Political Campaigns (CC#39)

What are the two aspects in particular that stand out about American political campaigns?

• Length

• Price

• Party

• Message

Political campaigns to provide voters with information they need to choose a candidate to represent them.

• TRUE

• FALSE

A _ is an organized drive on the part of a candidate to get elected to office.  It’s also the way we refer to the organization itself.

The main thing campaigns do is communicate with the public, usually through the _. 

There are various MODERN ways candidates can reach out to voter including: 

• mass emailing

• Soical media- IG, Facebook, TikTok & Twitter

• TV Commericals and News Spots

• Newspaper Prints and Flyers

Since 2008 campaign spending has only increased.

• TRUE

• FALSE

According to this graphic, the campaign that spends the most money will win the Presidential election.

• TRUE

• FALSE

What is a PAC?

• A contribution to a political party that is not accounted as going to a particular candidate, thus avoiding various legal limitations.

• An independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States.

• An organization that raises money privately to influence elections

The Buckley v. Valeo decision established the idea that limits on campaign spending were problematic because limiting the amount someone could spend on politics was basically limiting what that person could say about politics.  Buckley v. Valleo set up the basic distinction between campaign donations, which.... 

• determined that a Persons financial support for a candidate is protected speech

• determined that a Persons financial support for a candidate is protected under due process

• determined that a Persons financial support for a canidate is unprotected income

• determined that a Persons financial support for a candidate is protected state rights

This case ruled that political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment, leading to the creation of Super PACs in 2010.

• Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission

• Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

• McCain-Feingold Act

• United States v. Lopez