1. AP US GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Political Parties, Interest Groups and Elections and Campaigns

2. Objectives 1. Analyze the factors that have perpetuated a two- party system 2. Analyze the factors causing political de-alignment and realignment

3. “Linkage Institutions” 1. Political Parties 2. Interest Groups 3. Media Outlets 4. Elections

4. PARTY REALIGNMENT 1. Popular coalition changes it support of one party to another 2. Causes: Party phases out—Whigs and Federalists Popular coalition shifts support 3. Critical Elections/Periods a. Position and Valence Issues b. Elections: 1800, 1828, 1860, 1896, 1932 c. Election 1932 i. New Deal Coalition African Americans Labor Unions Catholics and Jews Urban Dwellers Southerners

5. Close Party List

6. Open Party List

7. Cause of Two-Party System and Deterrence of Minor Parties 1. Plurality/WTA System and American Political Values 2. Single Member Districts 3. Automatic Public Funding for Presidential Campaigns 4. Minor Party’s Candidates Excluded from Debates 5. Traditional/Historical Basis for Tw0-Party System 6. Gerrymandering/Redistricting 7. Legal Barriers for Minor Parties to get on the Ballot—Default for major parties

8. Impact of Minor Parties 1. Minor Parties Provide Outlet for Extreme or Controversial Issues 2. “Spoiler Effect”—Ralph Nader 2000 Presidential Election 3. Minor Parties push Major Parties to adopt

9. Cause of Party Dealignment 1. Movement towards nonpartisanship by electorate; decay of the party 2. Causes a. Weakening Parties and Party Leaders b. Growth of Influence of other “Linkage Institutions” c. Perception of Merging Parties and confusion to the electorate—Why? d. Campaign Finance Laws (Soft Money and Citizens United v. FEC ) e. Legislation against the patronage and spoils system –Hatch Act/Pendleton Act f. Weakening Party Machines/Aussie Ballot g. Primary Reforms and Democratization—Number of Delegates v. Superdelegates 3. Effects a. Split-Ticket Voting b. Divided Government—Effects c. Rise in Independents d. Coattails Effect

10. Assessment: T/F 1. Minor parties have a difficult time getting public financing for campaigns, getting on a ballot and are often excluded from debates. 2. Multi-member districts and proportionate representation would encourage minor parties. 3. Each of the major causes of party dealignment can be traced to weakening parties.

11. Election Cycle Jan-JuneJuly-AugNov.DecJan PRIMARY/ CAUCUS NAT’L CONVEN. GEN. ELECTION PRES. INAUG. ELECTORS VOTE

12. Primaries 1. Definition 2. Presidential Primary a. Voters choose delegates b. Delegates choose the President at their respective National Convention c. Types i. Open ii. Closed iii. Blanket “Free Love”

13. Presidential Caucus 1. Purpose is the same as a primary 2. Town-hall meeting with electioneering 3. Iowa Democratic Caucus a. 1784 Precinct Elections b. Town-Hall Meeting c. 15% Viability & Proportionate Representation d. 30-minutes to electioneer and go to “Preference Group” e. Anther 30-minutes to realign to a viable candidate f. Precinct—Congressional District—State—National Convention g. IOWA Tutorial IOWA Tutorial

14. Who are Delegates 1. Loyal Party Members at various levels of the Party System 2. Issue-oriented Activists 3. More ideologically extreme in comparison to rank- in-file party members 4. Function: Vote in the National Convention

15. National Convention 1. Organized by RNC and DNC 2. Once every 4 Years 3. Types of Delegates Pledged Delegates chosen by voters Unpledged Delegates: PLEOs and Superdelegates 4. Function: Select Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates to represent party Usually a Formality VP is selected by the President

16. INTEREST GROUPS TYPES 1. Institutional a. American Cotton Manufacturers—southern cotton mills b. General Motors and Ford c. Over 500 Firms in DC d. Chamber of Commerce—represents thousands of businesses e. “Free Riders” Problem 2. Membership a. NAACP b. Christian Coalition c. National Rifle Association Funding 1. Foundation Grants 2. Federal Grants and Contracts 3. Direct Mail 4. Membership Dues

17. Primary Results: Obama v. Clinton CandidatesUncommittedObamaClinton Grand total estimated delegates 2,117 to win) 99 2,306½ 54% 1,973 46% Total estimated superdelegate endorsement (823) superdelegate 99 478 66% 246 34% Total estimated pledged delegates (3,409½ of 3,409½, 100% of 81%) 0 1,828½ 51% 1,726½ 49% Total bound pledged delegates (3,341½ of 3,409½, 98% of 81%) 01,722½ 52% 1,617½ 48%

18. Primaries, Caucus and Nat’l Convention Jan-June July-Aug PRIMARY/CAUCUS NATIONAL CONVENTION NHIO DNC RNC 1.FRONT LOADING—STATES— FEB—MARCH 2.“BIG MO” 3.SUPER TUESDAY—24 STATES 4.“HORSE RACE” APPORTIONING DELEGATES CHOOSING DELEGATES FUNCTIONS

19. Assessment: T/F 1. Since there are fewer superdelegates (AKA: PLEOs) participating in the National Convention, political parties have LOST power. 2. Front-loading by state parties is an attempt to have a greater impact on the party’s presidential nominees. 3. Most delegates attending their respective National Convention are non-partisan. 4. Democrats have traditionally supported a “Winner- takes-all” presidential primary system. 5. A closed primary is a way for state parties to prevent other parties from sabotaging their results.

