Description

Executive Summary

Critics of campaign finance in the United States

often direct their fire toward contributors who make

large donations. Critics charge that large contributions

are unfair, unrepresentative, and undemocratic.

Accordingly, they push for "reforms" that would

favor small contributions over large, and public

money over private donations.

Survey data on contributors contradict that

stereotype of contributors of large amounts and

their effects on American politics. Overall, "fat

cats" differ less from contributors of smaller

amounts than critics have alleged. The differences that do exist are mostly unsurprising and

generally small in magnitude. Survey results

show that both policy liberalism and

Democratic partisanship are well represented

among contributors of large sums.

The supporters of McCain-Feingold argue

that new restrictions on large contributions will

profoundly alter American politics for the better.

Their claims have no basis in fact. New laws

aimed at restricting large donations in favor of

smaller ones will have little effect on practical

politics.