Campaign Finance Reform Essay - 454 Words

Campaign Finance Reform Campaign finance issues are complicated in the United States by the fact that the funding sources of the Republican and Democratic parties differ so sharply. As a result, any reforms intended to affect one kind of funding are likely to adversely and disproportionately affect one of the two parties. Furthermore, while most issues on which elected officials decide concern benefits for constituents. Campaign finance reform involves changing an institution that benefits those who make the legislative choices. Today this is an issue of popular debate, which there are many varying proposals and even more varying opinions. The McCain-Feingold and Shays-Meehan bills are the best known and most visible of†¦show more content†¦A second school of thought is to eliminate contribution limits and increase disclosure. In contrast to the McCain-Feingold and Shays-Meehan bills, the proponents of this plan believe that campaigns are under-funded, and that increased spending would help enhance competition and allow candidates to get their messages out, that the funding system needs to be balanced by enhancing the role of individual contributors and that there should be full disclosure of all donations and assurance that they are recorded and made available publicly in a timely fashion. A third theory on campaign finance reform is that of FCC imposed free or reduced-rate broadcast time for candidates. This theory argues that the largest single expense of campaigns is television advertising. Free or reduced rate broadcast time for candidates would eliminate much of the need for raising large amounts of campaign funds. Radio and television airwaves are public property and therefore broadcasters have a responsibility to provide programming in the public interest. Free or reduced-rate broadcast time fits neatly with the requirements that broadcasters serve the public interest. Because Congress wont act, the Federal Communications Commission should. The fact is that the majority of AmericansShow MoreRelatedCampaign Finance Reform Essay3020 Words   |  13 Pagestheir campaign. Contributors range from unions, religious leaders, organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), the National Rifle Association (NRA), and senior citizens groups. When these groups, known as special interest groups, donate to candidate’s campaign, they expect the candidate to respond to their issues. Because special interest groups, as well as private citizens donate more and more money to campaigns, there is some concern that there is a great need for campaign financeRead MoreEssay on Campaign Finance Reform1003 Words   |  5 PagesCampaign Finance Reform The politics is a stage for many different characters of whom each is trying to convince their audience to give them the loudest cheer and the grand applause. Politicians who played the acts will do their best and sometimes will do everything to win the hearts of their audience and that means to win at all cost. Politics involves money for it is the way to make campaign possible that is why there are campaign managers and campaign funds to whoever will run for any officeRead MoreThe First Step Towards Lasting Campaign Finance Reform2697 Words   |  11 PagesFinal Paper: The First Step Towards Lasting Campaign Finance Reform â€Å"You don t put vote Bartlet in the ad, you can pay for it with unmarked bills from a bank heist if you want to.† - Bruno Gianelli (Fictional character, The West Wing, S03E06, â€Å"Gone Quiet†)1 Debates about the just and proper financing of campaigns for public office can be traced as far back as the Federalist Papers. On one side are those that believe any restriction in the frequency or amount of individual, corporate orRead MoreCampaign Finance Reform Essay782 Words   |  4 PagesCampaign Finance Reform Effective election campaigns have always relied on the candidates’ ability to raise money. Even in the days before television, radio and the internet, it still took money to get the word out to the people in a far-flung land. However, today’s candidates are faced with raising larger and larger amounts of money with each new election that comes along. Individuals are the primary source of campaign funding at the federal level, with political action committees runningRead MoreWhat Is Campaign Finance Reform?1342 Words   |  6 PagesOverview What is Campaign Finance Reform? Campaign finance regulation refers to attempts to regulate the ways in which political campaigns are funded. This includes all spending done to promote or support the promotion of candidates, ballot measures, political parties and more. Regulations can be applied to natural persons, corporations, political action committees, political parties and other organizations. They can come in the form of incentives, such as providing public financing to candidatesRead MorePolitical Campaign Finance Reform Essay1895 Words   |  8 PagesIn a country where democracy is at the heart of all citizens, these citizens need to have a stronger voice when it comes to elections. This is why the implementation of an amendment that reforms the financing of campaigns is disputed greatly among scholars and political officials alike. The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are entitled to first amendment rights, but the basis of this ruling is unclear. Unfortunately the overturning of such a ruling w ould not even guarantee a restored democracyRead MoreCampaign Finance Reform and the Necessity of Democracy Essay1492 Words   |  6 PagesCampaign Finance Reform and the Necessity of Democracy One of the major notions of the American system of government is that it is a government by the people, for the people. The system is supposed to take into account the opinions and desires off all those who fall under its jurisdiction. This is said to be accomplished by a representative democracy, where citizens elect one of there own to speak for the group (Hastings, 04). Therefore, it is reasonable to infer that any eligible manRead MoreCampaign Finance Reform Essay1544 Words   |  7 PagesCampaign Finance Reform The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees for 1999 raised an astounding 126 million to finance their campaigns in the primaries (Godfrey). The U.S. national political parties raised a record 107.2 million dollars in soft money contributions in 1999 (Campaign Finance Reform). During the 1995-96 elections, public citizens estimated that an astounding 150 million dollars was spent on phony issue ads designed to support or oppose congressional and presidentialRead MoreCampaign Finance Reform Should Be Restricted And Monitored1780 Words   |  8 PagesIn American society, campaign finance reform is continuously a topic of discussion. This year’s 2016 election will be the most expensive campaign with presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton is running for office. By this coming November, campaign spending for all candidates spending for all candidates who ran in this year’s election will be an estimated total of 4.4 billion dollars (â€Å"Do We Re ally Need†). For campaign finance to experience reform, we must first acknowledge that theRead MoreEssay about Campaign Finance Reform1256 Words   |  6 PagesCampaign Finance Reform With the introduction of â€Å"soft† money in politics, elections no longer go to the best candidate, but simply to the richer one. Soft money is defined as unregulated money that is given to the political parties that ends up being used by candidates in an election. In last year’s elections, the Republican and Democratic parties raised more than one-half of a billion dollars in soft money. Current politicians are pushing the envelope farther than any previous administrations