Ap u.s. government & politics Thursday, October 19, 2017

Current events discussion 7 Minutes

“Congress: the electoral connection” HW Discussion

Campaign Finance Law

Beginnings of Campaign Finance Reform By the 1970s there were increasing concerns about the amount of money being spent in presidential elections In the 1972 presidential election, Nixon formed his own re-election committee (CRP). Through CRP he managed to raise vast sums of money (much more than Democrat contender George McGovern) It was also through CRP that the break-in and bugging at the Watergate complex was masterminded and covered up.

Campaign Finance—Act I The Watergate affair gave much needed impetus to reforming the campaign finance system. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974: Made a number of significant changes hoping to reduce reliance on a few, very wealthy donors – known as ‘fat cats’ – and equalise the amount of money spent by both major parties.

Federal Campaign Act 1974 Federal Campaign Act 1974 Limited individual contributions to a candidate to $1,000 Limited corporate contributions to a candidate to $5,000 Forbade donations from foreign donors Limited expenditure to $10 mill in primaries and further $20 mill in election (figures index linked to inflation so by 2000 it was $34 mill and $68 mill) Provided matching funds from federal tax payers on a dollar for dollar basis for contributions up to $250 Established the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to enforce and regulate new system

Federal Elections Commission (FEC) Bipartisan Commission 6 Members (3 from each party) Appointed by the President; Confirmed by the Senate Duties 1) Disclose campaign contributions 2) Enforce limits and prohibitions on contributions 3) Oversee public funding of presidential elections Criticisms 1) Loopholes in disclosure law 2) Lax enforcement 3) Public funding of presidential elections is obsolete

Buckley V. Valeo (1976) -Main question: Did these restrictions on political contributions/spending in the 1974 Federal Campaign Act violate First Amendment rights of the speech and associations? Holding: The limit on total campaign expenditures violates the First Amendment. Limits on individual contributions to campaigns does NOT violate First Amendment rights.

Soft Money 1979—Congress further weakens the law By allowing parties to raise money for campaign activities such as: Voter registration Get-out-the-vote drives ‘Party building’ activities. This is the so-called ‘soft money’ that would soon be regarded by most observers to be out of control.

McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law (2002) Bans soft money contributions to national parties Limits soft money donations to state parties to $10,000 (and limits use to voter reg. And GOTV) Individual donations = $2000 No change on PAC contributions Unions and Corps banned from soft $ to parties

Then: Creation of 527 Groups PACs These groups engage in independent expenditures in support of parties and individual candidates

Citizens United v. FEC (2010) Political expenditures are a free speech right, which cannot be infringed Corporations are legal persons; They are also able to engage in unlimited political spending This decision leads to the rise of Super PACs, and the accompanying explosion of private political spending (More on this in our next unit…)

Discussion Question Why has it proved to be so difficult to limit political spending by individuals, groups, and corporations?

What point of view is the author expressing in the above cartoon?

Exit Ticket: Practice MCQ The main loophole in the McCain-Feingold legislation is: a. 527s. b. soft money. c. hard money. d. bundling. e. Buckley v. Valeo

Homework Prepare for Practice FRQ #5: Public Opinion; Polls Public Opinion and Government/Congressional Action