5.2- funding of political parties

Question 1

what are PAC’s?

Answer 1

politcal action committees
- an organisation that pools campaign contributons and gives funds to candidates
- can only receive money from individuals
- they give money directly to candidates: ‘ hard money’

Question 2

what is the maximum a PAC can give a candidate? how does this compare to how much an individual can give directly to a candidate?

Answer 2

a PAC can give a candidate $5000
an individual ca ngive a canidate $3300

Question 3

what is the purpose of a superpac?

Answer 3

• allow coorperations and unions to donate
• super PAC’s decide how to spend the money (soft money)
• there is no cap on donations

Question 4

what are the pros of super PAC’s?

Answer 4

• unions are a voice of the people
• in a democracy individuals and groups should be able to allocate donations as they please
• regulators disclose donours allowing for transparency

Question 5

what are the cons to super PAC’s?

Answer 5

• concentrates power in the wealthy elite
• companies use shell companies to donate money (dark money), therefore undermining transpareny

Question 6

what was significant about the bipartisan campaign reform act?

Answer 6

2002
- banned soft money donations to national parties
- said that adverts and campaigns could not be directlt funded by unions or firms
- set limits on the ammount of ‘hard money that could be recieved’ - initially no more than $1000 to a candidate

Question 7

what was the case that essentially creates superpacs?

Answer 7

(2010) Citizens united vs FEC ruled that the state could not regulate individual expenditure on campaigns

Question 8

what is a key example of a large donation from an indivdiual donour?

Answer 8

sheldon adelson gace $75m to super PAC “Preserve America”

Question 9

How was obama significant in campaign finance?

Answer 9

• obama rejected matching funds which allowed him to raise significantly more mone

Question 10

in 2020 what percent of bidens dunds came from large contributors?

Answer 10

61.02%

Question 11

exmplain the case McCutcheon vs FEC 2014.

Answer 11

• the supreme court struck down limits on aggregate (over two years) indivdiual campaign contributions ruling that they infringed upon free speech
• allowed individuals to donate to multiple candidates

Question 12

what was the federal election campaign reform act? what did it result in?

Answer 12

-1974
- provided federal matching funds
- limited the ammount individuals and coorperations could donate
- lead to a rise in PAC’s in an attempt to avoid restrictions

Question 13

how did Buckley vs valeo affect the federal election campaign reform act?

Answer 13

• struck down parts of the federal election campaign reform act
• struck down limits on cadidate expenditure
• struck down limits on independent expenditure

Question 14

What was the case that essentially created super PACS

Answer 14

Citizens United vs FEC: The Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not limit private expenditure (from firms and unions) on campaigns

Question 15

how much more did hilary clinton spend in the election compared to trump?

Answer 15

hilary clinton spent twice the ammount as trump