No place for amateurs : how political consultants are reshaping American democracy / Dennis W. Johnson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson, Dennis W.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political consultants--United States.

Political consultants.

United States.

Political campaigns--United States.

Political campaigns.

Campaign management--United States.

Campaign management.

United States--Politics and government.

Local Subjects:

United States--Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xvi, 320 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2001.

Summary:

No Place for Amateurs offers an insider's tour through the fast-paced, often sordid world of the professional political campaign. Major campaigns are now run almost entirely by professionals, and Johnson details skills, strategies, and methods -- and the extraordinary resources these require -- to provide an expose of the highly sophisticated techniques used to reach and persuade voters. As No Place for Amateurs makes clear, the more the candidates turn to sophisticated and unethical tactics, the less they focus on the concerns of the voters.

Contents:

Introduction: Canvassing the Political Landscape xiii

Part 1 Professional Campaigning: New Realities, New Challenges 1

1 Celebrity Consultants and Professionally Driven Campaigns 3

2 Running for Office: Not for the Faint of Heart 15

3 Case Study: Challenging an Incumbent U.S. Senator: The Realities of a Tough, Hard-Fought, Professional Campaign 35

Part 2 Weapons of Modern Campaigning 57

4 Political Research: Digging Up the Dirt 59

5 Testing Public Opinion 87

6 The Media, Old and New 115

7 Targeting Voters 149

8 The Money Chase 169

Part 3 Wider Reach of Political Consulting 199

9 Ballot Issues, Local Elections, and Consultants 201

10 Citizens, Voters, and Democratic Choice 237.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-314) and index.

ISBN:

0415921252

0415928362

OCLC:

45648440