Unit 5: Political Participation
Rational choice: what is in the citizen’s individual interest
Retrospective voting: whether or not a party/candidate should be reelected based on their performance
Prospective voting: the potential performance of a party/candidate
Party-line voting: voting for candidates from a single political party for all offices
Organizations with similar ideologies that try to influence election outcomes and legislative problems
Play a formal role in both
Not mentioned in the Constitution
Parties formed to unite people who had the same political ideals to elect similar-minded representatives and have similar legislative goals
Endorse candidates and help them in elections
Parties expect candidates to remain loyal to party goals
Two major political parties: Democrats and Republicans
Two-party or <strong>bi−partisansystem</strong>reinforced by electoral system
Difficult for more than two major parties to get on the ballot
Intermediaries between government and people
Made of activist members, leadership, and grassroots members
Raise money, get candidates elected, and have positions on policy
Develop party platforms: list of goals that outlines party’s issues and priorities
Major purpose is to get candidates elected
Since 1960 more states have required parties to choose candidates through primary elections
Reduced power of parties - the people must choose candidates
Candidates raise their own money and campaign by themselves
Three major subdivisions:
Party among the electorate: voters identify with and enroll in parties; vote for candidates from their party
Party in government: officials belong to parties, pursue goals together (sometimes there are ideological/regional differences)
Party organization: group of people, political professionals, who recruit voters and candidates, organize events, and raise money for the party
Functions:
Recruit and nominate candidates: find candidates to run in primaries
Educate and mobilize voters: try to persuade voters to vote for party’s candidates; advertisements, rallies, and mailings; target regions with strong support, campaign to persuade voters to vote
Provide campaign funds and support: dedicated committees that raise funds for campaigns; state parties raise money for state and national candidates; help candidates (although they mostly rely on their personal campaign staff)
Organize government activity: House, Senate, and state legislatures organize leadership + committees along party lines
Provide balance through opposition of two parties: each party checks the other; minority party critiques majority party (loyal opposition)
Reduce conflict and tension in society: promotes negotiation/compromise: parties encouraged to accommodate voters and voters encouraged to accept policy compromises
National and state and local party organizations have different functions, not hierarchical
Party committees organized by geography
Local committees coordinate get-out-the-vote (GOTV) drives, canvassing door-to-door, and distribution of leaflets
Mostly made of volunteers
Work concentrated around election time
County committees coordinate local election efforts and committee efforts on the precinct level, send representatives to polling places to monitor voting
State committees raise money, provide volunteers, provide support to candidates for offices
Senatorial and congressional district committees are part of national party organization; involved in legislative elections when a seat may be lost or gained (incumbents often reelected easily)
National party plans national conventions every four years to nominate presidential candidate; sponsors polls
Some believe that parties aren’t as powerful/significant as they were before
Before 1968, one party controlled legislative and executive government branches
More Americans are voting split ticket than before
Consider positions and merits of a candidate than just party affiliation
No one party dominates government, officials with different agendas work together
Modern candidates control their own campaigns more, appeal directly to public through Internet and television
Political parties of made of multiple groups made of multiple individuals
larger coalition = candidate is more likely to win
Candidates and positions on policy are made to attract more voters, creating a winning coalition
Tend to rely on certain groups as bases of support
Both try to be centrist
Party bases
Liberals in Democratic Party
Conservatives in Republican Party
Democrats | Republicans |
---|---|
Want to spend money on welfare programs | Want to spend more on defense |
Want to use government money for public education | Want to use vouchers for private/charter schools and give government aid to religious school |
Want to grant tax relief to targeted programs | Want to grant tax relief to everyone |
Against private firearm ownership, supportive of regulations on firearms | Don’t want to regulate firearms |
Pro-choice | Pro-life |
Support collective bargaining and efforts to unionize | Oppose collective bargaining and support laws intended to limit union powers |
Occurs when coalitions making up parties split off
Ex. groups making up the majority party defect to minority party
Rare, occur usually as a result of a major negative event
Signaled by a critical election - new party dominates politics
Occur over period of time and show permanence
Trend toward dealignment: results from party members becoming disaffected because of a policy position taken by the party, disaffected members join no party and vote for candidate instead of party
Form to represent constituencies that feel disenfranchised by major parties
Known as splinter/bolter parties, usually united around the feeling that other parties do not respond to their demands
Can form to represent ideology major parties consider too radical
Doctrinal parties
Ex. Socialist Party, Libertarian Party
Single-issue parties formed to promote one principle
Ex. American Independent Party
Can have major impact on elections
Different from Independent candidates (run w/o party affiliation)
Result of electoral system designed to support two parties
Campaigns require large amounts of money and large organizations
Third party/independent candidates do not have name recognition or support to win majority of votes
Platform issues of third parties often incorporated into party platforms
Most states have winner-take-all electoral vote systems
Organizations dedicated to particular political goal/goals whose members lobby for the issue, educate voters + office holders, write legislation, and mobilize members to work w/legislators and government agencies
Often share a common bond: religious, racial, or professional
Can also share common interest
Lobbying: trying to influence legislators
Lobbyists are professionals, many are former legislators
Categories of interest groups:
Economic groups: promote and protect members’ economic interests, including business groups and labor groups
Public interest groups: nonprofit groups organized around a set of public policy issues, including consumer, environmental, religious, and single-issue groups
Government interest groups: localities like states and cities which have lobbying organizations in DC, including mayors, governors
Tactics:
Direct lobbying: meet privately with government officials to present arguments supporting suggested legislation, often give congress members a great deal of information
Testifying before Congress: provide witnesses at committee hearings
Socializing: hold social functions and members go to other functions to meet government officials
