Unit 4 Review PowerPoint

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Unit 4 Review PowerPoint

• Political Parties, Interest Groups and the Mass
  Media

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Presidential v. Congressional Campaigns

• Differences
• More voter participation in presidential election
• candidates work harder, spend more
• Presidential races more competitive than house
  races
• Members of Congress can do things for their
  constituents the President never can
• Grants, contracts, bridges, canals, highways
  built, etc
• Members of Congress can distance themselves from
  Washington (in theory)
• Washington is a mess! Ill change it!
• Overall effect Congressional elections now
  independent of presidential elections

Types of Elections
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Running for Congress

• Best way to get elected to Congress BE AN
  INCUMBENT!
• Since 1962 over 90 of incumbents won reelection!
  
• Failing that, hope that one of the two enduring
  problems characterizing congressional election
  politics works out in your favor (but unlikely,
  since youre not in Congress to finagle the
  boundaries)
• Malapportionment districts have different
  populations. Less populated district votes
  weight more than more populous district votes.
• Gerrymandering boundaries are drawn to favor one
  party over another, resulting in odd-shaped
  districts.

Types of Elections
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A Quick Review of Types of Elections

• Primary an election held to choose candidates
  for office (can be open or closed)
• Caucus Meeting of party members to select
  delegates backing one or another primary
  candidate
• General Election an election held to choose
  which candidate will hold office

Types of Elections
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Sources of Campaign Money

• Presidential Primaries
• Part private, part public money
• Federal matching funds for all individuals
  donations of 250 or less (incentive to raise
  money from small donors)
• Governmental lump-sum grants to parties to help
  pay convention costs

Sources of Campaign Money
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Sources of Campaign Money

• Presidential General Elections
• All public money (usually)
• Nominee eligible for 20 million the cost of
  living adjustment, and can spend 50,000 of
  his/her own personal funds
• Barack Obama the first major candidate to drop
  out of the modern campaign financing system since
  its creation in 1976 (essentially had no spending
  limits)

Sources of Campaign Money
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Sources of Campaign Money

• Congressional Elections
• Mostly private money
• 2000 maximum for individual donors
• 5000 limits for PACs

Oooo.Pretty!
PACs tend to view funds as a way to get access to
candidates. (have access, but dont own them
because of small donation amounts) -give bulk of
to incumbents or candidates with no opposition.
-give to democrats and republicans in Congress
since no way to predict who will have majority
next
Sources of Campaign Money
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Hard vs. Soft

• Soft Money
• unregulated contributions to national political
  parties
• funds spent by independent organizations that do
  not specifically advocate the election or defeat
  of candidates
• funds which are not contributed directly to
  candidate campaigns.
• Hard Money
• contributed directly to a candidate of a
  political party
• regulated by law in both source and amount
• monitored by the Federal Election Commission.

Sources of Campaign Money
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1973 Reform Law

• Limit individual donations to 1000 per candidate
  per elections
• Reaffirmed ban on corporate and union donations
  in place since 1925
• Allowed for creation of PACs to raise money for
  corporations, unions, etc.
• Need at least 50 voluntary members
• Have to give to at least 5 federal candidates
• Limited to giving 5000 per election per
  candidate, or no more than 15,000 per year to
  any political party
• Created public funding for presidential campaigns

Sources of Campaign Money
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Problems with Reform Law

• Challenged in the Supreme Court as a First
  Amendment violation, but mostly upheld in Buckley
  v. Valeo
• Independent expenditures
• An organization or PAC can spend as much as it
  wishes on advertising, so long as it is not
  coordinated with a candidates campaign.
• Soft money
• Unlimited amounts of may be given to a
  political party, so long as a candidate is not
  named this can then be spent to help candidate
  with voting drives, etc.

Sources of Campaign Money
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Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

• Did the limits placed on electoral expenditures
  by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and
  related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code
  of 1954, violate the First Amendments freedom of
  speech and association clauses?
• NO limits on contributions to campaigns and
  candidates guards against corruption doesnt
  violate 1st amendment.
• YES limits on a candidates spending from
  personal accounts does violate 1st amendment
  practice doesnt prevent corruption and doesnt
  serve a great enough government interest to
  curtail free speech.

