american politics part 1 Flashcards

1
Q

what is the main process in order to be elected as president?

A

-usa has fixed term election that occur every 4 years.
-first presidential election was held in 1788, then presidential election has been held every since.
-if president dies there is no election the vice does become president for example in the case of john Kennedy who was assassinated in 1963, Lyndon Johnson replaced him.

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2
Q

what does the law say about the main process to elect a president?

A

-the fact that the election occur very four year is in the consition.
-federal law does state that the elections should be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every fourth year. in practise it means that an election must occur between 2 and 8 November.

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3
Q

what is the first stage of the presidential election?

A

first stage is the invisible primary, functions include
-candidate announcements
-increasing name recognition
-fundraising
-intra party tv debates
this occurs during the calendar year before the election.

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4
Q

what is the second stage of the presidential election?

A

primaries and caucuses functions include
-show popular support for candidates
-choose to delegate to attend national party conventions
this is held and does occur during the January/ February to early June

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5
Q

what is the third stage for a presidential election?

A

this is a stage where by the candidate does choose is vice presidential candidate.
functions include
-presidential candidate announces choice of running mater
it occurs during some days/ weeks before convention.

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6
Q

what is the fourth stage of a presidential election?

A

the fourth stage is the national party organisation its functions do include
-confirm presidential and vice presidential candidate
-approve party platform
-acceptance speech delivered by presidential Canidate.
this occurs during the july/ august ( each lasts for 4 days).

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7
Q

what is the fifth stage of a presidential election?

A

this is the general election campaign stage it functions do include;
-a campaign between the candidates of the various parties
occurs during the September/ October first week of November

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8
Q

what is the sixth stage of a presidential election?

A

its the election day, its function do include
-registered voters do go to the polls ( although a lot could have participated in early voting)
this occurs Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

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9
Q

what is the seventh stage of a presidential elections?

A

this is the electoral college voting its functions do include
-electors do vote in their state capitals to choose president and vice president.
this does occur the Monday after the second Wednesday in December.

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10
Q

what are the constitional requirements you need in order to become president in the us?

A

-one must be a natural born us citizen
-one must be at least 35 years old. youngest ever elected president was john f Kennedy at the age of 43.
-there is also a residency qualification of 14 years.
-in 1951 constiton was amended to limit the president to two terms in office. the first president end to feel this was Dwight eisenhower in 1960 ad then Ronald regaen, bill Clinton, George w bush, and barrack Obama.

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11
Q

what is the invisible primary?

A

-in the USA the candidates are chosen by ordinary voters,
-the manoeuvring of the elections does take months and years.
-because the events does take years before the official stage the primaries, and there is little to see it is referred to as the invisible primary.

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12
Q

what is said about the invisible primary?

A

-the invisible primary is said to be critically important for a candidate to gain the name recognition and money and put together the necessary organisation.
-there’s a high correlation between who is leading in the polls at the end of the invisible primary and who wins the nominations.

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13
Q

how is the invisible primary plaid out?

A
  • it is said to be played out by the media. mainly the candidate would hope to be mentioned as a serious candidate for president in newspapers such as the Washington post, and the new York times, or there could be a positive article in the time magazine.
    -they could be offered an in depth interview on serious political talk shows such as face the nations (CBS)< news hour (PBS0, or one of CNN’s political talk shows such as state of the union with Jake tapper, or situation room with wolf blitzer.
    -candidate could also use social media sites such as TikTok, Facebook, twitter Instagram, snapchat and even TikTok.
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14
Q

what is the candidate announcements in the invisible primary?

A

-there are formal announcements of candidates that are entering the presidential race.
-incumbent does normally announce their intention to run then for a second term midway through their first term, Donald trump did fil a form for his re election campaign with the federal election commission on his first day in office.

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15
Q

what is the candidate announcement in the invisible primary?

A

-since modern primary system in 1776 most candidates challenging the incumbent would announce roughly a year before the first primaries..
-democrat congressman john Delaney broke the second for the earliest official presidential election in history by announcing his bid in July 2017.
-dealeney was the first of 29 candidates to be declared, joe Biden did declare on 25 April in 2019.
-given that Delaney dropped out three days before the first contest in the nomination, the Lowa caucuses an early start to one campaign there is not guarantee for success.