Political donations: donate to candidates and parties, corporations/trade groups/unions form political action committees (PACs) and super PACs
Endorsements: announce support for candidates
Court action: file lawsuits or class action suits for their interests, submit amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs in lawsuits where they aren’t a party so judges can consider their advice
Rallying membership: engage in grassroots campaigning by contacting members and asking them to contact legislators in support of program/legislation
Propaganda: send out press releases and advertisements promoting their views
Most are ineffective
1946 Federal Regulation of Lobbying intended to allow government to monitor lobbying activities by requiring lobbyist to register with government and disclose salaries, nature of activities, and expenses
Laws prohibit certain lobbying activities by former government officials for limited amounts of time
Meant to stop influence peddling (using friendships and inside information to get political advantage)
Former House members must wait one year and senators must wait two years before directly lobbying Congress but may lobby executive branch immediately after office
Law prevents executive officials from lobbying for five years after office
Some groups complain of “revolving door” that puts former government employees into jobs as consultants and lobbyists
PACs help corporations, unions, and trade associations avoid federal laws prohibiting campaign contributions
Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA - 1974): allowed political action committees (PACs) to be formed by corporations, unions, and trade associations to raise campaign funds
Set restrictions on contributions and contributors - must raise money from employees and members and not from treasuries
Other interest groups and legislators form PACs
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold Act): regulated campaign finance + PAC donations
Prohibited soft money (unregulated donations) to national political parties
Limited corporate and union funding for ads about political issues within 60 days of general election and 30 days of primary
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010): Supreme Court overturned BCRA limits on PAC funding for “corporate independent expenditures”
PACs that donate to certain candidates must have limits on their contributors and donations
PACs that do not donate to specific candidates have no fundraising limits as long as they do not coordinate with candidates
Unlimited PACs are known as super PACs - generally financed by the rich but can be difficult to locate donors
Vague on what coordination is
Hard money | Soft money |
---|---|
Regulated contributions to candidates | Unregulated, unlimited contributions to parties for activities; limited by BCRA |
Regular PACs: donations from single-candidate committees to individual candidates must be less than or equal to $2500, $5000 for multi-candidate PACs
Donations to national political committees must be $15000 or less from multi-candidate PACs and $30800 from single-candidate PACs
Named after part of tax code
Tax-exempt organization that promotes political agenda but cannot advocate for/against a specific candidate
Not regulated by the FEC and not subject to contribution limits
Avoid regulations because they are political organizations but not registered as political committees
Issue advocacy vs candidate advocacy = disagreed
BCRA changed soft money rules to make establishing 527s more appealing than PACs and allowing outside groups to avoid hard money limits of BCRA
Run federally every two years
New Representative each year
Every other allows voters to select president
Each Senate seat is elected every six years, state voters choose senator 2/3 of federal elections
States usually hold their elections at the same time as federal elections to encourage voter turnout and save money
Voters choose federal officials, judges, state legislators, governors, and local officials
Also may be asked to vote on state bond issues or referenda
Incumbent advantage
Representatives who run for reelection (incumbents) win ~90% of the time
House incumbents have a greater advantage than senators
House members run in home districts, usually of one party due to gerrymandering
Victory in primary election nearly guarantees victory in general election
Two phases:
Nominations: when parties choose candidates for general election
39 states use primary elections to select presidential nominees
Voters also choose delegates pledged to a presidential candidate
Winners go to party’s national convention
Some select delegates at state caucuses and conventions
Local meetings of party members select representatives to send to statewide party meetings
Fewer participants - more informed, more politically active
All states use a form of primary to select state + legislative nominees
Candidate who receives plurality (greatest number of votes) or majority (more than half) in each primary is the winner
Runoff primary held between top two if no candidate gets the required number of votes
Most often occurs when many candidates run for an open office
Democratic Party grants automatic delegate status to elected party leaders (superdelegates), who generally support the front-runner
McGovern-Fraser Commission created in 1968 to promote diversity in delegate pool - recommended that delegates are represented by proportion of population in each state
Held between February and late spring of election year (Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary first)
Each state has its own rules
Several types:
Closed primary: only registered members of a political party can vote
Open primary: voters can vote in one + any party primary which they choose
Blanket primary: voters can vote for one candidate per office of either party
General elections: when voters decide who will hold office
Held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November
Presidential elections: elections when the president is being selected
Midterm elections: elections between presidential elections
Most officials receive the endorsement/nomination of a major party
Usually have backgrounds in government
Gubernatorial (governor) experience allows candidates to claim executive abilities and are able to run as outsiders
Candidates with little-no government experience can be pursued
Usually well-respected and popular
Ex. military figure
Must begin up to two years before first primary
Most candidates campaign and prepare full-time
Presidents running for reelection and vice presidents running for presidency benefit from fame of offices
Must seek support among party organizations
Donors to election/campaign
Early stages: meeting w/potential donors, creating PACs, campaigning for endorsements of political groups/leaders
“Testing the waters”
Year before first primaries: attempt to increase public profile
Public appearances, media coverage by taking positions on issues and discussing goals of presidencies
Vulnerable to media - negative reports or media spin can damage a campaign
Primary season: raise money, get votes in primaries
Those who can’t raise their own money and don’t get enough votes are forced out of the race
Begin to assemble campaign staff who will help manage campaign
Wealthy candidates have tried to run for presidency without needing federal matching funds
Successful campaign needs large staff, transportation, and resources to hire advertising agencies, pollsters, and consultants
Raising money is very important
