Dark Money, Super PACs, and the 2012 Election

By (author) Melissa M. Smith, Larry Powell

Not available to order

Publication date:

27 February 2014

Length of book:

140 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739185421

More than two billion dollars. That’s how much money was spent in the 2012 presidential campaign—the most expensive campaign in history. Each party raised and spent more than one billion dollars as the traditional boundaries of campaign financing were ignored. Both parties could do so because they were playing in a game with new rules—rules that largely developed after the 2010 Supreme Court ruling known as Citizens United. That case removed many restrictions on donation limits, particularly for corporations and unions. The result was the development of a new set of political players called “Super PACs” that were allowed to enter the political arena and spend an unlimited amount of money on behalf of clients.
This book looks at how Super PACs raised and spent money and influenced the 2012 election. It provides an insightful look at how both right- and left-leaning groups approached the election and impacted the political process.
Smith and Powell have done excellent work building on their 2010 volume on campaign finance reform. No study of political communication and elections can be complete without understanding how the money flows, and this text provides an excellent foundation for understanding that.