chapter eight. joining the party 2008 -hillary-clinton-split-screen.html
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter Eight
Joining the party 2008
• http://www.viralthis.com/93/barack-obama--hillary-clinton-split-screen.html
● political party
• platform
● independent
● soft money loophole
●National Convention
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
Citizen United v. FEC 2010
Topics for Today:
• What are the functions of political parties?
• What are the three components that make up political parties?
• Review major party stances—Differences between Dems and Republicans
The Functions of Political Parties
• Political parties run candidates under their own label or affiliation = Fundamental goal of getting elected
• Parties seek to govern• Parties have broad
concerns, focused on many issues
• Parties are quasi-public organizations that have a special relationship with the government.
Responsible Party Model
A party tries to givevoters a clear choice byestablishing priorities orpolicy stances differentfrom those of the rivalother party or parties.
Three Faces of Political Parties
Demographic Characteristics of Political Parties
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The Party in the Electorate
The party in government
Who is the PARTY IN POWER?What does the party out of power do?What is divided government?
Who are some influential liberals/Democrats and
conservatives/Republicans?
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6951961/Top-100-US-liberals-and-conservatives.html
Topics for Today
• How are parties organized?
• Explain development of political parties in U.S. history.
• Why do we have a two-party system?
• Explain the role of money in political parties and elections.
Party Organization
National Convention, National Party Committees (DNC, RNC)
National Chair (if party out of power—leader of loyal opposition
Buckley v. Valeo (1976) strengthened
History of Political History of Political PartiesParties 11stst System: Development of Parties, System: Development of Parties,
1789-18281789-1828
22ndnd System: Democrats’ Rise to System: Democrats’ Rise to Power, 1828-1860 (populism) (spoils Power, 1828-1860 (populism) (spoils system)system)
33rdrd System: Republican’ Rise to System: Republican’ Rise to Power, 1860-1896 (political Power, 1860-1896 (political machine/patronage)—Whigs machine/patronage)—Whigs faded.. ..GOP arosefaded.. ..GOP arose
44thth System: Republican Dominance, System: Republican Dominance, 1896-19321896-1932
55thth System: 1932 Elections: Example System: 1932 Elections: Example of of realignment realignment Democratic Dominance, Democratic Dominance, 1932-1968 (New Deal)1932-1968 (New Deal)
A New Party System? A New Party System? Dealignment? Split-ticket voting/ Dealignment? Split-ticket voting/ third parties/ More candidate third parties/ More candidate centeredcentered
Two Party Dominance
Reasons for two-party dominanceReasons for two-party dominance::
• Dualist nature of most conflicts
• Winner-Take-All system vs. Proportional Representation
• Socialization to the two-party system
• Election laws favor the two-party system
Is the Two-Party System in Decline or in Is the Two-Party System in Decline or in Resurgence?Resurgence?
-What does Two-Party System mean? What is a One-Party system? What is a Multi-Party system?-What are Third Parties?
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)• Independent Expenditure is a political activity
intended to assist or oppose a specific candidate for office which is made without their cooperation, approval, or direct knowledge. Most commonly, this takes the form of advertising.
• Groups which frequently make use of independent expenditures include political party committees, political action committees, and 527 groups.
• The decision to allow independent campaign expenditures came about in a 1976 Supreme Court case, Buckley v. Valeo.
Soft Money vs. Hard Money
• Soft Money: donations generally to the political parties, and are are not contributed directly to candidate’s campaigns, but can be spent on advertising (especially against other party) and other campaign related items.
• Hard Money: money given directly to a candidate’s campaign per person per election
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002 (BCRA) aka McCain-
FeingoldBefore McCain-Feingold :• Soft Money: unlimited (given to
parties)• Hard Money: limited by federal law
(to candidates) - $1,000 federal limit per person per election directly to candidate, $20,000 to party for election related spending, and $5,000 to PAC for candidate.
After McCain-Feingold (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002):
• Soft Money: banned (except certain non-profits (527 Groups) – which we will talk about)
• Hard Money: limited by federal law (to candidates) - $2,000 federal limit per person per election directly to candidate, $25,000 to party for election related spending, and $5,000 to PAC for candidate.
527 Groups• After McCain-Feingold, how can groups like
MoveOn.org and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth run these ads?
• These groups take advantage of a tax loophole, to raise unlimited funds to use against candidates.
• The IRS tax code 26 U.S.C. § 527 from 1986 allows the creation of groups that can raise funds influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office. These have been dubbed 527 Groups from the tax code and the parties have used these groups to funnel funds.
• Some political scientists say this is the new soft money!
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
From the New York Times
From a Bush 2004 Reelection Campaign Blog
The conservative journal the National
Review mocks MoveOn.org and the
democratic loss of the 2004 election.
The reality is both parties benefit significantly from 527s!
So who the heck enforces these campaign finance laws
anyway?• The Federal Elections Commission (FEC)
oversees all campaign financing.• It is an independent regulatory agency created
in 1975 by the United States Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance legislation in the United States.
• The Commission is made up of six members, who are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, both of who are elected officials who are heavily invested in the current system and many of the penalties are considered weak by many.
Filing with the FEC• Most candidates for federal offices file financial
statements with the FEC quarterly.• This includes itemized details of fundraising from
individual people if the amount received from an individual totals more than $200 during a year; contributions from party committees, PACs, and candidates regardless of amount; loans received by committees and other kinds of receipts.
• This is called disclosure. Even relatives are limited in the amount they can donate to a person’s campaign.
• They must also (to an extent) report how much money they make a year.
That is how we know this…
• Romney – worth between $190 and $250 million (the FEC allows candidates to calculate a range based on their investments)
• Giuliani – $18.1 and $70.4 million• Clinton - $10 to $50 million• McCain - $21 million to $32 million• Edwards – $29.5 million• Obama – $456,000 and $1.1 million• And the poorest candidate was: Kucinich –
$196,000 and $352,000(from CNN)
Citizens United v. FEC• A provision of the Bipartisan Campaign
Reform Act prohibiting unions, corporations and not-for-profit organizations from broadcasting electioneering communications within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary election violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
• So now, unions, corporations, and not-for profit groups can run ads— “electioneering” without limit!
Types of Third Parties
1. Issue Advocacy Parties
2. Ideologically Oriented Parties
3. Splinter Parties
Impact of Third Parties?
Parties inParties inthethe
2121stst Century Century
• Neo-Conservative Republicans
• New Democrats
• The Effect of the Internet on Parties
Ch. 8 FRQ Rubric:• Part a: 1 point for accurate description of
cartoonist: (voting for a third party is throwing away a vote)
• Part b: 4 points (1 point for each identification, 1 point for the description): Winner take all aspect of electoral college, Ballot access, campaign financing (rules/limits), federal funding of presidential elections, exclusion from presidential debates, single-member plurality districts
• Part c: 2 points (1 point for each of 2 descriptions
New or different ideas or issues
Voice for fringe
Safety valve for discontent
Enhanced participation
Room for critical voices
Pushes major parties to include otherwise underrepresented concerns/groups
Clarify major party candidates’ positions
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