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Alexander Rossian

Dr. Guenzel

English Composition 1102

April 21 2020

Research Dossier About Campaign Finance Reform

Introduction: The 2016 presidential election proved to be the most expensive election cycle in
American history costing 2.4 billion dollars. According to the Washington Post, the 2016
election cycle, including congressional races, added another 4 billion dollars effectively
summing campaign spending at approximately 6.5 billion dollars for one cycle. The first
American election was held in 1788 under the freshly ratified constitution. Throughout American
history, the structure and operation of elections have radically changed and evolved. In fact,
according to OpenSecrets.com, George Washington, the first American president, spoiled
constituents with free whiskey hoping for their vote in return, a practice which is illegal today.
Until 1828 when Andrew Jackson ran for office, you had to come from a prestigious family with
great wealth to even stand a chance getting elected. Although, in 1943 campaigning for elections
took one of its most radical shifts with the birth of political action committees (PAC’s).
Throughout the past 80 years a plethora of laws, amendments, and Supreme Court rulings have
vastly shifted the way we campaign, leading us to an election such as 2016. The founding fathers
would’ve never imagined, or supported, a system that spends billions of dollars, much of which
comes from wealthy individuals, corporations, and average Americans alike. Does that mean our
system is broken? Or is our system effective and adaptive to the current times? This issue of
campaign funding, and its encompassing laws, is a highly debated topic within our democracy.
Given that campaigning for an election requires great sums of cash, what are the effects of that
cash? Who is funding these corporations like campaigns? Why do these people spend millions of
their own dollars? Do they get anything in return? Some would argue that the current system
works because wealthy people can donate to politicians that hold similar views, which then helps
make them a reality. On the contrary though, many argue that this is a legal form of bribery, or as
it's referred to in the political world: pay-to-play politics. They believe that by donating great
amounts of money to someone, in return they will need to satisfy the donor or else they won’t
donate again in the future election. Politicians such as Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth
Warren, and Michael Bloomberg have all loudly stated their views regarding this topic. I will be
analyzing three perspectives regarding this highly debated topic. First perspective, the argument
that asserts that our system should maintain the status quo regarding campaign financing. Second
perspective, the argument that we should strongly regulate campaign financing limiting
donations radically and further tightening laws regarding Political Action Committees. Third
perspective, the argument that we should remove restrictions and regulations regarding campaign
finance because those laws and regulations limit American’s constitutional rights, and
furthermore are ineffective. The first perspective is best represented by Ann M. Ravel, James
Bopp, Calla Hummel, John Gerring, Bradley A. Smith, and Thomas Burt. The second
perspective is represented by Russel Berman, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Bradley Jones, Zachary
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Albert, Raymond La Raja and Lauren Carrol. The third perspective is represented by James
Bopp, Bradley A Smith, Tony Mauro, Trevor Burrus, and John Samples.

Research Proposal:

The issue of campaign finance has concerned other researchers and political analysts for

the majority of the American existence, as with most political issues. This issue has been debated

at great length by legal bodies within the United States, including all three branches of

government: Executive, Judicial, and Legislative. Those debates have led to decisions.

Furthermore, much of what those elected, and appointed, officials argue regarding the issue has a

deep rooting from research conducted by various universities, think tanks, and polling data. I will

be seeking answers to my questions and concerns from a wide array of sources including

websites, opinionated editorials, books, magazine entries, and online digital resources such as

PDF’s.

Research Question: How does the current campaign finance system impact politics, and what

reform proposals, if any, would further strengthen the way in which we practice our

constitutional right of voting.

Keywords: 1. Campaign 2. Finance 3. Law 4. Spending 5. Elections 6. PAC’s 7. Congress 8.

Donations 9. Courts 10. Constitution 11. Speech 12. Supporters 13. Opponents 14. Restrict 15.