Presidential candidates who meet certain guidelines may be federally funded
Primary candidates who get >10% of votes can apply for federal matching funds
Double all campaign donations of $250 and less by matching them
Candidates must agree to obey federal spending limits
Candidates lose eligibility for receiving <10% of the vote in two primaries in a row until they win >10% of the vote in another primary
Government funds general election campaigns of two major candidates if they agree not to accept and spend other donations
Election spending has increased despite campaign finance reform
No public financing for congressional campaigns, no spending limits
Many believe that the current campaign finance system corrupts government
Hard to change the system
Buckley v. Valeo (1976): mandatory spending limits violates First Amendment rights to free expression
Benefits incumbents
Legislators do not want to make changes because changes could hurt chances at reelection
Candidates campaign widely during the election year
Debates, campaign in states by delivering “stump speeches”, plan media events to get positive media coverage of campaigns
Earliest primaries provide boost to winning campaign
More media exposure, easier to fundraise
Major donators usually abandon losers’ campaigns in early primaries
Grow more and more important
States have pushed forward primary election day to have more influence on which candidates win nominations - front-loading
Forces voters to choose early during the election process before they get enough information
Many hold primaries on the same day in early March (Super Tuesday)
Held by both parties to confirm nominee
Brokered conventions: held when no candidate has received the pledge of a majority of delegates and conventions must decide the nominee
Party systems designed to avoid brokered conventions - divides party, can cost election
Unifies party
Primaries can damage/divide a party - candidates attack each other and expose problems within party membership
Shows party unity for political gain
Nationally televised, covered by news media
Site of political negotiations
Different parts of the party try to win concessions in return for their support during the general election
Fights over the party platform (purpose + party goals)
Offer political drama - nominees wait until convention to announce running mates
Greatest impact of conventions on general election results is negative
Usually help candidates considerably
Polls after conventions show approval ratings rise (post-convention bump)
Changed significantly in the last century
Conventions and convention delegates used to select and nominate candidate
Campaigning for general election similar to campaigning in primaries
Rallies, debates, advertisements, positive media coverage
Differences between general + primary elections
Running against members of other parties
Primaries - candidates run against own party members, focus on small differences between them
Emphasize general policy and philosophical differences between two parties
Electoral College: created by the framers to insulate government from whims of less-educated public
Each state given number of electors = senators + representatives
Winner of state wins all of state’s electors (winner-take-all system)
Victory is more dependent on winning large states
Candidates often devote lots of time to swing states
News media provides voters with daily campaign information
Report on positions but concentrate on polls
Prefer information that changes regularly and can be reported quickly (horse race aspect)
Campaign advertisements provide more controlled look at candidates
Attempt to build a positive image w/public and belittle opponents through negative advertising (especially when public knows little about a candidate)
Voter turnout lower for midterm elections
American voter turnout rates are lowers among all Western democracies
Patterns:
More educated, more likely to vote
Older Americans have higher turnout rates than younger ones
Voters are less likely to vote when they think they know who will win an election
Affected by legislation
National Voter Registration Act (1993) - made voting easier; allows voters to register at the same time they apply for a driver’s license
Photo ID laws decrease voter turnout by requiring voters to show a photo ID before voting
Controversial; may reduce voter fraud but IDs can be hard to get
Media also report election results based on age, gender, race, income level, region, and other demographics to analyze the results
Mandate: a clear message sent by the voters — a clear winner
Split-ticket voting: voting for a presidential candidate of one party and legislators of another
Leads to divided government (when one party controls the Senate and/or House and the other controls the executive branch)
Creates gridlock: two branches work against each other or can result in the creation of moderate policy
Encourages party dealignment because voters do not clearly align with their parties
Can have three purposes:
Solving a social problem (crime rates, unemployment, poverty)
Countering threats (terrorism, war)
Pursuing an objective (building highways, curing cancer, space exploration)
Can be achieved by prohibiting behavior (banning something), protecting activities (ex. granting copyrights), promoting social activity (ex. tax deductions for donations), or providing direct benefits to citizens (ex. subsidies or building things)
Depends on public opinion
Issue-attention cycle: requires policy makers to act quickly before the public gets bored and loses interest
Involves trade-offs between competing goods
Ex. finding more energy resources endangers the environment
Often has unpredictable results
Incrementalism: slow, step-by-step way of making policy
Inaction: taking no action to make policy (maintaining the status quo)
Defining the role of government: left sees a greater responsibility for the government than the right
Agenda-setting: identifying problems and changing them into political issues, ranking in order of importance
Can try to address opposing sides’ concerns
Momentous events may set the agenda
Policy formulation and adoption: legislative process, executive orders from the president, rules created by regulatory agencies, Supreme Court decisions
Policy implementation: enforcement through government agency; includes timetables, rules, and anticipated problems
Policy evaluation: is the policy effective? Have consequences created other problems?
policy can be made at federal, state, and local levels
Executive, judicial, and legislative branches can make policy, as well as bureaucracy
Lobbyists try to lobby policy-making areas of the government
Framers made it hard to make policy by having multiple policy-making centers
Causes policy fragmentation: many pieces of legislation deal with parts of policy problems but never address the whole problem
Economy is often the most important issue
President is held responsible for successes and failures of the economy
Politicians want to make policies that better people’s standards of living because of the importance of the economy
Many problems with economy: supply of money, inflation/deflation, interest rates, etc.
Mixed economies: made of capitalist free-market systems where government and private industry play a role
Private and public ownership of production and distribution of goods and services
Price is determined by free-market interplay of supply and demand
Profits after taxes are kept by owners
Periods of prosperity an economic contraction
How much should the government intervene?