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16
Q

what happens at the invisible primary candidate announcements?

A

-support for candidate us demonstrated by the opinion polls. some polls could be based on aa certain stage while others are regional
-from time some polling organisations could conduct a nationwide poll.
-they could run head to head match ups to see how candidates of one party could far against fancied contenders from the other party.
-during 2019 polling organisation published frequent head to head match ups between president trump and democratic nominee joe bidden, Elizabeth warren, Bernie sanders.

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17
Q

what happens in the invisible primary televised debates?

A

-in 1019 democratic party debates highlighted the difference between moderate and progressive wings of the party
-they can get personal, in seventh Presidental debate Elizabeth warren and Bernie sanders did squarell over whether sanders once said that a women could not win a presidency. after the debate she refused to shake his hand, accusing him of calling her a liar on national tv.

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18
Q

what happens in the invisible primary televised party debates?

A

-not until the final debate that it was whittled down to just two candidates Biden and sanders, the debates were a media circus where very little policy was actually debated.

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19
Q

what did ben Carson say regarding televised debates , who was an unsuccessful candidate in the republicans 2016 nomination race?

A

” this format is not the best format for convincing anybody of anything. were dealing with sound bites as opposed to being able to explain something in depth. but unfortunately that’s a characteristic of the society that we live in today”

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20
Q

what happens in fundraising in the invisibile primary?

A

-the invisible primary is also the time when money raising does have to occur to accumulate enough money to be taken seriously.
-it is the money that does bring the ability to campaign and advertise which does in turn improve poll rating which does then bring more money
-some Canidates such as Donald trump in 2016 and Michael Bloomberg in 2020 are in the position to be able to self finance.
-most candidates would need to raise money from individual donors or interest groups.

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21
Q

what evidence is there of fundraising in the recent elections?

A

-in 2020 democratic primaries candidates thar eventually dropped out did spend dover 1 billion in what would be the most expensive primary in history.
-eventual winner joe bidden did spent $116 million
-Michael Bloomberg did spend over $409 million did not even make the final two.

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22
Q

what is the frontrunning in the invisible primary?

A
  • -over the years it is shown that it has been important to end the invisible primary with being the front runner, according to opinion polls
    -normally whatever candidate does lead in the polls just before the primaries and caucuses began is usually confirmed as the nominee.
  • in 2016 cycle Hilary Clinton and Donald trump did fit the more conventual pattern of the early front runner being confirmed as the nominee
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23
Q

what is the front runners in the invisible primary?

A
  • by end of the invisible primary in January 2016 Hilary Clinton did enjoy a 14 point lead over Berine sanders, and Donald trump a 16 point lead over his nearest rival ted cruz .
    -so called invisible primary did show is to be the critical stage in discerning who was the likely presidential candidate would be before a vote was cast.
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24
Q

what is the front runners in the invisible primary?

A

-when in 2020 democrat invisible primary there was more a mixed picture of who was the front runner.
-joe Biden was ahead in all polls and by December 2019 he did receive 46 endorsements from leading democrats politicians such as senators and governors nearly twice of the number of Berine sanders.
-however when it came to fundraising by end of September 2019 sanders was well out in front. having raised $60 million, $10 million more than the next most effective fundraiser Pete Buttigieg while Biden did come in fifth place.
-does show that more money does not predict eventual victory at this stage of the nomination process. the popularity with the candidate with both public and party insiders would seem to counts more. as shown in 2019.

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25
Q

what is a presidential primary

A

it is state based election to choose a party candidate for the presidency. it shows support for candidates among ordinary voters.

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26
Q

what is a presidential causes?

A

a series of state based meeting to choose a party’s candidate for the presidency. they attract unrepetitive and low turnouts.

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27
Q

what is a primary?

A

a primary is an election to choose a party candidate for an elective office, in this case the presidency. A dimishing number of states hold causes instead

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28
Q

what is a caucuses?

A

a caucus is a meeting of a party supporter for the selection of a party candidate for an elective office.

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29
Q

what are some features of a caucuses?

