Transcript Unit 2: Political Beliefs and Behaviors

• Homework stamp
Is it democratic for
corporations to
donate money to a
presidential
candidate?
Content Vocab
GOTV
Subsidy
FECA
Academic Vocab
Disclosure
limit
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
Do We Vote for the Candidate or
the Campaign?
• The most important factor in any campaign is the
candidate (he/she is even more important than money).
• Campaigns are able (most of the time) to downplay a
candidate’s weaknesses and emphasize his/her strengths.
• However, even the best campaigns cannot put an
ineffective candidate in the win column – most of the
time.
• Most people vote for a candidate not the campaign.
• http://youtu.be/DEbZqvMu2cQ
• http://youtu.be/Be6tunbRcs8
Get Out the Vote
• GOTV: a push at the end of a political
campaign to encourage supporters to go to
the polls.
• This is done by: phone calls, e-mails,
tweets, and other social media.
• Some GOTV efforts even include providing
transportation to the polls if necessary.
Presidential Debates
• The debates are usually scheduled every two to
three weeks from September to late October.
• There is also at least one Vice-Presidential debate.
• Polls are used to evaluate the public response and
gauge momentum and campaign strategies.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIETposATPw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEpCrcMF5Ps&feature=share
VEEP Debate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3roG09O6T4&feature=share
http://youtu.be/5Mv8mD0zUrs
Make of break debate moments http://youtu.be/4Y8SZDH3B_4
http://youtu.be/EY5TFrLFI3I
http://youtu.be/OHEh1ML5OTU
http://youtu.be/O7x-dzXVcOw
http://youtu.be/79pvVpN7-9s
http://youtu.be/xw_B-3e-oVY
http://youtu.be/rboByPlU4IM
• http://youtu.be/teD-m9nm0yg
Florida Gov Debate
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u54H2sV
-0Hc
Campaign Finance – Background
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwqEkjipAoY
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
I.
Federal Election Campaign Acts, 19711974: disclosure, subsidies, limitations.
A. Established a Fed. Elections Commission
to regulate fed. elections. (FEC)
B. All candidates must disclose
contributions and expenditures.
C.
Contribution limitations (Primaries):
1. Individuals: $1000 per candidate, per
election
2. PACs: $5,000 per candidate, per
election, and no overall cap. (More on
PACS later)
D. Presidential candidates can receive fed. subsidies on a
matching fund basis for primaries (money comes from tax
check-offs - $250 for every $1000)
E. In the general election the nominees can accept a lump
sum. (Probably in the $90 million range for 2016)
1. In ’04, Kerry and Bush each received $74 million. Obama
chose not to take federal funds in ’08, and was therefore able
to spend unlimited amounts. McCain accepted the federal
funds.
2. Presidential candidates who receive fed. money are
subjected to spending limitations. If they do not take
the money (Bush in 2004 primaries), they are not subject
to spending limitations. (Like Obama)
subsidy |ˈsəbsidē|
noun (pl. subsidies)
1 a sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or
business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive: a farm
subsidy | they disdain government subsidy.
• a sum of money granted to support an arts organization or other undertaking held to be in
the public interest.
• a grant or contribution of money.
2 historical a parliamentary grant to the sovereign for state needs.
• a tax levied on a particular occasion.
Let’s pretend – In partners
• Pretend you are a candidate and you want to
skirt around this law. (legally of course) How
would you do it?
II.
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of
2002 (McCain-Feingold Bill)
A. Bans soft money donations to national
political parties. Soft money:
undisclosed, unlimited donations to
parties for party building activities.
B. Limits soft money donations to state
political parties to $10,000 -> restricts
use of these donations to voter
registration and get-out-the-vote drives
F. Doubled individuals’ “hard money” donations
to $2000, and indexes future increases to
inflation (now $2600 for 2013-2014 election
cycle). Hard money: disclosed, limited
donations to candidates.
E. No change on PAC limits. Still $5,000.
F. Unions and corporations banned from giving
soft money to parties
III.
Analysis.
A. No subsidies for congressional campaigns --> further incumbency advantage.
B. No limits on spending in congressional races
1.
Massive spending on congressional
races and further incumbency advantage.
2. Members of Congress spend great
amounts of time with fund-raising
projects.
3. Late-starters are discouraged.
C. No limitations on independent expenditures, i.e.,
money not donated to party or candidate but rather
spent on behalf of a candidate.
1. “527s”, tax exempt groups that engage in
political activities, can receive unlimited
contributions and spend them on voter
mobilization efforts and issue advocacy ads that
praise or slam a candidate (though they cannot
explicitly endorse a candidate). MoveOn.org is a
prominent liberal 527. “Swiftboat Veterans for
Truth” was a prominent conservative 527 in the
2004 election. 527s are, in part, a response to the
BCRA’s ban on soft money donations to national
political parties.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phqOuEhg9yE
http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/
D. Minor presidential candidates cannot receive
subsidies before the election unless their party
earned at least 5% of the popular vote in the
previous election.
E. Parties are weakened since presidential election
funds go to the candidates themselves rather
than the parties ---> rise of candidate-centered
campaigns rather than party-centered campaigns.
F. Growth of PACs and candidate dependence on
PACs
G. No limitations on “bundling.”
H. Cost of campaigning has risen -> more time
spent on fundraising by candidates.
Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission (FEC)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission,
is a US constitutional law case, in which
the United States Supreme Court held that
the First Amendment prohibits the
government from restricting
political independent
expenditures by corporations, associations,
or labor unions.
Still Confused?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFt1LvJba
LM&feature=youtu.be&list=UUQUPXOwHi6cc
CLd6yoeMg9A
Notes done! - Summary
2000 Election for Dummies