The Appearance of Corruption

The Appearance of Corruption

Author: Daron R. Shaw

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-02-02

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 0197548431

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A critical analysis of the connections that the United States Supreme Court has made between campaign finance regulations and voters' behavior. The sanctity of political speech is a key element of the United States Constitution and a cornerstone of the American republic. When the Supreme Court linked political speech to campaign finance in its landmark Buckley v. Valeo (1976) decision, the modern era of campaign finance regulation was born. The decision stated that in order to pass constitutional muster, any laws limiting money in politics must be narrowly tailored and serve a compelling state interest. The lone state interest the Court was willing to entertain was the mitigation of corruption. In order to reach this conclusion, the Court advanced a sophisticated behavioral model that made assumptions about how laws affect voters' opinions and behavior. These assumptions have received surprisingly little attention until now. In The Appearance of Corruption, Daron Shaw, Brian Roberts, and Mijeong Baek analyze the connections that the Court made between campaign finance regulations and voters' behavior. The court argued that an increase in perceived corruption would lower engagement and turnout. Drawing from original survey data and experiments, they confront the question of what happens when the Supreme Court is wrong-and when the foundation of over 40 years of jurisprudence is simply not true. Even with the heightened awareness of campaign finance issues that emerged in the wake of the 2010 Citizens United decision, there is little empirical support for the Court's reasoning that turnout would decline. A rigorous statistical analysis, this is the first work to simultaneously name and test each and every one of the Court's assumptions in the pre- and post-Citizen's United eras. It will also fundamentally reshape how we think about campaign finance regulation's effects on voter behavior.


Book Synopsis The Appearance of Corruption by : Daron R. Shaw

Download or read book The Appearance of Corruption written by Daron R. Shaw and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-02-02 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critical analysis of the connections that the United States Supreme Court has made between campaign finance regulations and voters' behavior. The sanctity of political speech is a key element of the United States Constitution and a cornerstone of the American republic. When the Supreme Court linked political speech to campaign finance in its landmark Buckley v. Valeo (1976) decision, the modern era of campaign finance regulation was born. The decision stated that in order to pass constitutional muster, any laws limiting money in politics must be narrowly tailored and serve a compelling state interest. The lone state interest the Court was willing to entertain was the mitigation of corruption. In order to reach this conclusion, the Court advanced a sophisticated behavioral model that made assumptions about how laws affect voters' opinions and behavior. These assumptions have received surprisingly little attention until now. In The Appearance of Corruption, Daron Shaw, Brian Roberts, and Mijeong Baek analyze the connections that the Court made between campaign finance regulations and voters' behavior. The court argued that an increase in perceived corruption would lower engagement and turnout. Drawing from original survey data and experiments, they confront the question of what happens when the Supreme Court is wrong-and when the foundation of over 40 years of jurisprudence is simply not true. Even with the heightened awareness of campaign finance issues that emerged in the wake of the 2010 Citizens United decision, there is little empirical support for the Court's reasoning that turnout would decline. A rigorous statistical analysis, this is the first work to simultaneously name and test each and every one of the Court's assumptions in the pre- and post-Citizen's United eras. It will also fundamentally reshape how we think about campaign finance regulation's effects on voter behavior.

Courts, Campaigns, and Corruption

Courts, Campaigns, and Corruption

Author: Nitya Tangada Rao

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13:

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In Buckley v. Valeo, arguably their most important campaign finance decision, the United States Supreme Court argued that the appearance of political corruption alone might be sufficient to undermine the health of a representative democracy. There has been little empirical evidence to support this assertion, so to test this hypothesis, I fielded a novel survey containing different measures of factors influencing perceptions of corruption, perceptions about campaign contributions, support for campaign finance reform initiatives, perceptions of the frequency and nature of corruption, and perceptions of democratic health to roughly 1000 participants on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. I constructed a causal diagram representing the "appearance of corruption" rationale in Buckley v. Valeo and used structural equation modeling, observed-variable path modeling to evaluate that specific causal hypothesis with various survey items. I found that the data did not support the hypotheses derived from the appearance of corruption rationale. To further test the Supreme Court’s claim that perceptions of corruption affect political behavior, I regressed various measures of perceptions of the frequency of corruption on self-reported political participation and found no significant correlation, again suggesting that the appearance of corruption rationale has meager empirical support.