Limits 16. Deregulate 17 Remove

Purpose: I’m diving deep into the controversy surrounding campaign finance reform, and

viewpoints regarding the topic, to further my knowledge on a topic that I have always had great

interest in. Both proponents and opponents express valid arguments for why their beliefs are true.
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I’ve always had an opinion regarding the issue, although I never felt that it was substantiated by

ampler research and facts.

Issues I’ve faced & Solutions: Most of the issues I have come across during my research process

revolve around the fact that there is so much information and data available on this topic from so

many different decades, which makes it hard to focus in on a specific time and make it relevant

to my peers. Due to this, I have decided from now on to only briefly mention elections before

2016, and only mention consequential and highly important decisions and supreme court rulings

that impact my topic.

Intended Audience: Students in this course and throughout Universities in America, if I decide to

publish my findings, will benefit the most from my research paper as it will explain and argue

various opinions regarding how candidates are able to run their elections and the effects of

money in politics. This is extremely important for my audience to know as they are entering, or

recently have entered, the voting force. It’s crucial for voters to understand the given system in

their nation and the implications that arise from it.

Calendar Planning: To best, and most effectively, conduct this research, I will separate the

process to better further success:

Day 1-3: Begin observing the varying perspectives and gain a better overview regarding

the issue.

Day 4-8: Begin collecting sources and reading into them, highlighting what I believe are

useful sections of the sources.

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Day 10-20: Begin analyzing and annotating the various sources I will be using and

writing down how those particular sources, including specific details from within them, will be

helpful to my project

Day 21-35: Complete research analysis of selected texts and improve the various drafts to

culminate a well written final analysis of the test.

Day 35-50: Begin argumentative research paper, and carefully revise the various drafts

on a daily basis. At this point, I will have strengthened my knowledge extensively to the point

that I can fairly make an educational thesis based on facts and opinions that I’ve analyzed. Also,

I will receive feedback from my professor and piers on how to strengthen my paper.

Day 51-60: Culminate everything from the above steps into a powerful, information

packed TED talk presentation to share my findings with my professor and peers. After doing so,

I will read and view my piers research and give my feedback.

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Works Cited Annotated Bibliography

“Money-in-Politics Timeline.” OpenSecrets, www.opensecrets.org/resources/learn/timeline.

-This OpenSecrets timeline was very important to my understanding of the historical events that

brought our system to its current way. This timeline includes crucial events such as Supreme and

Federal Court cases, executive orders, and legislative amendments to those decisions.

Ingraham, Christopher. “Analysis | Somebody Just Put a Price Tag on the 2016 Election. It's a

Doozy.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 Apr. 2017,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/04/14/somebody-just-put-a-price-tag-on-

the-2016-election-its-a-doozy/.

- This piece is very important to my research project as it puts the 2016 election into perspective

and shows the audience the shocking spending of the 2016 election. It’s crucial for the audience

to not only know the monetary figure, but also for them to know where that money comes from

and why.

Smith, Bradley A. "Faulty assumptions and undemocratic consequences of campaign finance

reform." The Yale Law Journal 105.4 (1996): 1049-1091.

-This Yale Law Journal analysis is extremely important to my paper as it discusses many myths

regarding campaign finance reform efficiency. It’s extremely well written and discussed both

constitution and moral issues to argue against reforms.

Milyo, Jeffrey, David Primo, and Timothy Groseclose. "Corporate PAC campaign contributions

in perspective." Business and Politics 2.1 (2000): 75-88.

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- This was one of my favorite sources as it pretty objectively explained corporate spending

in American elections, and their implications. The portion from the book called Business

and Politics serves my research well in explaining what corporate political action

committees are and why they even exist, which is essential to campaign finance as a huge

percentage of election money comes from corporations.

Supreme Court. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission's . 21 Jan. 2010,

www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf.

- This source is a direct source of the Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC. This is

extremely useful in my research as I will frequently bring quotes and opinions from this

landmark case. I will use the decision, reasons for it, what the justices argued, and the

dissenting opinion to further my analysis and explain what these 9 judicial experts

believe.

