DIRTY POLITICS

by Bruce L. Felknor ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Bruce Felknor, first and longtime Executive Director of the permanent Fair Campaign Practices Committee, has, from personal experience and knowledgeable historical research, issued a running catalogue of the great and little scandals of American political campaigns--Presidential, Congressional, and gubernatorial; and he has turned these episodes in upon themselves to point the way toward more intelligent, responsible and viable conduct of politics in the future. He also has a great deal of lively, instructive well-balanced material on organizations tangential to politics--the ADA, ACA, ACLU, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Anti-Defamation League and even the Birch Society (though this is not as complete as one might wish). The Kennedy-Keating combat, the McCarthy problem, ""the monstrosity of unbridled ballot initiative"" in California where professional public relations firms first entered the election game to WIN, are all studied at length. Yet Felknor gives some inkling of ""what drives honest men to stay in politics when so much conspires to drive them out."" His final chapter on the potentials of reform for the laws governing registrations, campaigns, elections, libel, etc. deserves long and careful consideration. So does the whole book. It's very good.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION