One of Common Cause's most passionate and popular causes is campaign finance reform. Common Cause practices what it preaches -- it is almost entirely funded by the often small, individual donations of its members. It is proud that one of the bills it has been promoting for many years was finally passed with substantial bipartisan support, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, "the most significant campaign reform bill in a generation, banning political parties from raising and spending soft money" ("About Us, "2007, Common Cause). While it was founded by a single individual, a Republican named John Gardener, the organization has been responsive to issues of immediate social concern that have stretched far beyond its founder's initial vision. This runs counter to Turman and Salisbury's suggestion that the entrepreneurial theory of interest groups best explains the creation groups that are founded by a single activist to further an ideological...
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