Chapter Eight

Joining the party hillary-clinton-split-screen.htmlhttp:// -hillary-clinton-split-screen.html

● political party platform ● independent ● soft money loophole ●National Convention Buckley v. Valeo (1976) Citizen United v. FEC 2010

Topics for Today: What are the functions of political parties? What are the three components that make up political parties? Review major party stances—Differences between Dems and Republicans

The Functions of Political Parties Political parties run candidates under their own label or affiliation = Fundamental goal of getting elected Parties seek to govern Parties have broad concerns, focused on many issues Parties are quasi-public organizations that have a special relationship with the government. Responsible Party Model A party tries to give voters a clear choice by establishing priorities or policy stances different from those of the rival other party or parties.

Three Faces of Political Parties

Demographic Characteristics of Political Parties

Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008 Party Eras in American History

Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008 The Party in the Electorate

The party in government Who is the PARTY IN POWER? What does the party out of power do? What is divided government?

Who are some influential liberals/Democrats and conservatives/Republicans? s/northamerica/usa/ /Top-100-US- liberals-and-conservatives.htmlhttp:// s/northamerica/usa/ /Top-100-US- liberals-and-conservatives.html

Topics for Today How are parties organized? Explain development of political parties in U.S. history. Why do we have a two-party system? Explain the role of money in political parties and elections.

Party Organization National Convention, National Party Committees (DNC, RNC) National Chair (if party out of power—leader of loyal opposition Buckley v. Valeo (1976) strengthened

History of Political Parties 1 st System: Development of Parties,  1 st System: Development of Parties,  2 nd System: Democrats’ Rise to Power, (populism) (spoils system)  3 rd System: Republican’ Rise to Power, (political machine/patronage)— Whigs faded....GOP arose  4 th System: Republican Dominance,  5 th System: 1932 Elections: Example of realignment Democratic Dominance, (New Deal)  A New Party System? Dealignment? Split-ticket voting/ third parties/ More candidate centered

Two Party Dominance Reasons for two-party dominance: Dualist nature of most conflicts Winner-Take-All system vs. Proportional Representation Socialization to the two-party system Election laws favor the two-party system Is the Two-Party System in Decline or in Resurgence? - What does Two-Party System mean? What is a One-Party system? What is a Multi-Party system? -What are Third Parties?

Buckley v. Valeo (1976) Independent Expenditure is a political activity intended to assist or oppose a specific candidate for office which is made without their cooperation, approval, or direct knowledge. Most commonly, this takes the form of advertising. Groups which frequently make use of independent expenditures include political party committees, political action committees, and 527 groups. The decision to allow independent campaign expenditures came about in a 1976 Supreme Court case, Buckley v. Valeo.

Soft Money vs. Hard Money Soft Money: donations generally to the political parties, and are are not contributed directly to candidate’s campaigns, but can be spent on advertising (especially against other party) and other campaign related items. Hard Money: money given directly to a candidate’s campaign per person per election

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002 (BCRA) aka McCain-Feingold Before McCain-Feingold : Soft Money: unlimited (given to parties) Hard Money: limited by federal law (to candidates) - $1,000 federal limit per person per election directly to candidate, $20,000 to party for election related spending, and $5,000 to PAC for candidate.

After McCain-Feingold (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002): Soft Money: banned (except certain non-profits (527 Groups) – which we will talk about) Hard Money: limited by federal law (to candidates) - $2,000 federal limit per person per election directly to candidate, $25,000 to party for election related spending, and $5,000 to PAC for candidate.

527 Groups After McCain-Feingold, how can groups like MoveOn.org and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth run these ads? These groups take advantage of a tax loophole, to raise unlimited funds to use against candidates. The IRS tax code 26 U.S.C. § 527 from 1986 allows the creation of groups that can raise funds influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office. These have been dubbed 527 Groups from the tax code and the parties have used these groups to funnel funds. Some political scientists say this is the new soft money!

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

From the New York Times

From a Bush 2004 Reelection Campaign Blog

The conservative journal the National Review mocks MoveOn.org and the democratic loss of the 2004 election.

The reality is both parties benefit significantly from 527s!

So who the heck enforces these campaign finance laws anyway? The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) oversees all campaign financing. It is an independent regulatory agency created in 1975 by the United States Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance legislation in the United States. The Commission is made up of six members, who are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, both of who are elected officials who are heavily invested in the current system and many of the penalties are considered weak by many.

Filing with the FEC Most candidates for federal offices file financial statements with the FEC quarterly. This includes itemized details of fundraising from individual people if the amount received from an individual totals more than $200 during a year; contributions from party committees, PACs, and candidates regardless of amount; loans received by committees and other kinds of receipts. This is called disclosure. Even relatives are limited in the amount they can donate to a person’s campaign. They must also (to an extent) report how much money they make a year.

That is how we know this… Romney – worth between $190 and $250 million (the FEC allows candidates to calculate a range based on their investments) Giuliani – $18.1 and $70.4 million Clinton - $10 to $50 million McCain - $21 million to $32 million Edwards – $29.5 million Obama – $456,000 and $1.1 million And the poorest candidate was: Kucinich – $196,000 and $352,000 (from CNN)

Citizens United v. FEC A provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act prohibiting unions, corporations and not-for-profit organizations from broadcasting electioneering communications within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary election violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. So now, unions, corporations, and not-for profit groups can run ads— “electioneering” without limit!

Types of Third Parties 1. Issue Advocacy Parties 2. Ideologically Oriented Parties 3. Splinter Parties Impact of Third Parties?

Parties in the 21 st Century Neo-Conservative Republicans New Democrats The Effect of the Internet on Parties

Ch. 8 FRQ Rubric: Part a: 1 point for accurate description of cartoonist: (voting for a third party is throwing away a vote) Part b: 4 points (1 point for each identification, 1 point for the description): Winner take all aspect of electoral college, Ballot access, campaign financing (rules/limits), federal funding of presidential elections, exclusion from presidential debates, single-member plurality districts

Part c: 2 points (1 point for each of 2 descriptions New or different ideas or issues Voice for fringe Safety valve for discontent Enhanced participation Room for critical voices Pushes major parties to include otherwise underrepresented concerns/groups Clarify major party candidates’ positions

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