Nation on the Take

February 1, 2016

Potter (analyst, Ctr. for Public Integrity; Deadly Spin) and Penniman (executive director, Issue One) deliver a call to action against the expanding role big money plays in U.S. politics. They begin by documenting the scale of the problem with facts and figures, then provide a brief history of events and decisions that have brought the country to this point. Next, they offer case studies of lobbying by banking, pharmaceutical (a subject in which Potter is especially knowledgeable and critical), energy, agriculture, and chemical industries, and conclude with a rallying cry to bring government back under the control of the people by rejecting cynicism, broadening participation, and building on successful state and local models. Their argument is impassioned and accessible, in contrast to a more thorough, balanced, and academically informed treatment as found in Kenneth Godwin and others' Lobbying and Policymaking. VERDICT This book will interest readers concerned about money in politics during the 2016 election cycle but may not have lasting appeal.--Jennifer M. Miller, Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 21, 2015
Despite the authors’ impressive credentials––Potter is an analyst at the Center for Public Integrity and Penniman runs the group Issue One, which advocates for campaign finance reform––there’s little here that readers won’t have seen before, at least if they have any knowledge of the role of money in contemporary American politics. The basic facts are largely familiar: the millions the Koch brothers intend to spend to influence the 2016 presidential election, the damaging effect of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Potter and Penniman hope to make this issue a subject of everyday conversation, by linking corruption to policy decisions that are made in opposition to the public interest. They do so in sections on how money influences federal legislation on energy, banking, medicine, and toxins, but again break no new ground. The final section delivers an exhortation to a disenfranchised electorate to reclaim its government, but the authors offer little grounds for hope; on the federal level, they note that President Barack Obama and the SEC could have taken unilateral action but haven’t yet, without explaining why there’s any likelihood that they might do so in the future. This is a good primer for someone completely new to the topic.