Title

Dirty little secrets : the persistence of corruption in American politics

Description

Fact: The Christian Coalition's 1994 voter guides appear to have been skewed to favor Republican candidates in key congressional races across the country, in direct contravention of federal election law. The truth is, the politicians couldn't be happier dickering over the remains of the welfare state. Because, as you'll learn in Dirty Little Secrets, there is probably not a politician in America who does not benefit directly, personally, and continually from the status quo.Fact: On the eve of the 1994 elections, mock "pollsters" called up thousands of voters in one Wisconsin congressional district to ask whether their electoral decisions would be influenced if they knew one of the candidates was a lesbian.Most politicians want to do the right thing. But they also want to be reelected, and the system is far stronger than any honest man or woman. The influence of money and the intricacies of the levers of power make it easier for politicians to ignore the law than to obey it. In Dirty Little Secrets you will read of the conservative movement's hidden manipulations in 1994, and learn the truth about Newt Gingrich's twenty-year program of political destabilization.The history of the corrupt House the Democrats built with the help of liberal interest groups stands revealed. And Larry J. Sabato and Glenn R. Simpson expose the corrupt and illegal tactics both parties have used for decades to protect and promote their own power.. Fact: In 1994, in Alabama, one local election was decided by fewer than three hundred votes. Seventeen hundred ballots cast in that election were illegally admitted absentee ballots, some of them submitted by dead people.Sabato and Simpson's fresh reporting and thousands of hours of background research include interviews with influential politicians, consultants, and political operatives, Freedom of Information Act requests, and thousands of pages of obscure campaign reports. They prove corruption is not about bad apples or colorful local traditions. And they offer a completely original plan for reform - Deregulation Plus - that will frighten both parties and make the American electorate smile for the first time in years.Dirty Little Secrets pulls together the corruption story from all parts of the country so overwhelmingly that no one - from the White House to your house - will be able to deny that political reform must be one of the key issues of the 1996 election campaign.

Subject

"Political campaigns--Corrupt practices--United States."

"Political corruption--United States."

Text

Transcription of Annotations
Notes on front endpapers: 303 interviews, 51 off-the-record. Bob Carr. Bob Carr p. 58/Frank Lautenberg. Gingrich-CHOPAC to GOPAC p. 77. Timothy Mescon p. 96 of Kennesaw College. Lord's work. Pat Robertson's shading of the law p. 107. Insurrection- p. 122, GOPAC, Voter's Guides p. 134. Street money p. 187, Push polling p 244, Vote fraud p 275. Perks p. 207 Frank Lautenberg, Joe Skeen. Rep. Ken Calvert, Carroll Hubbard, Sam Gejdenson, Don Young. Al D'Amato 2 letters p. 222. The Frank 499 mailings. Underlinings/Notes: Underlinings: American politics corrupt, influence-peddling institutionalized. Lamb underlines passages about congressional/senate corruption, history of corruption, contributions, campaigns, Gingrich master of C-Span, tax credits, impact of "nonpartisan" organizations, tricks, need for reform, reform ideas. Notes: "Trust 76, 1964; 19, 1996," "a political scientist and a journalist," "team corrupt," "303 interviews," "promoting house races," "Tenn. Dem.," "Houston fund raiser," "quite clean today!" "Keating fine," "Credit Mobilier," "1907, 1910, 1911, 1925," "Albert Fall 1st prison term," "Teapot Dome," "Watergate," "1971, 1974, 1976, 1979," "hidden expenditures," "mega scandal every 50 years," "Buckley v. Valeo," "corruption," "PAC's healthy," "perks, the frank," "politicians not venal," "FEC," "64 of 87 got a raise in 1995," "Lenin," "Gingrich and principles," "NEA," "bundling," "Bob Carr," "L.A. subway," "Houston construction money," "$28 million for Houston's bus system," "Eve Lubalin," "ambition to remain in office," "5 major realignments in history," "FDR," "New Deal," "Gingrich for student think unconventionally," "Congress is sick," "Kemp HUD," "public never knew about money," "letters, Timothy Mescon, Kennesaw State," "funding," "G. hate calling for money," "18% confidence in Congress, "Pat Robertson a shading of laws," "connections minimal," "Abe Lincoln rules of campaign," "Haley Barbour-Minnesota," "1/2 million," "voters guide," "voters guides," "ATL, NRA 3 mil.," "Jim Hunt," "Hunt campaign cellular phones," "Barbara Cubin" "David Keene," "Hutchinson spy story," "Hart wins Penn.," "flushers," "New Jersey," "reverse speaking fee," "ballot suppression," "Lautenberg," "Eve Lubalin have to get money," "staff," "1970s 3/4 staff in DC," "42% House, 35% Senate outside DC," "staff in campaign," "Joe Skeen," "How did they travel," "Rep Ken Calvert," "Dem Bill Sarpalius," "Carroll Hubbard," "Fla. Rep Dan Miller," "Sam Gejdenson," "Don Young," "D'Amato 2 letters El Al...41% of Jewish vote," "the frank," "John Phillips," "Aristotle Industries," "constituent questionnaire," "Rota phony numbers," "499-mailing," "Richard Nixon," "over 100 firms," "Fingerhut gay," "Mike Synar," "unethical blatantly demeaning," "definition of vote fraud," "LBJ," "absentee ballots," "Alabama attorney," "2 consecutive elections," "pay to register," "Mario Martinez registered in San Pedro," "LBJ's vote stealing," "news media," "vote fraud is everywhere," "501(c)(3)," "Bob Carr," "full disclosure of subcontractors," "African American comm.," "motor-voter," "Oregon," "thumb print scanners," "parliamentary systems, term limits, public financing," "1st Amendment, no public financing," "full disclosure same as stocks," "Buckley v. Valeo," "tax check off for FER," "57 interviews off-the-record."

Creator

Sabato, Larry

Source

Brian Lamb Booknotes Collection

Gift of Brian Lamb, 2011.

Catalog record

Publisher

Times Books

George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives

Date

1996

Program air date: June 30, 1996

Contributor

Simpson, Glenn R

Rights

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Relation

Original Booknotes interview

Format

1st ed.

Language

eng

Identifier

581304

812924991