Laissez-faire economists think that the government should never get involved in the economy
Pursuit of profit benefits society
Free markets are governed by the laws of nature
Readopted by US since the Cold War ended
Keynesian economics: the government can smooth out business cycles by influencing individuals’ income amounts and the amounts businesses can spend on goods and services
New Deal - 1930s
Government action of raising/lowering taxes, resulting in more/less consumer spending or enacting of government spending programs
Keynesians think that government should spend money on projects during economic downturns to inject money into economy
Prosperous economy = larger tax base
Deficit spending: funds raised by borrowing, not taxation
Supply-side: believe that government should cut taxes and spending on programs to stimulate more production
Congress enacted tax cuts and reductions to welfare programs in 1980s, brought inflation under control but <strong>budgetdeficits</strong>caused large debt
How the government controls the supply of money in circulation and credit through actions of the Federal Reserve Board
Can increase amount of money in circulation by lowering interest rates, which make borrowing money less expensive and inflate the economy (higher prices and wages)
Raising interest rates deflates the economy (more stable/lower prices or wages)
Monetary policy can be implemented in three ways by the Federal Reserve Board:
Manipulating reserve requirement: raises/lowers the amount of money banks are required to keep on hand; raising shrinks the amount of money available for borrowing and raising interest rates
Manipulating the discount rate: raises/lowers interest banks pay to the Federal Reserve Board to borrow money; lowering lowers consumer loans’ interest rates and more customers will purchase
Manipulating open market operations: Federal Reserve buys/sells US government bonds; people withdraw money from banks to get bonds; as bank has less to loan, consumer interest rates rise, slowing consumer spending and economic growth
Some believe that government should only intervene to manipulate money supply
Believe that money supply should be increased constantly to accommodate growth
President receives advice about economy from:
Council of Economic Advisors
National Economic Council
Office of Management and Budget
Secretary of the Treasury
President can influence monetary/fiscal policies through appointment power and policy initiatives
Director of OMB (Office of Management and Budget) initiates budget process, meets with president to discuss policy initiatives
OMB writes president’s budget and submits it to Congress
Budget sent to House Ways and Means Committee (taxing aspects of budget), Authorization committees in both houses (decide which programs Congress wants to fund), <strong>Appropriationscommittees</strong>in both houses (decides how much money should be spent for those programs that have been authorized)
Budget process is complicated and nearly impossible to conclude
President’s projected expenditures and revenues conflict with Congress’s
Neither trust the other’s numbers
Budget Reform Act of 1974: created Congressional Budget Office with budget committees in both houses (set revenue + spending levels); White House and Congress houses negotiate to get one acceptable budget
Failure to achieve a budget at the start of the fiscal year could result in government shutting down and employees getting sent home
Budget stop-gap bills are passed to temporarily appropriate money to keep the government running
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990: tried to streamline budget process and make it easier to compromise; categorizes government expenditures as discretionary or mandatory spending
Mandatory spending: required by law to fund programs such as entitlement programs, Medicare, Social Security, payment on national debt, and veterans’ pensions
Discretionary spending: not required by law, programs include research grants, education, defense, highways, and all government operations
Other countries depend on US as a market for their products
Balance of trade: ratio of imported products to exported products
Trade deficits: when imports are greater than exports
Cause wealth to flow from a nation
Nations often put restrictions on imported goods
Nation facing restrictions can put high import taxes or unfair regulations on products
Trade wars can result
Trade surpluses: when more money flows into a country than out
Ex. oil-producing nations
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT): signed by the US to promote trade; evolved into World Trade Organization (WTO), which account for 97% of global trade, works to lower quotas and tariffs and reduce unfair trade practices
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA - 1944): signed to promote trade between the US, Canada, and Mexico
Removed tariffs from one another’s products
Controversial
Opposed by US labor unions, feared that jobs would be lost to Mexican labor
Others feared that US industrial capacity would be damaged because factories would move to Mexico
Supporters claimed that it would improve US economy and create jobs in Mexico
Revised in 2018 and renamed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Liberals believe that the government should provide social-welfare programs, conservatives believe they encroach on individual responsibilities and liberties
Great Society programs (Johnson administration) expanded government welfare programs but were eliminated/reduced by the Reagan administration
Types of social welfare programs:
Social insurance programs: national insurance programs to which employees and employers pay taxes; public believes that benefits have been earned because they pay into them
Public assistance programs: not paid for by recipients, result of condition and government responsibility to help the needy
Entitlement program mandated by law in which government pays benefits to all people who meet requirements
Changing law would require congressional action
Little chance of major changes because the largest portion of the electorate is made of those around retirement age
Largest federal budget expense
Originally provided benefits to only retired people beginning at age 65
Expanded to four categories:
Retired workers who are 65+ years old receive payments from the Social Security trust fund monthly
Entitled to a COLA (cost of living adjustment) if inflation rate >3%
Necause society is aging and ratio of workers to retirees is declining, money now paid into system pays present recipients; workers will have higher taxes to maintain retirees’ incomes
Medicare provides assistance to people >65 for healthcare; can pay more doctor’s bills for retirees who pay additional tax on social security benefit
Medicaid provides medical/health-related services for low-income individuals; funded by states and federal government and managed/run by states
Temporary unemployment insurance provides a limited weekly benefit; administered by state governments but both federal and state governments pay into trust fund to provide benefit
First federal welfare programs established by Social Security Act in 1930s; largest and most controversial known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
Designed to help targeted groups
Public assistance programs (welfare) help families whose total income is below federally determined minimum required to provide for basic needs of family
Opposing claim that welfare encourages families to have more children
Supplemental public assistance programs (SSI) help disabled and aged living at/near poverty level
SNAP benefits provides food stamps to improve diet and buying power of the poor
Welfare Reform Act (1996): attempted to reduce number of people living on public assistance; block grants from federal government are the greatest contribution, states also fund some and administer programs
Reduces welfare rolls and forces people to find work
