In recent years, interest in religion and politics at the national level has surged while extensive activity at the state level has gone largely unnoticed. Yet, with state government budgets increasing exponentially over the past three decades, churches and religious organizations are focusing tremendous energy and resources toward influencing the ways states are spending their money and governing their populace. In this groundbreaking collection, Edward Cleary and Allen Hertzke bring together nine new essays that provide the first systematic, comparative view of religion and politics at the state level. These essays take an in-depth look at the pressing issues facing states across the nation and how religious lobbies and organizations are addressing them. By examining the responses of different denominations and their rationales for involvement, the contributors explore the enormous diversity of interests being represented at the state level. As highly controversial programs and laws continue to divide state governments, Representing God at the Statehouse provides an important look at the current state of religion and democracy.

For the past several decades, politicians and economists thought that high levels of inequality were good for the economy. But because America's middle class is now so weak, the US economy suffers from the kinds of problems that plague less-developed countries. As Hollowed Out explains, to have strong, sustainable growth, the economy needs to work for everyone and expand from the middle out. This new thinking has the potential to supplant trickle-down economics the theory that was so wrong about inequality and our economy and shape economic policy making for generations.

In Re-Union, David Madland explores how labor unions are essential to all workers. Yet, union systems are badly flawed and in need of rapid changes for reform. Madland's multilayered analysis presents a solution—a model to replace the existing firm-based collective bargaining with a larger, industry-scale bargaining method coupled with powerful incentives for union membership. These changes would represent a remarkable shift from the norm, but would be based on lessons from other countries, US history and current policy in several cities and states. In outlining the shift, Madland details how these proposals might mend the broken economic and political systems in the United States. He also uses three examples from Britain, Canada, and Australia to explore what there is yet to learn about this new system in other developed nations. Madland's practical advice in Re-Union extends to a proposal for how to implement the changes necessary to shift the current paradigm. This powerful call to action speaks directly to the workers affected by these policies—the very people seeking to have their voices recognized in a system that attempts to silence them.

As witnessed in the 2004 elections, Americans feel the influence of interest groups today more than ever before. In races for the presidency, Congress, state legislatures, and even local school boards, interest groups help-in both major and minor ways-elect (or reelect) candidates who support their views. Interest Groups in American Campaigns is the only book to focus specifically on the role of interest groups in elections. Rozell, Wilcox, and Madland show that communication channels-from monetary donations to candidates and web pages for citizens-are the bedrock of interest group leverage on political parties, individual candidates, and voters. This second edition goes well beyond a straightforward update and spotlights the major changes in the way interest groups are now active in modern campaigns. Continuing the tradition of the first edition, the authors draw on interviews with interest group leaders, coverage of campaign finance filings, and election surveys in their extensive analysis. In addition to current data and updated examples and cases throughout the book, new coverage includes: the effects of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, the first finance reform package in a generation the rise of 527s in campaign advertising in light of campaign finance reform restrictions the successes and failures of George W. Bush and John Kerry to woo powerful interest groups