Sources of Campaign Money
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New Campaign Finance Law

• Following 2000 election, there was a desire to
  reform the finance law
• 2002 - Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act
  (McCain-Feingold Law)
• Banned soft money contributions
• Raised limit on individual donations to 2000 per
  candidate per election
• Restricted independent expenditures
• Stand by your ad provision

Cant use own to refer to a clearly
identifiable candidate during 60 days before
general election or 30 days before primary
election (but)
Sources of Campaign Money
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Problems with the Law

• Challenged in court as restriction of free
  speech, but Supreme Court upheld almost the
  entire law (McConnell v. Federal Election
  Commission)
• 527 Organizations (named after IRS code)
• Can spend money on politics as long as they do
  not coordinate with a candidate or lobby directly
  for that person
• Essentially the same effect as soft money

Sources of Campaign Money
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Political Party

• Party principle determinant in how people
  vote, but not the only thing
• Not as simple as it seems most people identify
  as Democrats, but the Democrats lost 6 of 9
  presidential elections between 1968 and 2000
• -Democrats less wedded to their party than are
  Republicans
• -GOP does better among independents --
  --Republicans have higher turnout

Decisions in Elections
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Finding a Winning Coalition

• 1. Ways of looking at various groups
• -How loyal, percentage voting for party
• -How important, or number voting for party
• 2. Democratic coalition
• -African Americans most loyal
• -Jews almost as loyal as African Americans
• -Hispanics loyal, though somewhat mixed because
  of underlying ethnic differences
• -Catholics, southerners, unionists departing the
  coalition
• 3. Republican coalition
• -Party of business and professional people who
  are very loyal
• -Farmers are often Republican, but are
  changeable
• -Party usually wins majority of the votes of the
  poor (includes elderly)
• 4. Representatives of different segments of the
  coalition stress loyalty or numbers, because can
  rarely claim both

Decisions in Elections
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Political Parties

• Decentralization - city, state, and national
  bodies, no one source of power
• Arenas of politics in which parties exist
• -Label, in the minds of voters
• -Organization, recruiting , and campaigning for
  candidates
• -Set of leaders, organize and try to control the
  legislative and executive branches
• United States parties have become weaker in all
  three arenas
• Party machines of the 1930s were often corrupt
  and used a patronage system which was later
  outlawed.

History of Political Parties
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• Clearest cases of realignment 1860, 1896, 1932
• 1860 slavery issue fixed new loyalties in the
  popular mind
• 1896 economics issues shifted loyalties to East
  v. West, city v. farm
• 1932 economic depression triggered new coalition
  for Democrats
• 1980 a new realignment?
• Reagan won in 1980 because he was not Jimmy
  Carter
• Could not have been a traditional realignment
  because Congress was left in the hands of the
  Democrats
• Major shift that has occurred shift in
  presidential voting patterns in the South

History of Political Parties
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Party decline?

• Evidence that parties are declining, not
  realigning
• Dealignment moving away from both major
  parties
• Proportion of people identifying with a party
  declined 1960-1980
• Proportion of those wanting a split ticket
  increased (as opposed to a straight ticket)

History of Political Parties
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National Party Structure

• Both Republicans and Democrats have similar
  organizational structures
• A brief introduction
• National Convention
• A meeting of party delegates held every 4 years
• National Committee
• Delegates who run party affairs between national
  conventions.
• National Campaign Committee
• Focuses on strategy of election/campaign
• National Chairperson
• Day-to-day party manager elected by the national
  committee

Political Parties Today
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Minor Parties

• Ideological parties- comprehensive radical view
• Most enduring
• Ex. Socialist, Communist, Libertarian
• One-issue parties- address one concern, avoid
  others
• Ex. Free Soil, Know-Nothing, Prohibition
• Economic protest parties- regional, protest
  economy
• Ex. Greenback, Populist
• Factional parties- from split in major party,
  usually over pres. Nominee
• Ex. Bull Moose, Henry Wallace Democrats, American
  Independent Party

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Impact of Minor Parties

• Develop ideas that major parties later adopt
• Influence public policy
• Affect outcomes of elections?

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The Two-Party System

• Rarity among nations today
• Evenly balanced nationally, but not locally
• Why has the two-party system endured for so long?
• 1. Electoral system winner-take-all and
  plurality system limit the number of parties
• 2. Opinions of voters two broad coalitions
  work, although there may be times of bitter
  dissent
• 3. State laws have made it very difficult for
  third parties to get on the ballot

Political Parties Today
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Why are Interest Groups Common in the U.S.?

• Lots of kinds of cleavages mean lots of different
  interests
• Constitution provides many access points to the
  government
• Political parties are so weak, interest groups
  can work directly on the government
• First Amendmentright to assemble
• Federal system provides thousands of pressure
  points for interest group activity
• You can join groups on all levels.