Book Synopsis Courts, Campaigns, and Corruption by : Nitya Tangada Rao

Download or read book Courts, Campaigns, and Corruption written by Nitya Tangada Rao and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Buckley v. Valeo, arguably their most important campaign finance decision, the United States Supreme Court argued that the appearance of political corruption alone might be sufficient to undermine the health of a representative democracy. There has been little empirical evidence to support this assertion, so to test this hypothesis, I fielded a novel survey containing different measures of factors influencing perceptions of corruption, perceptions about campaign contributions, support for campaign finance reform initiatives, perceptions of the frequency and nature of corruption, and perceptions of democratic health to roughly 1000 participants on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. I constructed a causal diagram representing the "appearance of corruption" rationale in Buckley v. Valeo and used structural equation modeling, observed-variable path modeling to evaluate that specific causal hypothesis with various survey items. I found that the data did not support the hypotheses derived from the appearance of corruption rationale. To further test the Supreme Court’s claim that perceptions of corruption affect political behavior, I regressed various measures of perceptions of the frequency of corruption on self-reported political participation and found no significant correlation, again suggesting that the appearance of corruption rationale has meager empirical support.

To Prevent Corruption Or the Appearance of Corruption? Using Public Choice to Understand and Improve U.S. Political Campaign Finance Regulation

To Prevent Corruption Or the Appearance of Corruption? Using Public Choice to Understand and Improve U.S. Political Campaign Finance Regulation

Author: José Francisco García

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 9781124048628

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Since the first years of the American Republic, there have been several attempts to regulate the role of money in politics, particularly establishing different set of rules for political campaign finance. Yet more interesting seems the evolution of the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court in this matter. However, from the legal scholarship perspective, the story of political campaign finance regulation is the story of a regulation that seeks to promote the public interest: rules enacted to prevent corruption or its appearance, or the achievement of political equality. This dissertation will propose an alternative version of the existence and evolution of this regulation. In effect, when rules like spending and contribution limits or the existence of public funding are viewed under the public choice lens, it is possible to understand why incumbents, in an effort to try to preserve their positions in the market and prevent challengers to enter the political market, are so interested in establishing complex and rigid rules of campaign finance. More important, this rationale is not only useful when the political process is analyzed through the positive lens (describing how things are), but also from a normative perspective (how things could or should be) especially for the Court's judicial review of this legislation. This is particularly important these days when the Court and legal scholarship are looking for a coherent rationale to approach this area of regulation and also to explain the Robert's Court deregulatory approach to campaign finance regulation since 2006.


Book Synopsis To Prevent Corruption Or the Appearance of Corruption? Using Public Choice to Understand and Improve U.S. Political Campaign Finance Regulation by : José Francisco García

Download or read book To Prevent Corruption Or the Appearance of Corruption? Using Public Choice to Understand and Improve U.S. Political Campaign Finance Regulation written by José Francisco García and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the first years of the American Republic, there have been several attempts to regulate the role of money in politics, particularly establishing different set of rules for political campaign finance. Yet more interesting seems the evolution of the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court in this matter. However, from the legal scholarship perspective, the story of political campaign finance regulation is the story of a regulation that seeks to promote the public interest: rules enacted to prevent corruption or its appearance, or the achievement of political equality. This dissertation will propose an alternative version of the existence and evolution of this regulation. In effect, when rules like spending and contribution limits or the existence of public funding are viewed under the public choice lens, it is possible to understand why incumbents, in an effort to try to preserve their positions in the market and prevent challengers to enter the political market, are so interested in establishing complex and rigid rules of campaign finance. More important, this rationale is not only useful when the political process is analyzed through the positive lens (describing how things are), but also from a normative perspective (how things could or should be) especially for the Court's judicial review of this legislation. This is particularly important these days when the Court and legal scholarship are looking for a coherent rationale to approach this area of regulation and also to explain the Robert's Court deregulatory approach to campaign finance regulation since 2006.

The Disappearance of Corruption and the New Path Forward in Campaign Finance

The Disappearance of Corruption and the New Path Forward in Campaign Finance

Author: Eugene D. Mazo

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 55

ISBN-13:

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The reason reformers cloak their plans for changing the campaign finance system in the language of corruption is because of the Supreme Court. In Buckley v. Valeo, the 1976 case that put corruption at the center of campaign finance law, the Supreme Court held that the only compelling justification that could be used to impose limits on campaign contributions is the government's interest in preventing “corruption” and the “appearance of corruption.” All other justifications have led to laws being struck down for violating the freedoms of the First Amendment. This Article argues, however, that the Court's corruption paradigm has now outlived its usefulness. It has been inconsistently applied, and it has led to more confusion than clarity. Because new legislation regulating campaign finance is likely to be struck down by the Court, Congress no longer has the stomach to regulate in this area. For this reason, this article argues that champions of campaign finance reform need to find a new path forward. One such path that this Article proposes is to let Congress regulate campaign finance through its internal ethics rules.


