Ronald Reagan started it, back in 1977. George Bush perfected the art in 1988. In the 1980s and 1990s, Democrats as well as Republicans running for President (or thinking of doing so), have followed Reagan's lead in establishing pre-candidacy PACs as a way of raising more money faster, without the regulatory rigours laid down by Congress and the Federal Election Commission. Marshalling years of experience on the campaign trail, Anthony Corrado has documented the fund-raising and spending patterns of Presidential candidates ...
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Ronald Reagan started it, back in 1977. George Bush perfected the art in 1988. In the 1980s and 1990s, Democrats as well as Republicans running for President (or thinking of doing so), have followed Reagan's lead in establishing pre-candidacy PACs as a way of raising more money faster, without the regulatory rigours laid down by Congress and the Federal Election Commission. Marshalling years of experience on the campaign trail, Anthony Corrado has documented the fund-raising and spending patterns of Presidential candidates who feel forced to circumvent the system in order to amass enough funds to mount a contemporary Presidential campaign. The book shows how the Federal Election Campaign Act not only permits but in fact inspires Presidential candidates to break the laws governing campaign finance. Ironically, as the author proposes, less regulation may yield greater compliance and a more effective nomination process in the 1990s and beyond.
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