Elections Books - Page 6

Parties, politics, and public policy in America

William J Keefe

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Editorial Review:

Comprehensively revised and updated, the ninth edition of Parties, Politics, and Public Policy in America takes an original look at the health of U.S. political parties. William J. Keefe and new coauthor Marc Hetherington grapple with the central question of why so many Americans today profess anti-party attitudes but behave in party-centered ways. The new edition not only examines continuity and change in both regional and social power bases from which parties operate, but discusses the recent resurgence of parties--organizationally, legislatively, and in the mass public, Keefe and Hetherington find that while American political parties remain highly decentralized, they are in fact no longer in decline. Firm landmarks on the political scene, they continue to form the principal institutional for popular control of government.

You Can Lead a Politician to Water, But You Can't Make Him Think: Ten Commandments for Texas Politics

Kinky Friedman

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Editorial Review:

And Kinky Said Unto the People: Why the Hell Not?

So the good people of Texas weren't able to get the Kinkster into the Governor's Mansion in 2006. It was a solid race, and he fought the good fight. Getting on the ballot as an independent -- a feat that had not been achieved in over a century -- was a victory in itself. And with ideas like "slots for tots" (legalized gambling to pay for education), the five Mexican generals plan (bribes to enforce border protection), and a firm stand against the "wussification" of the state, he would have done a helluva job.

If that 2006 election was any indication -- and it was -- the political landscape in both Texas and the country at large needs a significant overhaul. The hucksters, the wealthy, and the twofaced rule; there is no room for Truth, and the little guys are quickly forgotten in all the muck. But Kinky, (briefly) down yet certainly not out, is still looking out for his fellow Americans, and he has much wisdom to impart.

In this hilarious, thought-provoking manifesto, Kinky lays forth his ten commandments for improving the state of Texas and politics everywhere, and for restoring order, logic, decency, and above all a sense of humor back to this country. It's classic Kinky in a brand new way. And he might just have a point.

Minority Victory: Gilded Age Politics and the Front Porch Campaign of 1888 (American Presidential Elections)

Charles W. Calhoun

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Editorial Review:

During the run-up to the 1888 presidential election, Americans flocked to party rallies, marched in endless parades, and otherwise participated zealously in the political process. Although they faced a choice between two uncharismatic candidates--Republican challenger Benjamin Harrison and Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland--voters took intense interest in the issues they espoused. And though Harrison became one of only four candidates to win the presidency while losing the popular vote, the lasting significance of the election was its foreshadowing of both the modern campaign and the modern presidency.

Charles W. Calhoun shows how this presidential contest not only exemplified Gilded Age politics but also marked a major shift from divisive sectional rhetoric to an emphasis on voters' economic concerns. Calhoun first explores Cleveland's rise to the presidency and explains why he turned to economic issues, especially tariff reduction, in framing his bid for reelection. He then provides a detailed analysis of the raucous Republican national convention and describes Harrison's effective front porch campaign, in which he proclaimed his views almost daily to visiting voters and reporters. Calhoun also explores the role of party organizations, business interests, labor, women, African Americans, and third parties in the campaign; discusses alleged fraud in the election; and analyzes the Democrats' suppression of black votes in the South.

The 1888 campaign marked an important phase in the evolution of American political culture and augured significant innovations in American politics and governance. The Republicans' performance, in particular, reflected the party's future winning strategies: emphasis on economic development, personal participation by the presidential candidate, a well-financed organization, and coordination with beneficiaries of the party's agenda.

Harrison set important precedents for campaigning and then, once in office, fashioned new leadership strategies and governing techniques--emphasizing legislative intervention, extensive travel, and a focus on foreign affairs--that would become the stock-in-trade of later presidents. His Republican successors built upon these transformations, making the GOP the majority party for a generation and putting the presidency at the center of American governance--where it has remained ever since.

This book is part of the American Presidential Elections series.

