Campaign Contributions and Legislative Voting by Stacey B Gordon (9780415949774)
Campaign Contributions and Legislative Voting by Stacey B Gordon (9780415949774)
Campaign Contributions and Legislative Voting (Book)
Stacey B Gordon Release Date: 03 May 2005 Format: Hardback Pages: 224 ISBN: 9780415949774 ISBN-10: 0415949777
It has become a fairly commonplace assumption that the voting and decision making behavior of elected representatives, at both the federal and the local level, are influenced by their campaign donors. Yet, empirical evidence compiled by political scientists has, thus far, failed to establish a quid pro quo link between the two. This book argues that political scientists mistakenly conceive of contributions as legalized bribes whereby contributions by lobbyists and political action committees directly affect the way a legislator votes on a particular issue. By contrast, Gordon argues that contributions are better conceived of as gifts that foster a sense of obligation on behalf of recipients and create a climate favorable to influencing voting when votes of critical importance arise. Through an analysis of the effect of interest group contributions on the California legislature, Gordon sets out to show that all votes are not created equal and that, when we look at votes assumed to be decided by interest groups, contributions do have a real effect.