Interest Groups
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Kinds of Interest GroupsMost fall into two
categories institutional interests and
membership interests

• Institutional Interests
• 1. Defined individuals or organizations
  representing other organizations
• 2. Types
• -Business firms (ex. General Motors)
• -Trade or governmental associations
• 3. Concerns bread-and-butter issues of concern
  to their clients
• 4. Other interests governments, foundations,
  universities

• Membership Interests
• 1. Americans join some groups more frequently
  than citizens in other nations
• -Social, business, professional, veterans,
  charitable same rate as elsewhere
• -Unions less likely to join
• -Religious, political, civic groups more likely
  to join
• -Greater sense of political efficacy, civic duty
  seems to explain tendency

Interest Groups
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Incentives to Join

• Solidary (social rewardssense of pleasure)
• Material ( or things valued in monetary terms)
• Purposive (a benefits that comes from serving the
  causeabortion, gun control, etc)
• Have to be careful of the Free Rider Problem
  people will receive the benefits if a group is
  successful regardless of whether theyre members
  (ex. Sierra Club)

Interest Groups
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Funding

• Foundation Grants
• 1. One study found that 1/3 of public-interest
  lobbying groups received more than half of all
  their funds from foundation grants
• Federal Grants and Contracts
• 1. Expansion of federal grants in the 1960s and
  1970s benefited interest groups cutbacks in
  1980s hurt them
• 2. Money given not for lobbying, but to support
  projects
• 3. Very difficult to tell whether grants are
  used effectively or not
• Direct Mail
• 1. Unique to modern interest groups
• 2. Through the use of computers, mail is sent
  directly to a specialized audience
• 3. But this approach is also expensive
• 4. Techniques Teaser on the envelope, letter
  arouses emotions, personalization of the letter
• Membership organizations have the most trouble
  raising money

Interest Groups
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Gathering and Supplying Information

• Single most important tactic of interest groups
• Detailed, current information at a premium
• People interested in a specific issue can
  provided more detailed and thorough information
  than others can
• Different methods for this, including ratings
  system

Activities and Relations of Interest Groups
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Money and PACs

• Money is the least effective way to influence
  politicians
• Campaign finance reform law of 1973 had two
  effects
• Restricted amount interests can give to
  candidates
• Make it legal for corporations and unions to
  create PACs that could make donations
• Rapid growth in PACs has probably not led to vote
  buying

Activities and Relations of Interest Groups
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The Revolving Door

• Federal government workers leave to take more
  lucrative positions in private industry
• May give private interests a way to improperly
  influence government decisions
• Agencies differ in vulnerability to outside
  influences

Activities and Relations of Interest Groups
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The National Media

• Consists of
• Wire services
• National magazines
• Television network evening news broadcasts
• CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc.
• Newspapers with national readerships
• Why significant?? Large readership, political
  elites follow closely!
• Roles played
• Gatekeeperinfluences what subjects become
  national political issues, and for how long.
• Scorekeepertracks political reputations
  candidacies
• Watchdoginvestigate personalities expose
  scandals

History and Structure of the Media
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Rules for the Media

• Newspapers almost entirely free from government
  regulation, but radio and television are highly
  licensed and regulated
• FCC license required to operate a radio or TV
  station
• Some movement lately to deregulate
• Confidentiality of Sources
• Reporters want it, government doesnt
• Supreme Court allows the government to compel
  reporters to divulge information in court if it
  bears on a crime

Remember the NYTimes case from Unit 2. Only libel
if printed maliciously!
History and Structure of the Media
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What are the Views of the Media?Are the National
Media Biased?

• Studies confirm the national media are generally
  more liberal and secular than the average citizen
  (but some media outlets are known for
  conservatismFox News, Rush Limbaugh radio show)
• Most Americans believe there is a media bias

Media and Government
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Is There an Effect?

• Real question is whether or not the perceived
  media bias affects how the public thinks
• Selective attention people remember or believe
  only what they want to
• Press coverage can affect the importance people
  place on policy issues
• But personal experience is always a limit to
  media influence

Media and Government
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The Media, the President, and Congress

• all walk into a bar.
• Has TV increased the power of the presidency?
• Perhaps
• President gets constant coverage because hes
  just one person Congress has 535 members all
  competing for media time
• Also, president has a press secretary with
  constant access to the White House press corps
• But Congress is much less restrictive than in the
  past and broadcast more often (C-SPAN)

Media and Government
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Medias Effect on Government

• Media enhances democracy
• Watchdog
• Linkage institution (enhanced access to info)
• Platform for citizens
• Media undermines democracy
• If it bleeds, it leads allows media to profit
  from and worsen public fears
• Sensationalism detracts from issues
• Gatekeeper function could keep the public
  ill-informed
• Attack journalism contributes to cynicism
• More emphasis on speed than accuracy
• TV contributes to dumbing down of America

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Be sure to know

• Definition of political parties and interest
  groups and relationship between the two
• Attempts at campaign finance reform (pros and
  cons)
• Minor parties- why they have survived and why
  they dont win
• Medias effect on government- good and bad