Abolished AFDC, replacing it with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Requires adults to find work in 2 years or be cut off
Places lifetime limit of 5 years for welfare eligibility
Prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving assistance
Americans spend more than 17% of gross domestic product (GDP) (total of goods/services produced per year) on health care
Most expensive health care system in the world
Most rely on various types of insurance programs to pay for health care costs instead of a national program run by the government
Electorate divided on how to solve issues of universal health care and health care costs
Voters want increased coverage but probably don’t want to pay for it
Only taxes paid willingly are “sin taxes” (alcohol and tobacco products), do not generate enough revenue
Another issue is whether health benefits should be government or privately administered program
Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (2010) (aka Obamacare): signed by President Obama; most significant health-care legislation
Allowed federal government to fine people who do not have insurance (“individual mandate”)
Rational choice: what is in the citizen’s individual interest
Retrospective voting: whether or not a party/candidate should be reelected based on their performance
Prospective voting: the potential performance of a party/candidate
Party-line voting: voting for candidates from a single political party for all offices
Organizations with similar ideologies that try to influence election outcomes and legislative problems
Play a formal role in both
Not mentioned in the Constitution
Parties formed to unite people who had the same political ideals to elect similar-minded representatives and have similar legislative goals
Endorse candidates and help them in elections
Parties expect candidates to remain loyal to party goals
Two major political parties: Democrats and Republicans
Two-party or <strong>bi−partisansystem</strong>reinforced by electoral system
Difficult for more than two major parties to get on the ballot
Intermediaries between government and people
Made of activist members, leadership, and grassroots members
Raise money, get candidates elected, and have positions on policy
Develop party platforms: list of goals that outlines party’s issues and priorities
Major purpose is to get candidates elected
Since 1960 more states have required parties to choose candidates through primary elections
Reduced power of parties - the people must choose candidates
Candidates raise their own money and campaign by themselves
Three major subdivisions:
Party among the electorate: voters identify with and enroll in parties; vote for candidates from their party
Party in government: officials belong to parties, pursue goals together (sometimes there are ideological/regional differences)
Party organization: group of people, political professionals, who recruit voters and candidates, organize events, and raise money for the party
Functions:
Recruit and nominate candidates: find candidates to run in primaries
Educate and mobilize voters: try to persuade voters to vote for party’s candidates; advertisements, rallies, and mailings; target regions with strong support, campaign to persuade voters to vote
Provide campaign funds and support: dedicated committees that raise funds for campaigns; state parties raise money for state and national candidates; help candidates (although they mostly rely on their personal campaign staff)
Organize government activity: House, Senate, and state legislatures organize leadership + committees along party lines
Provide balance through opposition of two parties: each party checks the other; minority party critiques majority party (loyal opposition)
Reduce conflict and tension in society: promotes negotiation/compromise: parties encouraged to accommodate voters and voters encouraged to accept policy compromises
National and state and local party organizations have different functions, not hierarchical
Party committees organized by geography
Local committees coordinate get-out-the-vote (GOTV) drives, canvassing door-to-door, and distribution of leaflets
Mostly made of volunteers
Work concentrated around election time
County committees coordinate local election efforts and committee efforts on the precinct level, send representatives to polling places to monitor voting
State committees raise money, provide volunteers, provide support to candidates for offices
Senatorial and congressional district committees are part of national party organization; involved in legislative elections when a seat may be lost or gained (incumbents often reelected easily)
National party plans national conventions every four years to nominate presidential candidate; sponsors polls
Some believe that parties aren’t as powerful/significant as they were before
Before 1968, one party controlled legislative and executive government branches
More Americans are voting split ticket than before
Consider positions and merits of a candidate than just party affiliation
No one party dominates government, officials with different agendas work together
Modern candidates control their own campaigns more, appeal directly to public through Internet and television
Political parties of made of multiple groups made of multiple individuals
larger coalition = candidate is more likely to win
Candidates and positions on policy are made to attract more voters, creating a winning coalition
Tend to rely on certain groups as bases of support
Both try to be centrist
Party bases
Liberals in Democratic Party
Conservatives in Republican Party
Democrats | Republicans |
---|---|
Want to spend money on welfare programs | Want to spend more on defense |
Want to use government money for public education | Want to use vouchers for private/charter schools and give government aid to religious school |
Want to grant tax relief to targeted programs | Want to grant tax relief to everyone |
Against private firearm ownership, supportive of regulations on firearms | Don’t want to regulate firearms |
Pro-choice | Pro-life |
Support collective bargaining and efforts to unionize | Oppose collective bargaining and support laws intended to limit union powers |
Occurs when coalitions making up parties split off
Ex. groups making up the majority party defect to minority party
Rare, occur usually as a result of a major negative event
Signaled by a critical election - new party dominates politics
Occur over period of time and show permanence
Trend toward dealignment: results from party members becoming disaffected because of a policy position taken by the party, disaffected members join no party and vote for candidate instead of party
Form to represent constituencies that feel disenfranchised by major parties
Known as splinter/bolter parties, usually united around the feeling that other parties do not respond to their demands
Can form to represent ideology major parties consider too radical
Doctrinal parties
Ex. Socialist Party, Libertarian Party
Single-issue parties formed to promote one principle
Ex. American Independent Party
Can have major impact on elections
Different from Independent candidates (run w/o party affiliation)
Result of electoral system designed to support two parties
Campaigns require large amounts of money and large organizations
Third party/independent candidates do not have name recognition or support to win majority of votes
Platform issues of third parties often incorporated into party platforms
Most states have winner-take-all electoral vote systems
Organizations dedicated to particular political goal/goals whose members lobby for the issue, educate voters + office holders, write legislation, and mobilize members to work w/legislators and government agencies
Often share a common bond: religious, racial, or professional
Can also share common interest
Lobbying: trying to influence legislators
Lobbyists are professionals, many are former legislators