20. Unit Goal Analyze the steps taken to promote political ideologies within our governmental system through party involvement, elections and media coverage.

21. INTEREST GROUPS Incentives 1. Solidary Incentives—sense of pleasure, status or companionship a. Examples: PTA, NAACP, League of Women’s Voters 2. Material Incentive—money or services valued in monetary terms a. Examples: Farm Bureau, AARP, NRA 3. Purposive Incentive—appeal to stated goals a. Ideological Interest Groups b. Examples: Planned Parenthood & International Gay and Lesbian Association c. Public interest lobby—purpose of interest group is to benefit non- members i. Example: ACLU, NAACP

22. Interest Groups Social Movement—widely shared demand for change socially and politically 1. Environmental Movement 2. Union Movement Came about during the Great Depression 1945 Peak AFL-CIO 3. Feminist Movement National Organization for Women—Support ERA National Abortion Rights Action League

23. Interest Groups Activities—Reelection of Politicians 1. Information Political Cues Ratings of legislators Draft legislation Polls and Data Journals and Periodicals Research 2. Money PACs for campaign Contributions Independent Expenditures Soft Money Electioneering Communications 3. “Revolving Door”—Dick Cheney and Halliburton

24. Interest Groups 4. Voting Blocks—NRA—4.3 million people 5. Campaigning a. Insider v. Outsider strategy b. Grassroots lobbying c. Advertisements on TV, Radio, Internet, etc. 6. Litigation—Amicus Curie, and Supreme Court Hearings (NAACP and the ACLU) 7. Organize Protests and Demonstrations (AFL-CIO and NEA, SCLC) 8. Testify before Congress Hearings 9. Lobby Executive Bureaucracy and President

25. Campaign Finance: FECA (1974) v. BCRA (2002) “HARD MONEY” INDIVIDUAL CONTRIB. PAC CONTRIB. CANDIDATE $1K/ELEC./YR POLITICAL PARTY $15K/CALENDAR YR PAC $5K/CALENDAR YR CANDIDATE $5K/ELEC/YR POL. PARTY $20/CALENDAR YEAR $2K/ELEC/YR BCRA 20K/CALENDAR YR BCRA $10K/CALENDAR YR BCRA NO CHANGE

26. Campaign Finance Laws: Loopholes Soft Money 1. Unlimited funds from PACs, interest groups, or individuals to political parties 2. Conditions: Party Building Activities a. “Get out the vote” drives b. Registration drives c. Issues Ads d. Cannot “expressly advocate” a candidate e. Can mention a candidate’s name f. Example: “Michael Bloomberg has worked tirelessly to improve NYC public schools.” g. Eliminated by BCRA

27. Campaign Finance Laws: Loopholes Bundling 1. Individuals, PACs or interest groups could organize several donors through “hard money” and provide funds at one time 2. Usually done in a critical time before an election 3. Bush Pioneers, Bush Mavericks and Bush Super Rangers, Hillraisers, etc. 4. How did BCRA make bundling easier?

28. Campaign Finance Laws: Loopholes Independent Expenditure 1. A private donor, candidate, interest group or PAC and give unlimited funds—SUPER PACs (Citizens United v. FEC 2010) 2. Used for a negative ads 3. CAN MENTION candidate’s name, with words like “defeat” and “victory” 4. Condition: No consultation with candidate or campaign 5. BCRA created limits by preventing “ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS”

29. ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS ALL of the following conditions must be met before its considered EC: 1. Limits only apply to Unions and Corporations 2. TV, Radio, Cable or Satellite Broadcast 3. Mentions candidate’s name 4. Within 30 Days of a Primary & 60 Days of a General Election 5. Appeal to 50,000 or more **Does not apply to 527s, 501s and 503s

30. Assessment—Campaign Finance Laws 1. Soft money is an unlimited amount of money given to interest groups to indirectly fund a particular candidate. 2. If a non-profit interest group (527s, 503s or 501s) creates a negative ad—expressly calling for the defeat of a candidate, 3 days before the general election to an audience of 1 million people—would it be considered “electioneering communications?” Yes—Stand OR No—remain seated 3. PACs are a way for unions and corporations to give limited amounts of money from their general treasuries. 4. The difficulty in reforming campaign finance laws stem from 1 st Amendment protections and a lack of incentive to change laws to which they are beneficiaries.

31. BUCKLEY v. VALEO (1976) Key Findings: 1. Campaign Limits from FECA deemed Constitutional 2. Independent expenditures from personal or family resources cannot be limited Key Constitutional Issue—1 st Amendment Right to Free Expression Strict Scrutiny Test Applied Compelling Interest—Curtail Corruption or perception of corruption

32. Effects of FECA and BCRA 1. Small Contribution—wealthier candidates 2. Incumbency Advantage 3. Decreases strength of political parties a. Shifts power from unions and corporation to non- profit unincorporated lobbying groups b. Further declines power of political parties 4. Increases strength and growth of unions and corporations 5. Penalizes people who begin campaign late 6. Supports candidates with strong ideological appeal

33. Congressional v. Presidential Campaign 1. Presidential Elections are more Competitive President—Two-term limit Congressmen—no term limits Incumbency Advantages 2. Campaigning Presidents—Utilize media—Visuals, Spots and Debates Congressmen run for Congress by running against it Congressmen—All politics are local Presidents can’t take credit for local projects 3. President’s get public financing