Book Synopsis The Disappearance of Corruption and the New Path Forward in Campaign Finance by : Eugene D. Mazo

Download or read book The Disappearance of Corruption and the New Path Forward in Campaign Finance written by Eugene D. Mazo and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reason reformers cloak their plans for changing the campaign finance system in the language of corruption is because of the Supreme Court. In Buckley v. Valeo, the 1976 case that put corruption at the center of campaign finance law, the Supreme Court held that the only compelling justification that could be used to impose limits on campaign contributions is the government's interest in preventing “corruption” and the “appearance of corruption.” All other justifications have led to laws being struck down for violating the freedoms of the First Amendment. This Article argues, however, that the Court's corruption paradigm has now outlived its usefulness. It has been inconsistently applied, and it has led to more confusion than clarity. Because new legislation regulating campaign finance is likely to be struck down by the Court, Congress no longer has the stomach to regulate in this area. For this reason, this article argues that champions of campaign finance reform need to find a new path forward. One such path that this Article proposes is to let Congress regulate campaign finance through its internal ethics rules.

Political Quid Pro Quo and the Impact of Perceptions of Corruption on Democratic Behavior

Political Quid Pro Quo and the Impact of Perceptions of Corruption on Democratic Behavior

Author: Kristin Joyce Kelly

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13:

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Since its ruling in Buckley v. Valeo, the U.S. Supreme Court has expressed concern regarding corruption or the appearance of corruption stemming from political quid pro quo arrangements and the deleterious consequences it may have on citizens' democratic behavior. However, no standard has been set as to what constitutes "the appearance of corruption," as the Court was and continues to be vague in its definition. As a result, campaign finance cases after Buckley have relied on public opinion polls as evidence of perceptions of corruption, and these polls indicate that the public generally perceives high levels of corruption in government. The present study investigates the actual impact that perceptions of corruption have on individuals' levels of political participation. Adapting the standard socioeconomic status model developed most fully by Verba and Nie (1972), an extended beta-binomial regression estimated using maximum likelihood is performed, utilizing unique data from the 2009 University of Texas' Money and Politics survey. The results of this study indicate that individuals who perceive higher levels of quid pro quo corruption participate more in politics, on average, than those who perceive lower levels of corruption. This suggests that at least part of the Supreme Court's rationale for upholding the FECA contribution limits in Buckley v. Valeo was unfounded. A similar test was performed using questions from the 2008 American National Election Study that have been used as proxies for corruption in previous studies, with inconclusive results. The more precise measure in the Money and Politics survey relates directly to the role of money in politics and provides better information than the ANES proxies have in the past, as those have been found to be related to factors other than money in politics.


Book Synopsis Political Quid Pro Quo and the Impact of Perceptions of Corruption on Democratic Behavior by : Kristin Joyce Kelly

Download or read book Political Quid Pro Quo and the Impact of Perceptions of Corruption on Democratic Behavior written by Kristin Joyce Kelly and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since its ruling in Buckley v. Valeo, the U.S. Supreme Court has expressed concern regarding corruption or the appearance of corruption stemming from political quid pro quo arrangements and the deleterious consequences it may have on citizens' democratic behavior. However, no standard has been set as to what constitutes "the appearance of corruption," as the Court was and continues to be vague in its definition. As a result, campaign finance cases after Buckley have relied on public opinion polls as evidence of perceptions of corruption, and these polls indicate that the public generally perceives high levels of corruption in government. The present study investigates the actual impact that perceptions of corruption have on individuals' levels of political participation. Adapting the standard socioeconomic status model developed most fully by Verba and Nie (1972), an extended beta-binomial regression estimated using maximum likelihood is performed, utilizing unique data from the 2009 University of Texas' Money and Politics survey. The results of this study indicate that individuals who perceive higher levels of quid pro quo corruption participate more in politics, on average, than those who perceive lower levels of corruption. This suggests that at least part of the Supreme Court's rationale for upholding the FECA contribution limits in Buckley v. Valeo was unfounded. A similar test was performed using questions from the 2008 American National Election Study that have been used as proxies for corruption in previous studies, with inconclusive results. The more precise measure in the Money and Politics survey relates directly to the role of money in politics and provides better information than the ANES proxies have in the past, as those have been found to be related to factors other than money in politics.

