With our national election cycle reaching its quadrennial fervor, filled with frenzied campaigning and feverish advertising blitzes, American citizens are once again charged with the enormous task of deciding upon their next leadership class. What began with our forefather’s modest experiment in democratic governance, built upon a foundation of informed citizenry selecting candidates who best represented shared values on the relevant issues of the day, has since become slowly distorted by the pernicious influence of corporatized campaign funding. The American political apparatus has traditionally been the arena of the affluent, because “like almost every pursuit in this free-enterprise country, political campaigning is a business & #8230; and, as in many businesses, success often goes not to the entrepreneur who brings a product to market first but to the one who exploits it best” (McManus, 2010). While candidates on the local, state and federal level have always been beholden to major donors, modern elections were forever transformed from contests of relative merit to proverbial spending sprees after the notorious decision delivered by the Supreme Court in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. This landmark 5-4 ruling, made along strictly partisan lines in 2008, reversed more than a century of law regarding electioneering communication and essentially declared that the First Amendment’s explicit guarantee of free speech necessarily protected the unlimited political expenditures made by corporations, § 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations, and labor unions. The resulting injection of corporate and private capital into the presidential election, exemplified by the creation of so-called Super PACs, or political action committees, and the emergence of billionaire benefactors like William Adelson and the Koch brothers, has altered the modern political landscape as to make it nearly unrecognizable. With the presidential campaign now controlled from afar by a cabal of wealthy financiers, the priority for voters in individual states like California should remain the preservation of their own political power through the passage of legislation which restricts rulings like Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission from being repeated.
When billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson casually declared his intention to purchase the presidency of the United States, telling Forbes magazine in 2012 “I’m against very wealthy people attempting to influence elections. But as long as it’s doable, I’m going to do it,” (Bertoni), he brazenly signaled the beginning of a new era in American politics. Adelson’s braggadocio was backed up by cold cash soon afterwards, when he famously funneled more than $20 million to Newt Gingrich’s failed foray into the Republican presidential primary. Although this particular attempt to manipulate major elections ultimately proved to be unsuccessful when Gingrich bowed out in favor of Mitt Romney, the ramifications of such unbridled campaign financing are far reaching for residents of large and densely populated states such as California. After the race for the White House has been decided in November, the jockeying for position within Sacramento’s state political hierarchy will begin in earnest. Major donors like Adelson, his fellow conservatives David and Charles Koch, and the reputed liberal political patron George Soros will undoubtedly use the legal loopholes opened by the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision to tilt Californian elections to suit their ideological whims. Unless proactive policymaking is engaged in by a consensus of pragmatic local politicians, California’s election cycle could easily become as contrived and commercialized as the blockbuster films for which the state is so famed.
California has maintained a strong tradition of enacting and enforcing local legislation restricting the abuse of campaign financing, and as current Republican Vice Presidential Paul Ryan noted in 2003 article published by the National Civic Review, “the Los Angeles public financing program upheld by Johnson v. Bradley has served as a model for programs in the California cities of Long Beach, Petaluma, Oakland and San Francisco” (Ryan, 6). By preserving the last shred of integrity inherent to our democratic system of representation, campaign finance reforms based upon prudent public financing laws stand as a crucial check on the rampant expansion of corporate influence on open political campaigns. The terrible temptation of unrestrained access to unlimited capital is embodied by Ryan himself, who stated soberly in 2003 that “public financing & #8230; enables qualified individuals who lack personal wealth or access to wealthy donors to run a competitive campaign and win public office, (and) reduces candidate dependence on special interest donors, making elected officials more accountable to the constituents they represent” (3). Despite these lofty proclamations, Ryan soon embraced the culture of corporate subsidization, and today his presidential ticket alongside multimillionaire Mitt Romney is backed largely by Adelson and the Koch brothers, while Ryan himself has amassed “more than $5.4 million in his campaign account, about $2 million more than the next highest House member, according to Federal Election Commission data” (Bykowicz & Salant) through the backing of major banking institutions. As the full fledged monetization of a formerly sensible politician like Paul Ryan clearly demonstrates, simply adhering to and advocating for public financing legislation does not represent a sufficient bulwark against the onslaught of corporate influence in our political system.
Works Cited
Bertoni, Steven. “Billionaire Sheldon Adelson Says He Might Give $100M To Newt Gingrich Or
Other Republican.” Forbes. 22 Feb 2012: n. page. Web. 15 Sep. 2012.
.
Bykowicz, Julie, and Jonathan Salant . “Ryan Ranks as Top House Fundraiser With Backing by Banks.” Bloomberg. 11 Aug 2012: n. page. Web. 17 Sep. 2012.
.
Citizens United v. FEC, 130 S. Ct. 876 (2010).
Kalanick, Cory. “Blowing Up the Pipes: The Use of (c)(4) to Dismantle Campaign Finance
Reform.” Minnesota Law Review. 95.2254 (2011): 2254-2284. Print.
Li, Chen. “Public Funding After Davis vs. FEC: Is Campaign Finance Reform in the States Still
Legally Viable?” Civil Rights Law Journal. 20.2 (2010): 279-314. Print.
McManus, Doyle. “Republicans’ secret formula — 501(c)(4).” Los Angeles Times 21 Oct 2010,
n. pag. Web. 17 Sep. 2012. .
Ryan, Paul. “Beyond BCRA: Cutting-Edge Campaign Finance Reform at the Local Government
Level.” National Civic Review. 92.1 (2003): 3-18. Print.
Spencer, Andrew. “Cleaning Elections.” Arizona Law Review. 54.277 (2012): 277-309. Print.
Udall, Tom. “Amend the Constitution To Restore Public Trust in the Political System: A
Practitioner’s Perspective on Campaign Finance Reform.” Yale Law and Policy Review.
29.235 (2010): 235-252. Print.
Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?
- Plagiarism free papers
- Timely delivery
- Any deadline
- Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
- Subject-relevant academic writer
- Adherence to paper instructions
- Ability to tackle bulk assignments
- Reasonable prices
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Get superb grades consistently
Online Academic Help With Different Subjects
Literature
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Finance
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
Psychology
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
Nursing
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Sociology
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
Business
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
Statistics
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Law
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
What discipline/subjects do you deal in?
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
What if I don’t like the paper?
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Reasons being:
- When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
- We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.
In the event that you don’t like your paper:
- The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
- We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
- Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.
Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
What if the paper is plagiarized?
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
When will I get my paper?
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
Will anyone find out that I used your services?
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
How our Assignment Help Service Works
1. Place an order
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
2. Pay for the order
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
3. Track the progress
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
4. Download the paper
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!