Packaging The Presidency: A History and Criticism of Presidential Campaign Advertising

Kathleen Hall Jamieson

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Editorial Review:

"If political advertising did not exist, we would have to invent it," writes Katherine Hall Jamieson in her widely praised study, Packaging the Presidency. Now in a new Third Edition, Jamieson expands her authoritative analysis of political advertising, looking at the media campaigns of American presidents from the early days of the republic to the successful 1992 Clinton campaign. Chronicling the evolution of the campaign ad from political songs and slogans through the handbill and newspaper cartoon to radio and television coverage, an argument emerges that is subtle but persuasive: though often equivocal, and even downright sleazy, political advertising is vital in reminding voters of the choices at the heart of democracy.

Much of the book, appropriately, focuses on the powerful media campaigns of the post-war period. In individual chapters devoted to presidential campaigns since 1952, the claims of media strategists, campaign memos, and journalists frame discussions on the impact of candidates from Adlai Stevenson, Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan to the country's more recent high-profile and media savvy canditates such as Ross Perot and Bill Clinton. This new edition covers such issues as the new forms of exposition created by cable television that so powerfully impacted the 1992 campaign. The wide variety of venues, including MTV and the Nashville Network, coupled with almost daily appearances on morning talk shows, afforded candidates the ability to reach audiences by the millions in "news-ads" that served as free extended commercials. Jamieson points out the success of Ross Perot's unconventional revival of the thirty-minute program spot--an important innovation that reflected both the power of the modern-day "infomercial" and marked a radical change in previously held notions about the viewing electorate's response to longer forms of candidate sponsored communication. Jamieson also addresses the increasing prevalence of "adwatchs," in which the press polices the fairness and accuracy of campaign accusations, offering the public a greater opportunity to assess the claims made in political ads, and giving opponents the enhanced ablitity to use news corrections in counter ads. And we see how campaign intrigue reached a new high with satellite tracking that allowed candidates to capture copies of ads as they went on the air. "We would put ads on the satellite that we weren't going to run," recalls Clinton campaign manager James Carville, "just to freak them out. Fake spots, so they would have to put some time and money together and respond to it."

Just as political advertising is neither as innocent or invidious as it is frequently described, voters are more independent than cynics (and perhaps political advertisers) would like to believe. And as we approach the twenty-first century, with the cloak of television shadowing the country, voters are becoming increasingly more informed. As this fine study convincingly demonstrates, the successful "packaging" of presidents is a complex, and far from automatic, process.

Out Of Order

Thomas E. Patterson

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Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Especially relevant this year 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Thomas Patterson's sweeping indictment of the media is especially relevant this election year. The press is once again fulfilling Patterson's worst predictions of its behavior and making it easy to agree with his thesis that the media is failing its duties and harming our political process.

Patterson makes many points, but his central ones are below, and it's easy to find supporting examples from the 2000 campaign cycle:

1. The press sees the election as a game, not a democratic process. Its news stories are focused on the candidates' strategy, not their views, and makes the candidates look shallow and pandering as a result.

2. The tone of the news is generally negative. Candidates are relentlessly criticized and negative stories are much more frequent than positive ones.

3. The press focuses far too much on gaffes and trivialities. In the 2000 campaign, Bush's RATS ad and Gore's simple misstatements have resulted in feeding frenzies portraying both candidates as untrustworthy.

4. Journalists have become the center of the news. Much of the news has reporters' own interpretations as the main story (In an attempt to bolster his support among elderly voters, Bush/Gore ...), instead of quoting the candidates at length.

The inescapable conclusion is that the media is failing to inform the public of the important issues in a presidential campaign and contributes greatly to our general lack of faith in our political system.

Editorial Review:

A political science professor at Syracuse University examines how Americans elect presidents, analyzes how the growth of the media has undermined that process, and proposes changes in the campaign procedure to encourage stronger candidates. 15,000 first printing.

Dynamics of the Party System: Alignment and Realignment of Political Parties in the United States

James L. Sundquist

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Excellent book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This was a required textbook in a political science class I took back in college, and should be required reading for anyone seeking to understand how the major political parties form and how they are able to change over time to prevent the long-term survival of third parties.