Categories of interest groups:
Economic groups: promote and protect members’ economic interests, including business groups and labor groups
Public interest groups: nonprofit groups organized around a set of public policy issues, including consumer, environmental, religious, and single-issue groups
Government interest groups: localities like states and cities which have lobbying organizations in DC, including mayors, governors
Tactics:
Direct lobbying: meet privately with government officials to present arguments supporting suggested legislation, often give congress members a great deal of information
Testifying before Congress: provide witnesses at committee hearings
Socializing: hold social functions and members go to other functions to meet government officials
Political donations: donate to candidates and parties, corporations/trade groups/unions form political action committees (PACs) and super PACs
Endorsements: announce support for candidates
Court action: file lawsuits or class action suits for their interests, submit amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs in lawsuits where they aren’t a party so judges can consider their advice
Rallying membership: engage in grassroots campaigning by contacting members and asking them to contact legislators in support of program/legislation
Propaganda: send out press releases and advertisements promoting their views
Most are ineffective
1946 Federal Regulation of Lobbying intended to allow government to monitor lobbying activities by requiring lobbyist to register with government and disclose salaries, nature of activities, and expenses
Laws prohibit certain lobbying activities by former government officials for limited amounts of time
Meant to stop influence peddling (using friendships and inside information to get political advantage)
Former House members must wait one year and senators must wait two years before directly lobbying Congress but may lobby executive branch immediately after office
Law prevents executive officials from lobbying for five years after office
Some groups complain of “revolving door” that puts former government employees into jobs as consultants and lobbyists
PACs help corporations, unions, and trade associations avoid federal laws prohibiting campaign contributions
Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA - 1974): allowed political action committees (PACs) to be formed by corporations, unions, and trade associations to raise campaign funds
Set restrictions on contributions and contributors - must raise money from employees and members and not from treasuries
Other interest groups and legislators form PACs
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold Act): regulated campaign finance + PAC donations
Prohibited soft money (unregulated donations) to national political parties
Limited corporate and union funding for ads about political issues within 60 days of general election and 30 days of primary
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010): Supreme Court overturned BCRA limits on PAC funding for “corporate independent expenditures”
PACs that donate to certain candidates must have limits on their contributors and donations
PACs that do not donate to specific candidates have no fundraising limits as long as they do not coordinate with candidates
Unlimited PACs are known as super PACs - generally financed by the rich but can be difficult to locate donors
Vague on what coordination is
Hard money | Soft money |
---|---|
Regulated contributions to candidates | Unregulated, unlimited contributions to parties for activities; limited by BCRA |
Regular PACs: donations from single-candidate committees to individual candidates must be less than or equal to $2500, $5000 for multi-candidate PACs
Donations to national political committees must be $15000 or less from multi-candidate PACs and $30800 from single-candidate PACs
Named after part of tax code
Tax-exempt organization that promotes political agenda but cannot advocate for/against a specific candidate
Not regulated by the FEC and not subject to contribution limits
Avoid regulations because they are political organizations but not registered as political committees
Issue advocacy vs candidate advocacy = disagreed
BCRA changed soft money rules to make establishing 527s more appealing than PACs and allowing outside groups to avoid hard money limits of BCRA
Run federally every two years
New Representative each year
Every other allows voters to select president
Each Senate seat is elected every six years, state voters choose senator 2/3 of federal elections
States usually hold their elections at the same time as federal elections to encourage voter turnout and save money
Voters choose federal officials, judges, state legislators, governors, and local officials
Also may be asked to vote on state bond issues or referenda
Incumbent advantage
Representatives who run for reelection (incumbents) win ~90% of the time
House incumbents have a greater advantage than senators
House members run in home districts, usually of one party due to gerrymandering
Victory in primary election nearly guarantees victory in general election
Two phases:
Nominations: when parties choose candidates for general election
39 states use primary elections to select presidential nominees
Voters also choose delegates pledged to a presidential candidate
Winners go to party’s national convention
Some select delegates at state caucuses and conventions
Local meetings of party members select representatives to send to statewide party meetings
Fewer participants - more informed, more politically active
All states use a form of primary to select state + legislative nominees
Candidate who receives plurality (greatest number of votes) or majority (more than half) in each primary is the winner
Runoff primary held between top two if no candidate gets the required number of votes
Most often occurs when many candidates run for an open office
Democratic Party grants automatic delegate status to elected party leaders (superdelegates), who generally support the front-runner
McGovern-Fraser Commission created in 1968 to promote diversity in delegate pool - recommended that delegates are represented by proportion of population in each state
Held between February and late spring of election year (Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary first)
Each state has its own rules
Several types:
Closed primary: only registered members of a political party can vote
Open primary: voters can vote in one + any party primary which they choose
Blanket primary: voters can vote for one candidate per office of either party
General elections: when voters decide who will hold office
Held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November
Presidential elections: elections when the president is being selected
Midterm elections: elections between presidential elections
Most officials receive the endorsement/nomination of a major party
Usually have backgrounds in government
Gubernatorial (governor) experience allows candidates to claim executive abilities and are able to run as outsiders
Candidates with little-no government experience can be pursued
Usually well-respected and popular
Ex. military figure
Must begin up to two years before first primary
Most candidates campaign and prepare full-time
Presidents running for reelection and vice presidents running for presidency benefit from fame of offices
Must seek support among party organizations
Donors to election/campaign
Early stages: meeting w/potential donors, creating PACs, campaigning for endorsements of political groups/leaders
“Testing the waters”
Year before first primaries: attempt to increase public profile
Public appearances, media coverage by taking positions on issues and discussing goals of presidencies
Vulnerable to media - negative reports or media spin can damage a campaign
Primary season: raise money, get votes in primaries
