FrontPage: Do you believe that the way money is used in baseball is fair? Should it be? Homework: Influences on Voters RQs due Thursday

“MoneyBall” Do you believe that the way money is used in baseball is fair? If not, should it be?

Money and Politics

Money in politics: a “necessary evil?” The goal of any campaign is, of course, to win the election. What must a candidate do to win? Do candidates really need money to do this? What does this money buy for the candidate?

Raising Money for the Campaigns Where do candidates get money? Individuals – more often the largest source of donations for challengers; depends on the candidate PACs – committees/groups whose sole purpose is to raise and spend money on campaigns Personal finances – candidates can loan themselves money to run Public financing – presidential candidates can opt to take public money, but then they are limited in how much their own campaign can spend

Limits on Spending? Do you believe that government has the right to limit how much someone could spend in support of a candidate? Why or why not? What law (2002) was passed by Congress to limit spending in campaigns?

Current Campaign Donation Limits TypeTo candidateTo PartyTo PACAggregate Total -- Individual$2,500 per Election to a Federal candidate -- primary, runoff, and general election counts as a separate election. $30,800 per calendar year $5000 per calendar year $117,000 per two-year election cycle as follows: $46,200 per two-year cycle to cand. $70,800 per two-year cycle to all national party committees and PACs PAC$5000; per election$15,000 per party per calendar year $5000 per calendar year No Limit Party$5000No Limit$5000No Limit, except for Senate candidate per campaign Contribution limits are adjusted for inflation each odd-numbered year

McConnell vs. FEC Soon after the BCRA was passed, it was challenged in the Supreme Court by then Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell… What do you think the supporters of the law would claim in defense of it? In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld most of the BCRA’s limitations on spending. Ban on “soft” money = constitutional Ban on “soft” money = constitutional Limits on “issue” ads = constitutional Limits on “issue” ads = constitutional New contribution limits = constitutional New contribution limits = constitutional Ban on contribs by minors = unconstitutional Ban on contribs by minors = unconstitutional

Citizens United vs. FEC A historic 2010 Supreme Court case/decision Citizens United is a non-profit group describes its mission as being dedicated to restoring the United States government to "citizens' control" and to "assert American values of limited government, freedom of enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security." To fulfill this mission, Citizens United undertakes various educational projects, including television advertising and feature-length documentaries Created a movie called “Hillary: The Movie” Was blocked by the BCRA from being shown up to 30 days before a Democratic primary election. Barred because it was considered “express advocacy”, in this case against a candidate Citizens United sued, claiming that they have a First Amendment right to create and air a movie anytime

The Decision in Citizens United By a 5-to-4 vote along ideological lines, the majority held that under the First Amendment, corporate/private funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited. One of the results of this decision (in addition to a case called SpeechNow.org vs. FEC) was the creation of…

Super-PACs New groups that have popped up in the wake of the Citizens United decision This decision essentially said that any group can spend as much as it wants to influence any election, as long as it was not “coordinated” with a campaign Unlike PACs, which are limited in how much they can give to a candidate, Super-PACs don’t give money to candidates Would be better named “Super 527s” They are more concerned with influencing the outcome of elections, through issue ads and other methods used to influence voters.

Money And Politics Certainly the impact of money and campaigns is at least a “mixed bag”. Next it will be our job to investigate just how much money we are talking about. All in all, we should begin to form an opinion about how we can most effectively deal with the “necessary evil” that money seems to be in the electoral process…