Grand Illusion
Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny
By Theresa Amato
Theresa Amato, the campaign manager for Ralph Nader’s 2000 & 2004 Presidential runs, presents a scathing indictment of the current state of ballot access in America in her new book.
Grand Illusion recounts the story of the Democratic Party’s attempt to boot Nader out of the 2004 Presidential election, and offers insight into other recent independent and third party campaigns. Amato also lays out specific reform steps that can be taken to improve the state of ballot access in this country.
“Theresa Amato takes the biggest swing–not a jab, but a roundhouse punch–at America’s corrupt electoral system.”
–Phil Donahue
“Theresa Amato has written the best book about ballot access ever….This book is of the most supreme importance.”
–Richard Winger, Ballot Access News
“Theresa Amato has experienced the unfairness of our system like few others. Her new book ‘Grand Illusion’ is an important contribution that anyone serious about ballot access reform should read. I thank Theresa for sharing her experiences with us and know her book will make a difference.”
–Ron Paul, Congressman TX-14, Republican Presidential candidate
“Until you have run, as I did, outside the two major parties, it is impossible to imagine the injustices of the two-party-tilted electoral process. Theresa Amato masterfully exposes the horrors faced by third-party and Independent candidates seeking the chance to compete & provide political choices for the American voter.”
–John Anderson, former Independent presidential candidate and chair of the Center for Voting and Democracy
What makes this brilliantly researched and even more brilliantly argued reform manifesto so powerful is the back story of Amato’s own struggles with the most corrupt aspects of the political process. As the campaign manager for Ralph Nader’s 2000 and 2004 presidential bids, Amato had to fight for ballot access, a place in the debates, minimal media coverage, and a fair count of the votes. It wasn’t easy, and there is an edge to her recollection of events. But this book is about a lot more than Nader’s campaigns; it is a sweeping examination of the barriers to real democracy that remain in America.
–John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation
Watch this video to see an endorsement of Grand Illusion
by Ralph Nader:
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 to competition.
Busting the national myth that “anyone can grow up and be President of the United States,” Amato shows how independent and third-party candidates face egregious structural barriers that prevent them from fully participating in the race or even getting their names on the ballot. In addition to waging effective voter campaigns, these candidates must simultaneously fend off preposterous numbers of legal challenges from the two major parties–during twelve weeks of Nader’s ‘04 run, as many as twenty-five lawsuits were filed in an effort to squash his campaign.
Amato makes a powerful case for specific federal reforms in the United States’ arcane system of ballot access laws, complex regulations, and partisan control of elections. Along the way, she 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 political life as a society.
Despite the dramatic run-up to the historic 2008 election and the efforts of both Obama and McCain to set themselves apart, the national political debate occurs in a very narrow range that’s defined by two major parties, which are both influenced by the same corporations, special interest groups, and lobbyists. And on election day, there just aren’t the kinds of genuine options that a healthy, multi-party democracy should offer. 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 First Amendment rights, and cheats voters out of meaningful political choice.
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Free & Equal is a non-partisan election reform and activist organization dedicated to improving ballot access laws in the United States.
