SB 1.8 5.10- Modern Campaigns &SB 1.9 5.11- Campaign Finance

5.10- Modern Campaigns

These will be scored

Campaigns

•  Federal legislation and case law pertaining to campaign finance demonstrate the ongoing debate over the role of money in political and free speech.

• The benefits and drawbacks of modern campaigns are represented by dependence on professional consultants, rising campaign costs, intensive fundraising efforts, the duration of election cycles, and the impact of and reliance on social media for campaign communication and fundraising.

Cost of Campaigning

• The cost of campaigning to be elected president has steadily risen over the last 100 years.

• Between 2000 and 2012, campaign spending by the candidates more than quadrupled.

• In the 2020 presidential campaign, President Donald Trump and Joe Biden spent a combined $1.3 billion.

• Including all of the candidates in 2016, the election cost a total of $2.4 billion.

Political Action Committee (PAC)

• In the U.S., a political action committee (PAC) is a political committee that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.

• Political Action Committees (PACs) are typically formed to represent business, labor, or ideological interests.

• The first PAC was formed in 1944 in order to raise money for the re-election of then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

• Super PACs can receive unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other PACs.

PACs vs. Super PACs

• Super PACs were created in 2010 after the U.S. Court of Appeals' decision in SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Committee.

• The decision allowed for a greater level of deregulation as to how political funds are raised and distributed.

• Super PAC funds cannot be donated directly to a campaign, Super PAC managers and political candidates are permitted to collaborate and discuss strategy.

More money to Congress than the President

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a correct statement about political action committees (PAC's)?

*This item is subject to changes in the campaign finance laws

• The number of PAC's has remained stable over the past decade.

• Most PAC money is distributed to challengers in an effort to unseat hostile incumbents.

• The amount of money that PAC's can contribute directly to an individual candidate is limited by law.

• PAC's are illegal in most states.

• PAC's rarely attempt to influence legislation through lobbying activities.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is true of political action committees (PACs) ?

• They make campaign contributions in hopes of gaining access to legislators.

• They are a part of political party organizations.

• They are allowed to contribute to only one candidate in any election.

• They nominate candidates for president at national party conventions.

• They operate at the state level but not at the national level.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements about political action committees (PACs) is true?

• PACs may give unlimited contributions to the election campaigns of individual candidates.

• PAC spending has not kept pace with inflation.

• PAC activity is limited to direct contributions to candidates.

• Social issue groups are the source of most PAC dollars.

• PAC spending makes up a higher percentage of congressional campaign funds than of presidential campaign funds.

Campaign Finance Reform

• Spending Totals

• 1976: $67 million

• 1992: $192 million

• 2004: $718 million

• 2012: $2.1 billion (only includes primary Super PACs)

Political Action Committees (PACs)

• PACs are formed by interest groups to raise money to donate to political campaigns of sympathetic candidates.

• A political action committee (PAC) is a committee formed by business, labor, or other interest groups to raise money and make contributions to the campaign of political candidates whom they support.

• The amount of money that PACs can contribute directly to an individual candidate is limited by law. For example, a PAC can contribute a maximum of $5,000 per candidate per election. Elections such as primaries, general elections, and special elections are counted separately.

Political Action Committees (PACs) Cont'd

• Labor PACs donate almost exclusively to Democrats while business PACs generally split their money evenly.

• PACs play a particularly significant role in supporting incumbent members of the House of Representatives. PACs typically contribute to the campaigns of House members who serve on committees and subcommittees that consider legislation affecting the interest group

Multiple Choice

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) did which of the following?

• It created interest groups known as 527s.

• It made it illegal for unions to donate to presidential campaigns.

• It banned soft money donations to national parties.

• It banned candidates from running negative advertisements.

• It banned third-parties from federal funding.

Multiple Choice

The primary function of political action committees (PAC's) is to

• serve as fund-raising organizations for challengers

• provide members of Congress with unbiased information regarding proposed legislation

• consult with the President regarding domestic policy

• encourage broader participation in politics among the electorate

• raise campaign funds to support favored candidates

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements is true regarding political advertisements based on the information graphic?

• Taxpayers paid over 2 billion dollars for political advertisements.

• Political action committees aired 3 million political ads.

• Fewer than 2 million advertisements were aired in 2012.

• Advertisements are the largest portion of a campaign

Federal Election Campaign Act

• In 1974, the FECA created a Federal Election Commission to administer and enforce campaign finance laws.

• The FEC provided partial public funding for presidential primaries.

• The FEC provided full public financing for major party candidates in the general election.

• Limitations were placed on individual contributions to presidential candidates.

Buckley v. Valeo

• In 1976, the Supreme Court struck down the portion of the FECA that limited the amount of money an individual could contribute to his or her own campaign.

• The Court ruled that contributing to one’s own campaign is a form of protected free speech.

• “The candidate, no less than any other person, has a First Amendment right to engage in the discussion of public issues and vigorously and tirelessly to advocate his own election.”

• The case did uphold limits on campaign contributions from outsiders.

• The case complicated congressional efforts to enact significant campaign finance reform.

Soft Money

• Soft money includes unregulated donations to political parties for party-building expenses such as grassroots activities and generic party advertising.

• Reform laws failed to regulate soft money donations.

• Soft money was used to circumvent limitations on hard money contributions.

Multiple Choice

When contributing to congressional campaigns, political action committees (PACs) are most likely to contribute to

• incumbents of both major parties

• third-party challengers

• Republican challengers

• state party organizations

• national party organizations

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best characterizes the influence of the news media on public opinion in the United States?

• They alter the public's views on issues.

• They affect which issues the public thinks are important.

• They determine how citizens will vote.

• They are most able to influence people with the highest level of education.

• They are most able to influence the urban sectors of society.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following provides the most accurate explanation of how consumer-driven media increases partisan polarization?

• Consumer-driven media tends to avoid discussing controversial political topics.

• Consumer-driven media reinforces existing political biases in individuals.

• Consumer-driven media relies heavily on corporate advertising.

• Consumer-driven media is overwhelmingly conservative.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is most frequently reported in the media during a presidential election?

• Results from public opinion polls that indicate which candidates are most likely to win

• The official platforms of each of the major political parties

• Financial strategies and management of the campaigns

• Comparisons of candidates’ positions on foreign and domestic policy issues

• Information about the candidates’ experience in government and record in office

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold Act)

• The law was an effort to ban soft money and reduce attack ads with “Stand by Your Ad” provision: “I’m [candidate’s name] and I approve this message.”

  
  

527 Group

• 527s are tax-exempt organizations created to influence the political process.

• 527s are not regulated by the FEC because they do not affiliate with a candidate or party.

Super PACs

• Super PACs are organizations created to influence the political process.

• Officially known as “independent-expenditure only committees, may not make contributions to or coordinate with candidate campaigns or parties, but may engage in unlimited political spending independently of the campaigns.

• The Speechnow.org v. FEC (2010) case held that PACs that did not make contributions directly to candidates or parties could accept unlimited contributions.

• Their existence was upheld in the Supreme Court cases Citizens United v. FEC in 2010, whereby the Court ruled that money is a form of speech and cannot be limited by law as long as it is not directly aiding a particular candidate or party.

• The Citizens United ruling enabled unlimited political spending on the part of corporations, associations, and labor unions as protected speech under the First Amendment.

Open Ended

The three obstacles listed below have made it difficult to enact significant campaign finance reform.

Select one and provide the following:

-a description of the obstacle

-an explanation of how the obstacle has made it difficult to enact significant campaign finance reform

Soft Money

Buckley vs. Valeo

Incumbency