Grand Illusion
The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Ralph Nader’s former campaign manager “takes the biggest swing—not a jab, but a roundhouse punch—at America’s corrupt electoral system” (Phil Donahue).
As the national campaign manager for Ralph Nader’s historic runs for president in 2000 and 2004, Theresa Amato had a rare ringside role in two of the most hotly contested presidential elections this country has seen. In Grand Illusion, she gives us a witty, thoughtful critique of the American electoral system, as well as a powerful argument for opening up the contest as if people and their daily lives mattered.
While making the case for specific reforms in the United States’ arcane system of ballot access laws, complex federal regulations, and partisan control of elections, Amato also offers a spirited history of how third-party and Independent candidates have kept important issues on the table in elections past and contribute to our country’s political life. Even the most fervent Nader critics will think twice about Nader’s role in 2000, thanks to Amato’s trenchant factual analysis.
Looking beyond the Nader story to campaigns waged by challengers John Anderson, Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and others, Amato shows how limiting ourselves to two candidates deprives our country of a robust political life, strips would-be contenders of their free speech and association rights, and cheats voters out of meaningful political choices.
“Amato displays an encyclopedic knowledge of election law, and her recommendations for election reform, including a comprehensive plan for ‘Federal Administration and Financing of Elections,’ are crucial contributions to the debate over election law.” —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The monumental difficulty of running for president of the United States as a third party or independent candidate is the subject of this informative but sometimes tedious chronicle by Ralph Nader's former campaign manager, who frames her crusade to get Nader onto the ballots in the 2000 and 2004 elections as a stand to give voters "more voices and more choices." An NYU law school graduate, Amato brings a lawyer's sensibility to the book and details the endless technicalities, lawsuits and court rulings that Nader's team faced. This diligent chronicling could be essential reading for anyone planning to mount or advise an independent or third party run for president, but it is hard to imagine that the general reader will be captivated by the rented office space scandal of June 2004 and other such complications. Despite the book's flaws, Amato displays an encyclopedic knowledge of election law, and her recommendations for election reform, including a comprehensive plan for "Federal Administration and Financing of Elections," are crucial contributions to the debate over election law.