The Gilded Dome: The U.S. Senate and Campaign Finance Reform
by By Kubiak, Greg D.
Category: Political Science , General

The Gilded Dome is Greg Kubiak's unique, inside view of a failed attempt to enact campaign finance reform in the U.S. Congress. This saga of Sen. David L. Boren's seven-year struggle to overcome Congressional self-interest and reach a bipartisan consensus demonstrates the power of moneyed interests that gridlocks government and stifles political competition.These efforts at campaign finance reform took shape in 1985, but not until 1987 - when Democrats regained control of the Senate - was Senator Boren's legislation taken seriously. In 1988, following a dramatic fifty-seven-hour session, a record-breaking cloture vote failed, and the money chase continued. Next the Senate and the House pushed to pass separate bills, but that effort failed as the Congress rushed to adjourn. Soon after the 1990 elections, the White House promised to kill the campaign finance reform bill. And just eleven days before a 1992 fundraising dinner at which donors paid $92,000 to be photographed with the president, the legislation was vetoed.In vivid detail The Gilded Dome describes negotiations to produce the most wide-ranging reform of campaign law since Watergate. In addition to describing efforts within Congress, the author explains how others - the media, lobbyists, and party officials - play the game and affect the legislative process. Kubiak concludes that the power of money in politics and the power of people in government must be balanced. Only then will the gilded dome, which conceals the power of money and special interests, reflect the beauty of our democracy.