Unit IV Campaigns, Elections, Interest Groups and the Media

Who can run for office?

 Congress  Age 25, 7 years a citizen, Inhabit your State Who can run for office?

 Congress  Age 25, 7 years a citizen, Inhabit your State  Senate  Age 30, 9 years a citizen, Inhabit your State Who can run for office?

 Congress  Age 25, 7 years a citizen, Inhabit your State  Senate  Age 30, 9 years a citizen, Inhabit your State  President  Age 35, Natural-born citizen, 14 years in-country Who can run for office?

 You will need:  A campaign manager  A Political Consultant  Plenty of volunteers  Assistance from a party  Media Consultants  Polling Firms  Direct-Mail Firms  Political Technology Firms Want to campaign for office?

 First, get noticed! Running for President?

 First, get noticed!  “The Great Mentioner” (David Broder) Running for President?

 First, get noticed!  “The Great Mentioner” (David Broder)  Use “leaks” Running for President?

 First, get noticed!  “The Great Mentioner” (David Broder)  Use “leaks”  Become a public speaker Running for President?

 First, get noticed!  “The Great Mentioner” (David Broder)  Use “leaks”  Become a public speaker  Become famous Running for President?

 First, get noticed!  “The Great Mentioner” (David Broder)  Use “leaks”  Become a public speaker  Become famous  Sponsor a big bill (if you are in Congress) Running for President?

 First, get noticed!  “The Great Mentioner” (David Broder)  Use “leaks”  Become a public speaker  Become famous  Sponsor a big bill (if you are in Congress)  Be a Governor Running for President?

 Get a ton of money! Running for President?

 Get a ton of money!  But, to get matching Federal funds, you must get 20 people in 20 states to give $250 or less Running for President?

 Get a ton of money!  But, to get matching Federal funds, you must get 20 people in 20 states to give $250 or less  Build an organization! (everybody on slide 2) Running for President?

 Get a ton of money!  But, to get matching Federal funds, you must get 20 people in 20 states to give $250 or less  Build an organization! (everybody on slide 2)  Develop Strategy  Incumbency is a trump card.  The 4 “T”s = Tone, Theme, Timing, Target Audience Running for President?

 Be able to use Television!  “Commercial Spots”  “Sound Bites”  “Photo Opps”  Debates Running for President?

 Be able to use Television!  “Commercial Spots”  “Sound Bites”  “Photo Opps”  Debates  What is the real effect of these?  Does the Presidential candidate have coattails? Running for President?

 Special Problems of Congress Running for Congress?

 Special Problems of Congress  Size (set in 1911) Running for Congress?

 Special Problems of Congress  Size (set in 1911)  Allocation of Seats Running for Congress?

 Special Problems of Congress  Size (set in 1911)  Allocation of Seats  District Size (Supreme Court ruling 1964) Running for Congress?

 Special Problems of Congress  Size (set in 1911)  Allocation of Seats  District Size (Supreme Court ruling 1964)  District Shape Running for Congress?

 Special Problems of Congress  Size (set in 1911)  Allocation of Seats  District Size (Supreme Court ruling 1964)  District Shape  Gerrymandering Running for Congress?

 Will you be a Delegate, or a Trustee?  Which would you rather have? Running for Congress?

 Will you be a Delegate, or a Trustee?  Which would you rather have?  If you want to stay…  Provide Constituent Services  Create Committee Plums Running for Congress?

 Will you be a Delegate, or a Trustee?  Which would you rather have?  If you want to stay…  Provide Constituent Services  Create Committee Plums  You can’t be sued for “privileged speech”! Running for Congress?

 Incumbency Rules  At-large or Districted?  (Re-) Apportionment Running for Congress?

 Know what’s up…  Position Issues vs. Valence Issues Regardless of Office…

 Know what’s up…  Position Issues vs. Valence Issues  Campaigns Make a Difference  Reawaken party loyalty  See who handles pressure  Judge character and core values Regardless of Office…

 Rising Expenses  Election of 2008 All that Money… million million million million millionTV & Radio 43.5 millionInternet 21.8 millionPrint media 11.4 millionConsultants

 Congressmen get NOTHING.  Presidential Candidates get complicated:  Primary = Matching funds from small donors  General = All costs up to the limit  Minor Party folks get partial funding, depending on the percentage of the vote they get  Page 251 ! ! ! ! Money, money, money, money…

 Watergate fall-out (1973)  $ go up  PACs become widespread  Limits DO have an effect  Trend toward using private donors rather than Federal matching funds  WHY? Money (that’s what I want)

 Special Problems  Independent Expenditures  Soft Money  McCain-Feingold Act (2002)  No Soft Money  Individuals can contribute $2000  Independent Expenditures curtailed Mo’ Money

 Supreme Court clarifications:  Buckley v. Valeo (1976)  Limits are OK; Candidate can spend his own $  McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2002)  60 day mention limit upheld  FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life (2007)  Issue ads not prohibited  Citizens United v. FEC (2010)  Allows corporate/union funding of ads Money, so they say (is the root of all evil today)

 PRIMARY Elections  More Individualized  More Ideologically Extreme  Open, Closed, or Blanket?  Timing is varied  GENERAL ELECTIONS  More Party-oriented  TV has less effect ???  Always the first Tuesday in November (unless…) I Wanna Be Elected!

 Presidential elections are:  more competitive and the winner usually gets <55% of the vote  Congressional elections are:  Favorable to Incumbents (>60% of the vote)  Affected by the Midterm problem  Affected by Constituent Services and Franking  Often run “against the Government” Election Differences

 The Undecided Voter  (a Clothespin vote?)  The Pocketbook Vote  Candidate Character What decides elections?

 PARTY  Though there are more Democrats than Republicans…  Dems are more reasonable  Independents often vote Republican  A higher percentage of Republicans vote  ISSUES  Mostly the Economy  Prospective and Retrospective voters (mostly the latter)  CAMPAIGNS  COALITIONS How do we decide?

 In short, not much  Disasters will change that  Timing and Issues are critical  Life + Good = Incumbent Wins  Life + Bad = Challenger Wins Will the outcomes change policy?

 Political Action Committees (PACs)  Lobbyists  Institutional Organizations  Membership Organizations  Incentives to Join:  Solidary incentives  Material incentives  Purposive incentives Interest Groups

 Public-Interest Law firms  Think Tanks  “Special PACs”  NRA  AIPAC  AARP  Earmarks Etc.

 Environment  Sierra Club, Greenpeace  Feminists  NOW, NARAL, WEAL  Union  AFL-CIO, AFT/NEA, AFSCME  NAACP  Civil Disobedience  Possible upper-class bias Social Movements

 Who lobbyists are  What they did  Where the money came from…  …and where it went to. Regulations

 A Brief History  Early Newspapers  Changed by better presses and the telegraph  The Popular Press  Pulitzer, Hearst, and Yellow Journalism  Now Editorials  Magazines  Muckrakers to “Investigative Journalism”  Radio The Media

 OK, not so brief…  Television  Networks to Cable  “Nightly News” to C-Span, FoxNews, CNN, The Daily Show  Internet  Blogs, Twitter, Facebook The Media

 Make a Profit  Avoid Bias  Roles:  Gatekeeper  Scorekeeper  Watchdog Media Responsibilities

 Avoid Libel ~ “Absence of Malice”  Keep Confidentiality ~ No Federal “Shield” law  On the Record  Off the Record  On Background  On Deep Background  Equal Time Rule Media Responsibilities

 We think many news stories are inaccurate  We have “Selective Attention” disorder  We think the media is  Liberal  Secular  We LOVE Sensationalism Public Perceptions