The Appearance of Corruption

The Appearance of Corruption

Author: Daron R. Shaw

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 0197548415

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"The sanctity of political speech is a key element of the U.S. Constitution and a cornerstone of the American republic. When the Supreme Court linked political speech to campaign finance in its landmark Buckley v. Valeo (1976) decision, the modern era of campaign finance regulation was born. In practical terms, this decision meant that in order to pass constitutional muster, any laws limiting money in politics must be narrowly-tailored and serve a compelling state interest. The lone state interest the Court was willing to entertain was the mitigation of corruption. In order to reach this argument the Court advanced a sophisticated behavioral model, one with key assumptions about how laws will affect voters' opinions and behavior. These assumptions have received surprisingly little attention in the literature. This book takes up the task of identifying and analyzing empirically the Court's presumed links between campaign finance regulations and political opinions and behavior. In so doing, we rely on original survey data and experiments from 2009-2016 to openly confront the question of what happens when the Supreme Court is wrong, and when the foundation of over 40 years of jurisprudence is simply not true"--


Book Synopsis The Appearance of Corruption by : Daron R. Shaw

Download or read book The Appearance of Corruption written by Daron R. Shaw and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2021 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The sanctity of political speech is a key element of the U.S. Constitution and a cornerstone of the American republic. When the Supreme Court linked political speech to campaign finance in its landmark Buckley v. Valeo (1976) decision, the modern era of campaign finance regulation was born. In practical terms, this decision meant that in order to pass constitutional muster, any laws limiting money in politics must be narrowly-tailored and serve a compelling state interest. The lone state interest the Court was willing to entertain was the mitigation of corruption. In order to reach this argument the Court advanced a sophisticated behavioral model, one with key assumptions about how laws will affect voters' opinions and behavior. These assumptions have received surprisingly little attention in the literature. This book takes up the task of identifying and analyzing empirically the Court's presumed links between campaign finance regulations and political opinions and behavior. In so doing, we rely on original survey data and experiments from 2009-2016 to openly confront the question of what happens when the Supreme Court is wrong, and when the foundation of over 40 years of jurisprudence is simply not true"--

Social Media and the Appearance of Corruption

Social Media and the Appearance of Corruption

Author: Samples

Publisher:

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Social Media and the Appearance of Corruption by : Samples

Download or read book Social Media and the Appearance of Corruption written by Samples and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Financing Elections and 'Appearance of Corruption'

Financing Elections and 'Appearance of Corruption'

Author: Molly J. Walker Wilson

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 45

ISBN-13:

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As political spending reaches new highs in the 2012 election cycle, and as the controversy surrounding wealthy donors and interest groups grows, polls demonstrate a surge of cynicism among Americans who profess a belief that the American political system is corrupt. The Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United made possible the most recent expansion of political spending. In this case, the question was whether allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertising would result in corruption or the appearance of corruption. The majority on the Court determined that it would not. Many observers have disputed the majority's conclusion with respect to corruption; the effect on the appearance of corruption has received far less attention. This Article focuses on this latter question, arguing that there is a growing appearance-of-corruption problem in American politics. The 2012 election cycle saw a modest growth in small donor giving and volunteerism, but voter turn-out was down from the previous two presidential elections. Meanwhile, polls reveal that more than ever, Americans' believe that money is corrupting the political process. This Article explains the connection between the Court's recent campaign finance decisions and the current disillusionment of the American public. The Article also explains why data from the 2012 election likely underestimates the problem, and why the repercussions of our appearance-of-corruption problem are likely to grow if the law continues to permit unchecked political campaign spending.


Book Synopsis Financing Elections and 'Appearance of Corruption' by : Molly J. Walker Wilson

Download or read book Financing Elections and 'Appearance of Corruption' written by Molly J. Walker Wilson and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As political spending reaches new highs in the 2012 election cycle, and as the controversy surrounding wealthy donors and interest groups grows, polls demonstrate a surge of cynicism among Americans who profess a belief that the American political system is corrupt. The Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United made possible the most recent expansion of political spending. In this case, the question was whether allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertising would result in corruption or the appearance of corruption. The majority on the Court determined that it would not. Many observers have disputed the majority's conclusion with respect to corruption; the effect on the appearance of corruption has received far less attention. This Article focuses on this latter question, arguing that there is a growing appearance-of-corruption problem in American politics. The 2012 election cycle saw a modest growth in small donor giving and volunteerism, but voter turn-out was down from the previous two presidential elections. Meanwhile, polls reveal that more than ever, Americans' believe that money is corrupting the political process. This Article explains the connection between the Court's recent campaign finance decisions and the current disillusionment of the American public. The Article also explains why data from the 2012 election likely underestimates the problem, and why the repercussions of our appearance-of-corruption problem are likely to grow if the law continues to permit unchecked political campaign spending.