Interest Groups in American Campaigns: The New Face of Electioneering

Mark J. Rozell, Clyde Wilcox

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Editorial Review:

As witnessed in the 2004 elections, Americans feel the influence of interest groups today more than ever before. In races for the presidency, Congress, state legislatures, and even local school boards, interest groups help--in both major and minor ways--elect (or reelect) candidates who support their views. Interest Groups in American Campaigns is the only book to focus specifically on the role of interest groups in elections. Rozell, Wilcox, and Madland show that communication channels--from monetary donations to candidates and web pages for citizens--are the bedrock of interest group leverage on political parties, individual candidates, and voters.

This second edition goes well beyond a straightforward update and spotlights the major changes in the way interest groups are now active in modern campaigns. Continuing the tradition of the first edition, the authors draw on interviews with interest group leaders, coverage of campaign finance filings, and election surveys in their extensive analysis.

In addition to current data and updated examples and cases throughout the book, new coverage includes:

• the effects of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, the first finance reform package in a generation
• the rise of 527s in campaign advertising in light of campaign finance reform restrictions
• the successes and failures of George W. Bush and John Kerry to woo powerful interest groups

Why Parties?: The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America (American Politics and Political Economy Series)

John H. Aldrich

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Why did the United States develop political parties? How and why do party alignments change? Are the party-centered elections of the past better for democratic politics than the candidate-centered elections of the present? In this landmark book, John Aldrich goes beyond the clamor of arguments over whether American political parties are in resurgence or decline and undertakes a wholesale reexamination of the foundations of the American party system.

Surveying three critical episodes in the development of American political parties—from their formation in the 1790s to the Civil War—Aldrich shows how parties serve to combat three fundamental problems of democracy: how to regulate the number of people seeking public office; how to mobilize voters; and how to achieve and maintain the majorities needed to accomplish goals once in office. Overcoming these obstacles, argues Aldrich, is possible only with political parties.

Aldrich brings this innovative account up to date by looking at the profound changes in the character of political parties since World War II. In the 1960s, he shows, parties started to become candidate-centered organizations that are servants to their office seekers and officeholders. Aldrich argues that this development has revitalized parties, making them stronger, and more vital, with well-defined cleavages and highly effective governing ability.

Campaigns and Elections American Style, Second Edition (Transforming American Politics)

James A. Thurber, Candice J. Nelson

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Editorial Review:

For the first time, leading political scientists and experienced campaign professionals have come together to consider the nuts-and-bolts of American campaigns and elections in conjunction with academic theories and research. With new and revised essays throughout, this volume provides a real education in practical campaign politics. Academics and campaign professionals describe the innovation and reality of election campaigns as they have evolved over time to culminate in the phenomena of the new town meetings, bus tours, talk radio, infomercials, and focus groups. Campaigns and Elections American Style: Second Edition shows how campaign themes and strategy are set, how they are communicated, how advanced campaign tactics are used, why mobilizing volunteers is essential, why early campaign money is worth more, how to get the media to cover a campaign without paying for it, and how to use focus groups, survey research, and media to win elections. Offering a unique and careful mix of Democrat and Republican, academic and practitioner, male and female campaign perspectives, this volume scrutinizes national- and local-level campaigns through the 2000 and 2002 election cycles. Students, citizens, candidates, and campaign managers will learn not only how to win elections, but why it has become imperative to do so in an ethical way. Perfect for a variety of courses in American government, this book is essential reading for political junkies of any stripe and serious students of campaigns and elections.

From Equal Suffrage to Equal Rights: Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party, 1910-1928 (American Social Experience Series, 5)

Christine A. Lunardini

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Editorial Review:

The woman's movements and work in American history during the second two decades, was dramatic. It dealt with the past, with pageants and politics; with different organizations and with conflict from within. It took on the Democrats, founded a National Woman's Party; it waged a home front war. It dealt with prison, and resolution. It went from equal suffrage to equal rights.