September-October 1996

Money in Politics and Campaign
Finance Reform:

ARE SPECIAL INTERESTS CREATING A
"DOLLAR DEMOCRACY?"

The 1996 presidential elections brought charges of campaign finance abuses from both major political parties and many independent observers. After a Supreme Court decision gave national party committees the right to spend without limits, the year's elections broke all records, with big corporations and wealthy individuals leading the PACs. Many citizens began to ask if we still had a government "of, by, and for the people." As President Clinton and candidate Bob Dole avoided the issue, third-party candidates Ross Perot and Ralph Nader made it central to their campaigns. Polling revealed widespread public revulsion against the current system of private campaign financing, but few people had then heard or thought about other options.

The Mainstream Media Project, in partnership with the Center for Responsive Politics, launched a campaign to promote new and more comprehensive solutions to the private-money financing of politics. Grassroots activists from 20 states where campaign finance reform initiatives were under way participated, along with a number of nationally recognized authorities. Nearly 100 interviews were scheduled and completed during the run-up to the November 1996 elections.

Guest Speakers

Ira Arlook, Executive Director, Citizen Action

Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ), Senator

John Bonifaz, Founder and Director, National Voting Rights Institute

Ed Garvey, Former Head, NFL Players Association

Jim Hightower, Radio Talkshow Host

Randy Kehler, Co-Founder, Working Group on Electoral Democracy

Charles Lewis, Founder and Executive Director, Center for Public Integrity

Jack Lohman, President, Cardiac Evaluation Center; Citizen Activist

Harry Lonsdale, Former Senate Candidate in Oregon

Ellen Miller, Executive Director, Center for Responsive Politics

Gwen Patton, Veteran Civil Rights Activist

Jamin Raskin, Associate Dean, American University Law School

Ben Senturia, Working Group on Electoral Democracy

Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN), Senator

Additional Participants (Regional Contacts)

David Donnelly, Maine Voters for Clean Elections

Janice Fine, Founder, New England Money in Politics Project

Damacio Lopez, Re-Visioning New Mexico

Larry Marx, Wisconsin Citizen Action

Peter MacDowell, Institute for Southern Studies

Nick Nyhart, Northeast Citizen Action Resource Center

Anthony Pollina, Vermont Public Interest Research Group

Samantha Sanchez, Money in Politics Project, Western States Center

Jerome Scott, Project South