No Place for Amateurs: How Political Consultants are Reshaping American Democracy PDF
Preview No Place for Amateurs: How Political Consultants are Reshaping American Democracy
NO PLACE FOR AMATEURS NO PLACE FOR A M AT E U R S How Political Consultants Are Reshaping American Democracy DENNIS W. JOHNSON ROUTLEDGE NEW YORK LONDON Published in 2001 by Routledge 29 West 35th Street New York, NY 10001 Published in Great Britain by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor and Francis Group. This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Copyright © 2001 by Routledge All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Cataloging-in-Publication Data available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 0-415-92125-2 (hb). — ISBN 0-415-92836-2 (pb). ISBN 0-203-90305-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-90309-9 (Glassbook Format) To Linda, with love Contents LISTOFTABLES viii PREFACE ix INTRODUCTION: CANVASSINGTHEPOLITICALLANDSCAPE xiii Part One: Professional Campaigning: New Realities, New Challenges 1 1 Celebrity Consultants and Professionally Driven Campaigns 3 2 Running for Office: Not for the Faint of Heart 15 3 Case Study: Challenging an Incumbent U.S. Senator: The Realities of a Tough, Hard-Fought, Professional Campaign 35 Part Two: Weapons of Modern Campaigning 57 4 Political Research: Digging Up the Dirt 59 5 Testing Public Opinion 87 6 The Media, Old and New 115 7 Targeting Voters 149 8 The Money Chase 169 Part Three: Wider Reach of Political Consulting 199 9 Ballot Issues, Local Elections, and Consultants 201 10 Citizens, Voters, and Democratic Choice 237 APPENDIXA: CITIZENS’ INTERNETRESOURCEGUIDE 251 APPENDIXB: LEADINGPOLITICALCONSULTINGFIRMS 255 NOTES 273 INDEX 315 vii List of Tables BREAKDOWN OF EXPENSES AND VOTE EFFICIENCY PAGE 55 POLITICAL RATE CARD, STATION WTVG, TOLEDO, OHIO, SELECTIVE SHOWS, SPRING 1998 PAGE 125 WASHINGTON MEDIA MARKETS AND THE 1992 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PAGE 126 HARD MONEY CONTRIBUTIONS: A SUMMARY PAGE 182 GROWTH OF SOFT MONEY PAGE 184 SOFT MONEY CONTRIBUTIONS PAGE 188 PROFESSIONAL CAMPAIGN FIRMS BY SERVICES DELIVERED, 2000–2001 PAGE 255 Preface Several years ago, E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post syndicated political columnist, gave the commencement address at George Washington Univer- sity’s Graduate School of Political Management. After his speech, Dionne was presented with a gift from the student body, a T-shirt with the words “Graduate School of Political Management” on the front and “Because poli- tics is not for amateurs” on the back. Dionne graciously accepted the gift, but then said that he hoped the T-shirt’s slogan was mistaken. Dionne, author of the highly regarded book Why Americans Hate Politics, cautioned his audi- ence: professionals have their place, but we should always have room for the amateur in American elections and politics. Dionne was admonishing freshly credentialed graduates who had learned to design polls, conduct opposition research, make media buys, craft speeches, develop campaign messages, and apply the whole range of techniques and skills that are indispensable to modern professionalized campaigning. They were about to become part of a new generation of professionals trained to work in the increasingly sophisticated, albeit controversial, field of campaign management. Dionne’s concerns are legitimate: increasingly elections in America are high-stakes, expensive contests that are controlled by professional political consultants; no one wants to see elections become mere spectator sports, with voters just sitting on the sidelines, content with participating only at the ballot box or, worse, not getting involved at all. This book critically examines the role played by political consultants who apply their skills and technologies to elect their candidates and clients. It shows how campaign weaponry is used by professionals, and how consultants have become indispensable to modern campaigns. This book also looks at the changing role of the campaign volunteer and argues that there is much that the citizen-volunteer can do to reclaim a voice in the conduct of campaigns. The business of political consulting has received its share of criticism in recent years. In many quarters, consultants are reviled as opportunistic spin ix
Description:The list of books you might like
