1. Chapter 17 Elections and Voting

2. 17-1 Election Campaigns

3. Key Decisions What consultants to use What issues to focus on
Whether to run a positive or negative campaign
What states to concentrate on
Where to spend the money
What consultants to use
Famous democratic consultants: Dick Morris, Susan Estrich, James Carville
Famous republican consultants: Karl Rove, Lee Atwater, Mary Matalin
What issues to focus on
Economy is always an issue
Foreign relations is often an issue
Hot button social issues
Environment
Whether to run a positive or negative campaign
Ethical issue
Real issue or pointing out differences between oneself and other candidates
What states to concentrate on
Big states or all states?
Early primary states?
Where to spend the money

4. Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)
Created in response to Nixon and Watergate scandals; huge illegal contributions from large corporations.
Designed to make candidates responsive to the public rather than wealthy supporters.
Also to allow public officials to focus on their jobs rather than non-stop fund raising.

5. Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)
Federal Election Commission (FEC) created.
Disclosure: candidates required to disclose the SOURCE of campaign contributions and list their EXPENDITURES.
Public funding: available for presidential primaries and general elections, in exchange for accepting campaign spending limits.
Limits on contributions.
Originally there were expenditure caps.
Public financing is paid for by check-off boxes on tax returns.

6. Supreme Court Decisions
Limits on how much individuals may contribute to their own campaigns are unconstitutional.
Campaign expenditure limits are unconstitutional.
Contribution limits on non-candidates okay.
Spending cap in exchange for public financing okay.

7. New Federal Contribution Limits per election cycle (2 years)
Individuals:
$2,300 per candidate
$5,000 per PAC
$10,000 per state or local party committee
$28,500 per national party committee
$108,200 aggregate total
PAC’s
$5,000 per candidate
$5,000 per state or local party committee
$15,000 per national party committee
Only the first $250 counts toward $5,000 amount needed.

8. Public Financing Primaries General Elections
“Matching funds” for first $250 of contributions IF candidate raises at least $5,000 in each of 20 states AND limits personal spending to $50,000.
2000 – Nine candidates got matching funds; only Bush and one other opted out.
General Elections
Grant of about $85 million IF candidate agrees to not accept private funds and limit own contribution to $50,000.
Only the first $250 counts toward $5,000 amount needed.

9. Third Party Public Financing
Third party candidates can only receive federal funding if their party got 5% of the vote in the previous election.
1992 – Ross Perot got 19% of the vote, received public funding, spent $60 million of his own money.
John McCain
Ralph Nader got almost 3% of the vote.

10. Ways to get around FECA
Hard money – money donated to candidates or political parties that is limited to a certain amount per individual or PAC.
“Soft money” – money contributed to a party for “party building activities”; could be unlimited in amount and given by anyone: labor unions, businesses, or wealthy individuals
“Party building activities: Get-out-the-vote, issue advocacy advertising, “vote democratic” or “vote republican” type advertising, etc.
Issue advocacy advertising – advertising related to an issue, that helps a candidate.
Issue ads cannot say “vote for so and so” nor can they be coordinated with a candidate’s campaign; but they may mention a candidate’s name.

11. Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
Political parties may not raise or spend “soft money.”
“Hard money” limits raised.
Issue oriented ads that mention a candidate’s name may not be aired within 30 days of a primary election or 60 days of a general election.

12. Recent Elections
2004
Both candidates opted out of public matching funds for PRIMARIES and raised $500 million.
“Snowball effect” started with Steve Forbes.
527 groups spent $400 million (about 25 individuals gave $146 million to 527 groups).
2008
It appears that the leading candidates will opt out of public financing for BOTH the primary and general elections and raise over a billion dollars.
If candidates all take public financing, the fund may become insolvent.

13. 527 Groups Non-profit groups, named after part of the tax code.
They have taken over much of what “soft money” used to be spent on.
There is legislation pending that might curb 527 groups, but it keeps being amended.

14. Public Financing Problems
Not enough money.
Not early enough, due to earlier primaries.
Fund may become insolvent.

15. Political Slang Pundit – an expert who provides commentary
Maven – Yiddish word for “expert”
Blog – web log – online journal
Vlog – web log using video as its primary format
Hack – writer paid to write quick, low-quality articles or books
Flack – publicist
Wonk – nerd, expert, overly studious person
Neocon – neoconservative

16. Political Slang
The Beltway – Washington, D.C. and adjoining suburbs of Virginia and Maryland enclosed by the I-495 freeway
The Hill – hill upon which the Capitol and some adjoining neighborhoods are located

17. 17-3 Influences on Voters

18. More Propaganda
Ad homonim attack – attack on a person rather than debating the issues
Straw man – creating a misrepresentation of an opponent’s argument that can be easily refuted, and then refuting it