Personally Speaking talk to examine money in politics

Eric Heberlig, a professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, will lead a public conversation about his book on congressional fundraising, the Citizens United court case and their implications for the 2016 presidential race at a Personally Speaking lecture on Thursday, March 10.

Competition for which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives has transformed congressional parties from legislative coalitions into partisan fundraising machines, Heberlig advanced in his book “Congressional Parties, Institutional Ambition and the Financing of Majority Control.” The book examines the consequences of selecting congressional leaders on the basis of fundraising skills rather than legislative capacity and the extent to which the battle for majority control leads Congress to prioritize short-term electoral gains versus long-term governing and problem solving.

Join this Personally Speaking talk, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., March 10, at UNC Charlotte Center City. While the event is free and open to the public, RSVPs are requested.

Heberlig’s book, written with coauthor Bruce Larson, an associate professor, Gettysburg College, was published by the University of Michigan Press. It won the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation’s prize for the best book on Congress in 2014.

Personally Speaking is presented by the UNC Charlotte’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the J. Murrey Atkins Library. This is the final talk of the 2015-16 series.