did not exist.
Overall, the book can serve as a companion “brief” in lower division undergraduate courses for how partisan organizations typically adapt to campaign finances laws. I would hesitate to use it for graduate courses because it lacks theory and concepts that would help students think about political behavior in terms of institutions and practices, particularly by political parties, interest groups, Congress, and the news media.