San Antonio College Library

In this program, the authors share their passion for politics while providing students with the foundation they need to become informed citizens in a rapidly changing democracy.

The Watergate campaign finance scandals led to a landmark law designed to limit the influence of money in politics. Forty years later, some say the scandal isn't what's illegal, it's what's legal.

"Essential reading for anyone concerned about the trajectory of American politics, Gathering Power shows what has gone wrong and how to fix it. Osterman tells stories of campaigns and of the people whose political commitment has been renewed. He shows how to build politics from the ground up and to ultimately give new life to the progressive agenda at the national level. Gathering Power claims an important place for religion in progressive politics...

This program, hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hedrick Smith, provides an overview of Clinton-era campaign finance reform: the failed initiatives of the post-Watergate era, soft money scandals, and models for reform. Smith interviews John McCain, Bill Bradley, and Jack Kemp to determine how soft money corrupted the political process. The initial segment describes the campaign finance system in use during the 1990s-itself the result of reforms...

The sensational presidential election that dragged Florida into the media spotlight and made "butterfly ballot" and "chad" household words caused an uproar over the malfunctioning mechanics and overall validity of America's electoral process. What is being done to see that major voting irregularities cease to occur in Florida and throughout the nation? In this program, David Gergen, adviser to four former presidents; David Leahy, supervisor of elections...

In America, a shadow government wields incredible influence over what gets done inside the Beltway-and who reaps the benefits. In this program, correspondent Hedrick Smith spotlights the powerful influence of the nation's special interest lobbies during the Clinton years. Majority Whip Tom DeLay; Charles Blixt, of R.J. Reynolds; Mike Pertschuk, of the Advocacy Institute; members of Congress; lobbyists; and others scrutinize how UPS paralyzed OSHA's...

This program with Bill Moyers examines what many people consider to be the scandal of American democracy-the influence of money on our political system. The 1992 Presidential election sent a strong signal: by voting for Bill Clinton or Ross Perot, both of whom ran on reform platforms, voters registered their disgust with the way laws are made, influence is bought, and an elite class of politicians control the system. This 1994 program examines the...

This program with Bill Moyers focuses on the conservative evangelical movement in the U.S., presenting an eye-opening report on the "National Affairs Briefing," a meeting of members of the religious right following the Republican National Convention in 1992. Members of the movement featured in the program include Rev. Don Wildmon, Oliver North, Pat Buchanan, and Phyllis Schlafly, who voice their opinions on Bill Clinton, "militant homosexuals," feminists,...

This program chronicles the rise of the Conservative movement in America from the 1940s to the height of the Reagan era, explaining the intellectual premises of Conservatism while covering both the well-known and the less-chronicled back pages of Conservative history. It covers the Hiss-Chambers case, which galvanized the movement around the issue of anti-Communism; the organization of three Conservative think tanks; the birth of the Goldwater candidacy,...