chapter 9 campaigns. nomination – official endorsement of a candidate for office unites entire...
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Nomination – official endorsement of a candidate for office
Unites entire party so they can be competitive in the general election
NOMINATIONS
Long campaigns!Timeline
Mitt Romney declared as a candidate in early June 2011 for a November 2012 election
Think about how rational choice theory works in primary elections…
NOMINATIONS
Both parties choose at a National Convention
The ‘out’ party’s convention is held first in late August
The ‘in’ party’s convention is usually held in early September
STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT
•Conventions are made of delegates from 50 states, D.C., and U.S. Territories
•Candidate who wins the majority becomes the nominee
STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT (CONT.)
Giant meetingsMultiple levels, like a pyramide.g., In Iowa, there are 4 tiers
2200 precincts – delegates are selected from precincts to go to the county caucus
At the county caucus, delegates are selected to go to a congressional district caucus
At the congressional caucus, some go on to the National Convention
The delegation from Iowa goes to the National Convention
So when Obama won Iowa in 2008, that just shows how many supported Obama in that first tier
CAUCUS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxZYwcoBPhA
In Florida, we have a primary election
Depending on the type of primary, voters in that state vote for delegates to send to the National Convention
New Hampshire has the first primary
The delegates names will not be on the ballot, but when you select a candidate, that candidate’s delegates will be sent
PRIMARY
Historical Background…A look into irregularities in delegate
selectionRecommendations for 1972They found that some states had no rules
at all, some had already chosen their delegates before the elections
MCGOVERN-FRASERCOMMISSION 1968
18 SuggestionsTwo Categories
Participation – structure rules to allow for participation of party membership and all candidates
Representation – delegates at the convention should be representative of the entire party
MCGOVERN-FRASERRECOMMENDATIONS
Front-runner - the candidate who is leading the pack
Dark Horse- candidate with little chance of winning an election or nomination
Invisible Primary – all the time the candidates spend campaigning before the primaries begin
Frontloading – the scramble to move up the primaries and caucuses
ELECTION VOCAB
FRONTLOADING
1960 1996 2004 2008 2012
Iowa N/A Feb.12 January 19
January 3
January 3
New Hampshire
March 8 Feb. 20 January 27
January 8
January 10
Next Window
April 3 March 5 Feb. 3 January 19
Mid Jan
Created by a group of southern states to try to get the attention of the candidates and media
First Tuesday in MarchOther states joined in,
diluting the power of the southern block
SUPER TUESDAY
Primary – around 20% of partisans in that state
Caucus – 1-3% of partisans in that stateEffects of low turnout:
Unrepresentative of the electorateDistorts the popularity of the candidates
PARTICIPATION LEVELS
Iowa and New Hampshire are all powerful… if a candidate is third or lower in these contests, he or she is out
Prominent politicians are busy people; they have to balance campaigning and work
Money plays a big role Participation is low and
unrepresentativeMedia has too much of an
influence
CONCERNS…
Regional PrimariesBy grouping states, forcing candidates to look at issues broadly (beyond state boundaries)
Eliminate advantages Iowa and New Hampshire have
Rotating regions to get rid of biases
Grouping states makes travel easier for politicians
WITH WHAT WOULD WE REPLACE THE CURRENT
SYSTEM?
Direct National PrimaryNo state has an advantageAll choose from the same menuOne person, one voteEliminates delegate selection
WITH WHAT WOULD WE REPLACE THE CURRENT
SYSTEM?
All candidates have websites, many have Twitter accounts, Facebook Pages, etc.
Typically, if they are already an elected official, they will have two websites
INTERNET/SOCIAL MEDIA
Top American Politicians on Twitter
Top American Politicians on Instagram
Barack ObamaJoe BidenArnold Schwarzenegger Sarah PalinPaul RyanJohn McCainMitt Romney
Barack ObamaMitt RomneyGeorge W. BushSenator Cory BookerCongressman Kevin McCarthyChris ChristieMichael Bloomberg
DIRECT MAIL – high tech method of raising money for a cause or candidate
There are entire firms dedicated to direct mailThey have databases with lists of people who
would be likely to contribute or vote for that person
MICROTARGETINGMass texts
HIGH-TECH MEDIA CAMPAIGN
THE GENERAL CAMPAIGN
Target the campaignTake advantage of political assetsDevelop an image the voter responds toAttract the support of divergent groupsUse issues and events for their own advantageTake advantage of the media as a primary
means of communicating with the publicUse the campaign organization and workers to
get out the vote (GOTV)
Money will not determine the outcome of an election, but you must have money to be a viable candidate
$ MONEY $
Result of information after WatergateFirst goal was to reduce the importance of
personal wealth Limit the amount of money that groups, individuals and candidates can contribute
Increase reliance on small contributors
Disadvantages Third Parties
$ MONEY $
FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT
Limits contributions in federal campaignsLimits expendituresOffers federal subsidizationAccounting and disclosure requirementsEstablishes the Federal Elections Commission
$ MONEY $
FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT 1974
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS
Highly controversial because of free speech issues
Buckley v. Valeo 1976 Supreme Court upholds the right of
Congress to regulate campaign expenditures
Negated the overall limits on spending by individuals and nonparty groups (so if you accept federal funds, there are limitations; if you refuse funding, there are not limitations)
You can spend as much as you want to on behalf of a candidate – but you cannot be in direct consultation with that candidate
BUCKLEY V. VALEO, 1976
1979 Soft Money Provision added to FECAEncouraged the major parties to solicit
large contributions and distribute the money to their state and local affiliates to use as they saw fit
SOFT MONEY
Clinton campaign uses through the DNC soft money to buy policy ads
Donors are invited to the White House in exchange for $100,000 donations to the party
At first the Republicans were outraged, then they copied the Democrats
EXAMPLE OF EXPLOITINGSOFT MONEY
McCain-FeingoldBanned soft money at the national level
Increased the amount that individuals could give and built in adjustment for inflation
Banned corporations, unions, and non-profit organizations to engage in electioneering communications 60 days before an election
BIPARTISAN CAMPAIGN REFORM ACT
(BCRA 2002)
Increased importance of donors maxing out their individual contribution
Candidates often borrow moneyDiminished role of public funding
IMPACT OF BCRA
The nonprofit corporation Citizens United wanted to air a film critical of Hillary Clinton and to advertise the film during television broadcasts in apparent violation of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
In a 5-4 split decision, the Court decided that portions of BCRA violated the First Amendment
This ruling says that corporations (and unions) as associations of individuals have the same rights as individuals
Poll taken in January of 2010 indicated that 80% of Americans (both parties equally) disagreed with the court’s decision
CITIZENS UNITED VS. FEC (2010)
Independent expenditure political action committees
groups could pool contributions and make expenditures in support of or opposition to a candidate provided that the expenditures were made independently of a campaign or a candidate
SUPERPACS
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