Campaign Contributions and Legislative Voting

This book studies the current paradox within the voting literature on campaign contributions and legislative voting behavior. Specifically, while journalists and observers believe that the contributions significantly influence congressional votes, empirical evidence compiled by political scientists has generally failed to identify a systematic linkage between the two. At the same time, the amount of money contributed by interest groups is increasing and polls indicate that the public is becoming more cynical about the process. 1. Interest Groups and Policy Making 2. The Effects of Contributions on the Representative Process 3. John Doolittle and the California Trial Lawyers Association 4. Bills on Which Contributions Did (and Did not) Affect Critical Votes 5. Campaign Contributions and Critical Votes in the Governmental Organization Committee 6. Do Committee Characteristics Matter? 7. Conclusion Appendix A. Methodological Appendix Appendix B. Statistical Results Appendix C. Questionnaire on Committee Jurisdictions Appendix D. Questionnaire. Identifying 'Juice' Committees in the California State Senate