Appearance Matters

Appearance Matters

Author: Andrew N. DeLaney

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13:

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As the public increasingly focuses attention on problems of election fraud, courts have struggled to deal with the constitutionality of anti-fraud measures. Reflecting this, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case on the constitutionality of a law that requires voters to present photo identification to vote in-person. Critics say that the law puts an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote while advocates argue the state's interest in preventing voter fraud is strong enough to justify this burden.Drawing an analogy to campaign finance law, this piece argues that the state has an interest in preventing not only election fraud, but also in preventing the appearance of election fraud, an interest not previously recognized by federal courts. The state has this interest in election law for the same reason it does in campaign finance law, namely because it has an interest in preventing voters from losing faith in the democratic process and thus dropping out of that process. Borrowing from the standard of proof courts have used to prove the appearance of corruption exists in financing, this paper analyzes popular opinion, media reports, and legislators statements to determine that the appearance of voting fraud exists - and therefore the state can act on its interests in combating that appearance. Due to its current relevance, this paper analyzes photo identification requirements as an example of the type of anti-fraud law which might not be constitutional if the state's only interest was in preventing the actual fraud, but might be when factoring in the appearance of corruption interest.


Book Synopsis Appearance Matters by : Andrew N. DeLaney

Download or read book Appearance Matters written by Andrew N. DeLaney and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the public increasingly focuses attention on problems of election fraud, courts have struggled to deal with the constitutionality of anti-fraud measures. Reflecting this, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case on the constitutionality of a law that requires voters to present photo identification to vote in-person. Critics say that the law puts an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote while advocates argue the state's interest in preventing voter fraud is strong enough to justify this burden.Drawing an analogy to campaign finance law, this piece argues that the state has an interest in preventing not only election fraud, but also in preventing the appearance of election fraud, an interest not previously recognized by federal courts. The state has this interest in election law for the same reason it does in campaign finance law, namely because it has an interest in preventing voters from losing faith in the democratic process and thus dropping out of that process. Borrowing from the standard of proof courts have used to prove the appearance of corruption exists in financing, this paper analyzes popular opinion, media reports, and legislators statements to determine that the appearance of voting fraud exists - and therefore the state can act on its interests in combating that appearance. Due to its current relevance, this paper analyzes photo identification requirements as an example of the type of anti-fraud law which might not be constitutional if the state's only interest was in preventing the actual fraud, but might be when factoring in the appearance of corruption interest.

Campaign Finance & American Democracy

Campaign Finance & American Democracy

Author: David M. Primo

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2020-11-13

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 022671313X

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In recent decades, and particularly since the US Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision, lawmakers and other elites have told Americans that stricter campaign finance laws are needed to improve faith in the elections process, increase trust in the government, and counter cynicism toward politics. But as David M. Primo and Jeffrey D. Milyo argue, politicians and the public alike should reconsider the conventional wisdom in light of surprising and comprehensive empirical evidence to the contrary. Primo and Milyo probe original survey data to determine Americans’ sentiments on the role of money in politics, what drives these sentiments, and why they matter. What Primo and Milyo find is that while many individuals support the idea of reform, they are also skeptical that reform would successfully limit corruption, which Americans believe stains almost every fiber of the political system. Moreover, support for campaign finance restrictions is deeply divided along party lines, reflecting the polarization of our times. Ultimately, Primo and Milyo contend, American attitudes toward money in politics reflect larger fears about the health of American democracy, fears that will not be allayed by campaign finance reform.


Book Synopsis Campaign Finance & American Democracy by : David M. Primo

Download or read book Campaign Finance & American Democracy written by David M. Primo and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-11-13 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent decades, and particularly since the US Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision, lawmakers and other elites have told Americans that stricter campaign finance laws are needed to improve faith in the elections process, increase trust in the government, and counter cynicism toward politics. But as David M. Primo and Jeffrey D. Milyo argue, politicians and the public alike should reconsider the conventional wisdom in light of surprising and comprehensive empirical evidence to the contrary. Primo and Milyo probe original survey data to determine Americans’ sentiments on the role of money in politics, what drives these sentiments, and why they matter. What Primo and Milyo find is that while many individuals support the idea of reform, they are also skeptical that reform would successfully limit corruption, which Americans believe stains almost every fiber of the political system. Moreover, support for campaign finance restrictions is deeply divided along party lines, reflecting the polarization of our times. Ultimately, Primo and Milyo contend, American attitudes toward money in politics reflect larger fears about the health of American democracy, fears that will not be allayed by campaign finance reform.