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Case
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Reference no. HKS1238.0
Published by: Harvard Kennedy School
Published in: 1994

Abstract

A federal legislative proposal, supported by the "good government" group Common Cause, would limit contributions of political action committees to election campaigns. The proposal runs into surprising opposition from liberal members of the House of Representatives loyal to Emily''s List, an organization dedicated to electing liberal women to office and which had successfully funneled important contributions at key times to successful candidates. Its method: a device called "bundling," through which individual contributions are packaged and directed to designated candidates-and which would be prohibited by the proposed legislation. This case invites discussion of the politics of campaign finance "reform." It calls upon students to imagine the changed nature of the electoral system in the system proposed by Common Cause and to assess the merits and complexities of such a system.

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Abstract

A federal legislative proposal, supported by the "good government" group Common Cause, would limit contributions of political action committees to election campaigns. The proposal runs into surprising opposition from liberal members of the House of Representatives loyal to Emily''s List, an organization dedicated to electing liberal women to office and which had successfully funneled important contributions at key times to successful candidates. Its method: a device called "bundling," through which individual contributions are packaged and directed to designated candidates-and which would be prohibited by the proposed legislation. This case invites discussion of the politics of campaign finance "reform." It calls upon students to imagine the changed nature of the electoral system in the system proposed by Common Cause and to assess the merits and complexities of such a system.

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