Kenneth P. Vogel's Big Money

In his book, Big Money: 2.5 Billion Dollars, One Suspicious Vehicle, and a Pimp- on the Trail of the Ultra-Rich Hijacking American Politics, author Kenneth P. Vogel writes on the newly less regulated, and arguably more corrupt relationship between the American political system and big money donors. In this response paper I will address the main questions in relation to the text. One, which Supreme Court decision allowed for the rise in “Big Money’s” influence over the American political system? Two, how did the Supreme Court decision addressed in question one change both the American political landscape and the fundraising techniques used by those involved in political fundraising? And third, how did the Republicans and Democrats each respond in 2012 to “Big Money” in the American political system. I will follow the answers to these questions with a later section in my paper devoted to a personal response to Vogel’s text, as well as connections between his text and broader topic discussed in our Interest Groups class lectures. Addressing the first question set forth in my introduction, the Supreme Court decision that allowed for the rise of “Big Money’s” influence over the American political system is the infamous
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a self identifying liberal democrat who dislikes the Koch Brothers as much as the next leftist, but I feel that Vogel spent much more of his text grilling the right wing “Big Money” without addressing the problem of it on the left to the same degree. Again, I understand Vogel does spend some time addressing “Big Money” issues on the left, especially while talking about the Clintons, but the criticism does not come off as harsh as it does when compared to his criticism of rightwing mega-donors. Personally, I believe “Big Money” in politics is just as dangerous on the left as it is on the