Ravel, Ann M. “Do We Really Need Campaign Finance Reform?” TIME, 19 Jan. 2016,

time.com/4182502/campaign-finance-reform/.

- This Time magazine editorial is very informative for my research as it’s written by an

extremely successful attorney who was appointed by President Barrack Obama to be the

head of the Federal Election Commissions. She’s a democrat, and strongly believes in

reforms, although what I gain from this piece most is the way she agrees to various

discrepancies in the reform argument, later going on to explain and argue why those

“flaws” as she calls it exist.

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Berman, Russell. “How Do We Fix Campaign Finance in U.S. Politics?” The Atlantic, Atlantic

Media Company, 16 Mar. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/fix-

money-in-politics/473214/.

This source proposes various methods to fix the current campaign finance system, assisting me

in arguing the perspective that reform is necessary. It’s written by The Atlantic, which is a left-

leaning source, this is essential to my research as I include various sources that lean right.

Having a fair and objective analysis is my goal, and there is no better way to accomplishing that

goal than by viewing both political agendas.

Warren, Elizabeth. “Getting Big Money Out of Politics.” Elizabeth Warren,

elizabethwarren.com/plans/campaign-finance-reform.

- This source is extremely important to my research as it strongly argues the position that

campaign finance reforms are extremely necessary. Furthermore, the fact that it’s written

by a United States Senator, who at the time of publication was also a candidate for

president, adds great authority and exemplifies what a Senator, who has actively argued

this issue for years, believes and would implement if given the power to.

Jones, Bradley. “Most Americans Want to Limit Campaign Spending.” Pew Research Center, Pew

Research Center, 8 May 2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/08/most-

americans-want-to-limit-campaign-spending-say-big-donors-have-greater-political-

influence/.

- The Pew Research Center compiled data regarding how American constituents feel

regarding the research topic I’m conducting. Although this article isn’t a deep analysis
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into the actual debate, it serves a crucial purpose in my paper by giving some essential

background on the beliefs of American citizens regarding my topic.

Bopp, James. “Campaign Finance ‘Reform’: The Good, The Bad and the Unconstitutional.” The

Heritage Foundation, 19 July 1999, www.heritage.org/budget-and-

spending/report/campaign-finance-reform-the-good-the-bad-and-the-unconstitutional.

- This piece is extremely helpful to my research as it deeply clarified many of the

arguments that I have always disagreed with, and never acknowledged seriously.

Although, I don't agree with many conclusions or opinions that Bopp makes, I will use

much of his data to argue the perspective that campaign finance reforms are bad, and

potentially should be decreased.

Samples, John, and Trevor Burrus. “Campaign Finance: Fixing an Overregulated Marketplace of

Ideas.” Cato Handbook For Policymakers, Cato Institute ,

www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-handbook-policymakers/2017/2/cato-

handbook-for-policymakers-8th-edition-26_0.pdf.

- This PDF document from The Cato Institute is essential to my research as it extensive, in

35 pages, explains the issue of campaign finance. It does more than just that though, it

will tremendously assist me in arguing the perspective that there is too much regulation

surrounding elections. This paper is from one of the largest thinktanks in Washington,

and it’s important to note that it was written for the main purpose of convincing

legislators to support their agenda regarding this issue.

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Carroll, Lauren. “PolitiFact - Is Donald Trump Self-Funding His Campaign? Sort

Of.” @Politifact, 1 Feb. 2016, http://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/feb/10/donald-

trump/donald-trump-self-funding-his-campaign-sort/

- This PolitiFact article adds some interesting information regarding Donald Trump and his

claim to have self-funded his campaign. This is important to my paper as Donald Trump

was the first politician since the constitutional era to ever propose such a concept. As the

research I’m conducting revolved around this issue, Donald Trump serves the purpose of

showing how this issue has so many implications and to answer the question of why one

would decide to do what Trump did.