Chapter Summary
Basically, you will need to read 20 pages and answer these questions below in an essay form please.
1- Statement of the issue – one or two sentences.
2- Review of the authors arguments – one or two paragraphs stating at least three major points made by
each author.
3- Comparison of arguments – at least one paragraph contrasting what each author had to say.
4 – Your opinion – at least one paragraph explaining either
a) why you agree with one of another, or
b)why you disagree with all the authors.
5- Discussion Question – an open ended question that you derive from the readings.
This is the textbook name just in case you need to know or if you want to quote anything. “The Enduring
Debate (Norton, 2014)
Statement of the Issue
The issue of concern here, pertains the level of spending by both corporate and unions during
electioneering period whereby the Conservative judges of the Supreme Court declared that
unions and corporate have constitutional right to embark on spending as much as they wish on
television commercials that are election related, especially those which support and/or target a
particular candidate.
Review of Authors Arguments
Bradley A. Smith
According to Bradley A. Smith, the discussions with regards to “Citizen United we stand” raises
fundamental concerns particularly those about restriction of political speech, which may also be
considered as the campaign finance reform. This was in the 2008 presidential elections when the
Citizens United, a conservative activist group formed by Koch brothers was engaged in a legal
CHAPTER SUMMARY 2
tussle challenging provisions that prohibited airing of a documentary they had prepared. This
was attributable to the fact that, the provisions had given the government the mandate of limiting
any form of political communication as long as the source funding was from corporate, even for
Citizens United which is a nonprofit organization. However, despite the ongoing battle between
Americans on the limitation or prohibition on campaign spending, there has been a mixture of
outcomes where the Supreme Court has issued various judgments with regards to violations of
campaign finance laws.
Ronald Dworkin
In the author’s article, the decisions that threaten democracy the author puts forward three main
arguments with regards to the controlling of campaign and electioneering period. For instance,
the author puts forward a discussion on the Supreme Court decision by a bench of five
conservative justices on their own initiative in which they stated that unions and corporations
have constitutional right to spend as much money as they wish on television commercials
regarding to elections. The author also presents an argument on political activity based on First
Amendment rights from the perspective of various court rulings, especially those banning
electioneering and campaign funding corporations or unions controlled by foreigners as well as
political commercials funded by multinational corporate.
Matt Bai
CHAPTER SUMMARY 3
The author agrees with argument that critics have been overstating the impact of Citizens United
and that a lot of the things that took place in elections since the ruling was already in course. Bai
states that court decision critics put across a useful organizing device perpetuated by liberal
politicians considering that many other liberals are in strong disapproval of the ruling. The
author also highlights the reasons for current surge of money in elections including the strong
views attributed to Obama and Bush presidencies as well as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform
Act of 2002.
Comparison of Arguments
Dworkin concludes by making a plea on formulating public financing and disclosure laws that
are stronger for congressional elections in order to ensure that American electoral campaigns are
not left at the influence of foreign corporations. Bradley Smith strongly disagrees on the
prohibition or limitation of election campaign funding by foreign corporations and refers the
decision as overstated. He also notes that allowing the spending as a decision it empowers not
only labor unions but also corporations, which are interested in spending in elections. Matt Bai
agrees with Bradley Smith’s argument that critics have been overstating the impact of Citizens
United and that a lot of the things that took place in elections since the ruling was already in
course. Bai states that court decision critics put across a useful organizing device perpetuated by
liberal politicians considering that many other liberals are in strong disapproval of the ruling.
My Opinion
I agree with Dworkin’s argument that funding of campaigns should be controlled through
stronger public financing and disclosure laws in order to ensure that foreign corporations are not
allowed to fund campaigns.
CHAPTER SUMMARY 4
Discussion Question
Based on the discussed arguments, the open-ended question would be “Discuss the underlying
issues which are making it necessary to control campaign funding from the perspective of
Republicans and Democrats”.
Reference
Canon, D. T., Coleman, J. J., & Mayer, K. R. (2014). The Enduring Debate: Classic and
Contemporary Readings in American Politics, (7 th ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton &
Company.