Those who can’t raise their own money and don’t get enough votes are forced out of the race
Begin to assemble campaign staff who will help manage campaign
Wealthy candidates have tried to run for presidency without needing federal matching funds
Successful campaign needs large staff, transportation, and resources to hire advertising agencies, pollsters, and consultants
Raising money is very important
Presidential candidates who meet certain guidelines may be federally funded
Primary candidates who get >10% of votes can apply for federal matching funds
Double all campaign donations of $250 and less by matching them
Candidates must agree to obey federal spending limits
Candidates lose eligibility for receiving <10% of the vote in two primaries in a row until they win >10% of the vote in another primary
Government funds general election campaigns of two major candidates if they agree not to accept and spend other donations
Election spending has increased despite campaign finance reform
No public financing for congressional campaigns, no spending limits
Many believe that the current campaign finance system corrupts government
Hard to change the system
Buckley v. Valeo (1976): mandatory spending limits violates First Amendment rights to free expression
Benefits incumbents
Legislators do not want to make changes because changes could hurt chances at reelection
Candidates campaign widely during the election year
Debates, campaign in states by delivering “stump speeches”, plan media events to get positive media coverage of campaigns
Earliest primaries provide boost to winning campaign
More media exposure, easier to fundraise
Major donators usually abandon losers’ campaigns in early primaries
Grow more and more important
States have pushed forward primary election day to have more influence on which candidates win nominations - front-loading
Forces voters to choose early during the election process before they get enough information
Many hold primaries on the same day in early March (Super Tuesday)
Held by both parties to confirm nominee
Brokered conventions: held when no candidate has received the pledge of a majority of delegates and conventions must decide the nominee
Party systems designed to avoid brokered conventions - divides party, can cost election
Unifies party
Primaries can damage/divide a party - candidates attack each other and expose problems within party membership
Shows party unity for political gain
Nationally televised, covered by news media
Site of political negotiations
Different parts of the party try to win concessions in return for their support during the general election
Fights over the party platform (purpose + party goals)
Offer political drama - nominees wait until convention to announce running mates
Greatest impact of conventions on general election results is negative
Usually help candidates considerably
Polls after conventions show approval ratings rise (post-convention bump)
Changed significantly in the last century
Conventions and convention delegates used to select and nominate candidate
Campaigning for general election similar to campaigning in primaries
Rallies, debates, advertisements, positive media coverage
Differences between general + primary elections
Running against members of other parties
Primaries - candidates run against own party members, focus on small differences between them
Emphasize general policy and philosophical differences between two parties
Electoral College: created by the framers to insulate government from whims of less-educated public
Each state given number of electors = senators + representatives
Winner of state wins all of state’s electors (winner-take-all system)
Victory is more dependent on winning large states
Candidates often devote lots of time to swing states
News media provides voters with daily campaign information
Report on positions but concentrate on polls
Prefer information that changes regularly and can be reported quickly (horse race aspect)
Campaign advertisements provide more controlled look at candidates
Attempt to build a positive image w/public and belittle opponents through negative advertising (especially when public knows little about a candidate)
Voter turnout lower for midterm elections
American voter turnout rates are lowers among all Western democracies
Patterns:
More educated, more likely to vote
Older Americans have higher turnout rates than younger ones
Voters are less likely to vote when they think they know who will win an election
Affected by legislation
National Voter Registration Act (1993) - made voting easier; allows voters to register at the same time they apply for a driver’s license
Photo ID laws decrease voter turnout by requiring voters to show a photo ID before voting
Controversial; may reduce voter fraud but IDs can be hard to get
Media also report election results based on age, gender, race, income level, region, and other demographics to analyze the results
Mandate: a clear message sent by the voters — a clear winner
Split-ticket voting: voting for a presidential candidate of one party and legislators of another
Leads to divided government (when one party controls the Senate and/or House and the other controls the executive branch)
Creates gridlock: two branches work against each other or can result in the creation of moderate policy
Encourages party dealignment because voters do not clearly align with their parties
Can have three purposes:
Solving a social problem (crime rates, unemployment, poverty)
Countering threats (terrorism, war)
Pursuing an objective (building highways, curing cancer, space exploration)
Can be achieved by prohibiting behavior (banning something), protecting activities (ex. granting copyrights), promoting social activity (ex. tax deductions for donations), or providing direct benefits to citizens (ex. subsidies or building things)
Depends on public opinion
Issue-attention cycle: requires policy makers to act quickly before the public gets bored and loses interest
Involves trade-offs between competing goods
Ex. finding more energy resources endangers the environment
Often has unpredictable results
Incrementalism: slow, step-by-step way of making policy
Inaction: taking no action to make policy (maintaining the status quo)
Defining the role of government: left sees a greater responsibility for the government than the right
Agenda-setting: identifying problems and changing them into political issues, ranking in order of importance
Can try to address opposing sides’ concerns
Momentous events may set the agenda
Policy formulation and adoption: legislative process, executive orders from the president, rules created by regulatory agencies, Supreme Court decisions
Policy implementation: enforcement through government agency; includes timetables, rules, and anticipated problems
Policy evaluation: is the policy effective? Have consequences created other problems?
policy can be made at federal, state, and local levels
Executive, judicial, and legislative branches can make policy, as well as bureaucracy
Lobbyists try to lobby policy-making areas of the government
Framers made it hard to make policy by having multiple policy-making centers
Causes policy fragmentation: many pieces of legislation deal with parts of policy problems but never address the whole problem
Economy is often the most important issue
President is held responsible for successes and failures of the economy
Politicians want to make policies that better people’s standards of living because of the importance of the economy
Many problems with economy: supply of money, inflation/deflation, interest rates, etc.
Mixed economies: made of capitalist free-market systems where government and private industry play a role
Private and public ownership of production and distribution of goods and services
Price is determined by free-market interplay of supply and demand
Profits after taxes are kept by owners
Periods of prosperity an economic contraction
How much should the government intervene?
Laissez-faire economists think that the government should never get involved in the economy
Pursuit of profit benefits society
Free markets are governed by the laws of nature
Readopted by US since the Cold War ended
Keynesian economics: the government can smooth out business cycles by influencing individuals’ income amounts and the amounts businesses can spend on goods and services
New Deal - 1930s
Government action of raising/lowering taxes, resulting in more/less consumer spending or enacting of government spending programs
Keynesians think that government should spend money on projects during economic downturns to inject money into economy
Prosperous economy = larger tax base
Deficit spending: funds raised by borrowing, not taxation
Supply-side: believe that government should cut taxes and spending on programs to stimulate more production
Congress enacted tax cuts and reductions to welfare programs in 1980s, brought inflation under control but <strong>budgetdeficits</strong>caused large debt
How the government controls the supply of money in circulation and credit through actions of the Federal Reserve Board
Can increase amount of money in circulation by lowering interest rates, which make borrowing money less expensive and inflate the economy (higher prices and wages)
Raising interest rates deflates the economy (more stable/lower prices or wages)
Monetary policy can be implemented in three ways by the Federal Reserve Board:
Manipulating reserve requirement: raises/lowers the amount of money banks are required to keep on hand; raising shrinks the amount of money available for borrowing and raising interest rates
Manipulating the discount rate: raises/lowers interest banks pay to the Federal Reserve Board to borrow money; lowering lowers consumer loans’ interest rates and more customers will purchase
Manipulating open market operations: Federal Reserve buys/sells US government bonds; people withdraw money from banks to get bonds; as bank has less to loan, consumer interest rates rise, slowing consumer spending and economic growth
Some believe that government should only intervene to manipulate money supply
Believe that money supply should be increased constantly to accommodate growth
President receives advice about economy from:
Council of Economic Advisors
National Economic Council
Office of Management and Budget
Secretary of the Treasury
President can influence monetary/fiscal policies through appointment power and policy initiatives
Director of OMB (Office of Management and Budget) initiates budget process, meets with president to discuss policy initiatives
OMB writes president’s budget and submits it to Congress
Budget sent to House Ways and Means Committee (taxing aspects of budget), Authorization committees in both houses (decide which programs Congress wants to fund), <strong>Appropriationscommittees</strong>in both houses (decides how much money should be spent for those programs that have been authorized)
Budget process is complicated and nearly impossible to conclude
President’s projected expenditures and revenues conflict with Congress’s
Neither trust the other’s numbers
Budget Reform Act of 1974: created Congressional Budget Office with budget committees in both houses (set revenue + spending levels); White House and Congress houses negotiate to get one acceptable budget
Failure to achieve a budget at the start of the fiscal year could result in government shutting down and employees getting sent home
Budget stop-gap bills are passed to temporarily appropriate money to keep the government running
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990: tried to streamline budget process and make it easier to compromise; categorizes government expenditures as discretionary or mandatory spending
Mandatory spending: required by law to fund programs such as entitlement programs, Medicare, Social Security, payment on national debt, and veterans’ pensions
Discretionary spending: not required by law, programs include research grants, education, defense, highways, and all government operations
Other countries depend on US as a market for their products
Balance of trade: ratio of imported products to exported products
Trade deficits: when imports are greater than exports
Cause wealth to flow from a nation
Nations often put restrictions on imported goods
Nation facing restrictions can put high import taxes or unfair regulations on products
Trade wars can result
Trade surpluses: when more money flows into a country than out
Ex. oil-producing nations
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT): signed by the US to promote trade; evolved into World Trade Organization (WTO), which account for 97% of global trade, works to lower quotas and tariffs and reduce unfair trade practices
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA - 1944): signed to promote trade between the US, Canada, and Mexico
Removed tariffs from one another’s products
Controversial
Opposed by US labor unions, feared that jobs would be lost to Mexican labor
Others feared that US industrial capacity would be damaged because factories would move to Mexico
Supporters claimed that it would improve US economy and create jobs in Mexico
Revised in 2018 and renamed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Liberals believe that the government should provide social-welfare programs, conservatives believe they encroach on individual responsibilities and liberties
Great Society programs (Johnson administration) expanded government welfare programs but were eliminated/reduced by the Reagan administration
Types of social welfare programs:
Social insurance programs: national insurance programs to which employees and employers pay taxes; public believes that benefits have been earned because they pay into them
Public assistance programs: not paid for by recipients, result of condition and government responsibility to help the needy
Entitlement program mandated by law in which government pays benefits to all people who meet requirements
Changing law would require congressional action
Little chance of major changes because the largest portion of the electorate is made of those around retirement age
Largest federal budget expense
Originally provided benefits to only retired people beginning at age 65
Expanded to four categories:
Retired workers who are 65+ years old receive payments from the Social Security trust fund monthly
Entitled to a COLA (cost of living adjustment) if inflation rate >3%
Necause society is aging and ratio of workers to retirees is declining, money now paid into system pays present recipients; workers will have higher taxes to maintain retirees’ incomes
Medicare provides assistance to people >65 for healthcare; can pay more doctor’s bills for retirees who pay additional tax on social security benefit
Medicaid provides medical/health-related services for low-income individuals; funded by states and federal government and managed/run by states
Temporary unemployment insurance provides a limited weekly benefit; administered by state governments but both federal and state governments pay into trust fund to provide benefit
First federal welfare programs established by Social Security Act in 1930s; largest and most controversial known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
Designed to help targeted groups
Public assistance programs (welfare) help families whose total income is below federally determined minimum required to provide for basic needs of family
Opposing claim that welfare encourages families to have more children
Supplemental public assistance programs (SSI) help disabled and aged living at/near poverty level
SNAP benefits provides food stamps to improve diet and buying power of the poor
Welfare Reform Act (1996): attempted to reduce number of people living on public assistance; block grants from federal government are the greatest contribution, states also fund some and administer programs
Reduces welfare rolls and forces people to find work
Abolished AFDC, replacing it with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Requires adults to find work in 2 years or be cut off
Places lifetime limit of 5 years for welfare eligibility
Prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving assistance
Americans spend more than 17% of gross domestic product (GDP) (total of goods/services produced per year) on health care
Most expensive health care system in the world
Most rely on various types of insurance programs to pay for health care costs instead of a national program run by the government
Electorate divided on how to solve issues of universal health care and health care costs
Voters want increased coverage but probably don’t want to pay for it
Only taxes paid willingly are “sin taxes” (alcohol and tobacco products), do not generate enough revenue
Another issue is whether health benefits should be government or privately administered program
Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (2010) (aka Obamacare): signed by President Obama; most significant health-care legislation
Allowed federal government to fine people who do not have insurance (“individual mandate”)