A

-states that hold caucuses are usually large states but thinly populated, states such as iowa, north Dakota, and Nevada.
-2016 republicans held caucuses in 10 states and the democrats held them in 14 states.
-in 2020 the democrat did however hold caucuses in only four states north Dakota, Iowa and Wyoming.

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30
Q

what happens in a causes?

A

in a caucuses would be voters must attend a meeting rather than to go to a polling station.
-turnout is generally lower in causes than in primaries and those who do not turn out are disporptionatlely more ideological than primary voters
-causes do tend to favour more ideological candidates
-in 2020 just like Bernie sanders who is on the liberal wing of the democratic party did have soe strongest signs in a causes. winning two out of the four states and in three states finishing above joe bide

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31
Q

what was the result of the democratic ausus result in 2020 in iowa?

A
  1. Pete Buttigieg (26.6%)
  2. Berine sanders (26.1%)
  3. Elizabeth warren ( 18%)
  4. joe bidden (15.8%)
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32
Q

what was the result of the Nevada caucuses in 2020 ?

A
  1. Berine sanders ( 46.6% )
  2. joe biden (20.2%)
  3. pete Buttigieg (16.2%)
  4. elizabeth warren ( 9.7%)
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33
Q

what was the result of the north dakota caucuses in 2020 ?

A
  1. bernie sanders (53.3%)
  2. joe Biden (39. 8%)
  3. elizabeth warren (2.5%)
  4. amy klobuchar (1.5%)
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34
Q

what was the result of the wymong caucuses in 2020 ?

A
  1. joe biden (72.2%)
  2. bernie sanders ( 27.8%)
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35
Q

what was the case of 2020 democratic iowa caucuses?

A

-outcome of 2020 democratic Iowa Caucuses was shrouded in controversy
-took place in February 3 results were delayed for three days due to mainly problems with a newly created app and a coding error that was meant to simplify and speed up the process.
-democratic national committee chair tom perez did state enough is enough and did demand full check

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36
Q

what was the 2020 caucuses case in iowa?

A

-did turn out that some votes had not been counted tom perez the democratic national committee chair did demand a full check of the all votes
-chaos surrounding the results did lead to the resignation of the local party chair troy price.
-bidden cam fourth and called it a ‘ gut punch’. in terms of picking the eventual winners and in providing a clear and swift result
-seven states did switch from caucuses to the primary system for the 2020 democratic nomination contest the days of causes are numbered.

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37
Q

what is super tuesday?

A

super Tuesday is a tuesday in February or early march when a number of states concide their presidential primaries and causes to try to gain influence.

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38
Q

what is front loading?

A

the phenomenon by which a state schedules its presidential primaries and causes earlier in the nomination cycle in an attempt to increase their importance.

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39
Q

what is a closed primary?

A

a closed primary is a primary in which only registered democrats can vote in the democratic primary and only registered republicans can vote in the republican primary.

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40
Q

what is an open primary?

A

a primary in which any registered voter can vote in either party’s primary.

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41
Q

what is the timing of the primaries?

A

states must decide when to hold their primary.
-national parties do usually lay down the earliest and latest possible dates - often mid January to the beginning of june - but within that period each state can decide its own date.
-state such as new Hampshire do schedule their contest earley and on a day where no other primaries are held, giving then hope to give a primary their prominence that it would not otherwise have.

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42
Q

what is the timing of the primary?

A

-some states do deliberately attempt to range their primaries to concide with those of other, often neighbouring states creating a regional primary.
-2020 the first tuesday in march, when 14 states did arrange their primaries together was dubbed super tuesday.
-first supper tuesday was held in 1988 to attempt to block southern states to increase their importance in the candidate selection process.

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43
Q

what is the timing of the primary?

A

more states do like to schedule their primary in early election year, believing that the earlier the primaries have more influence over candidate selection. they do move to early scheduling called front loading.

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44
Q

what are the different types of primary and what effect does this have ?

A

-any registered vote can vote in a primary
-in some states however when you register you are asked to declare your party affiliation a democrat or republican.

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45
Q

what happiness with an open primary?

A

-do allow what is called cross over voting, it does mean that democrat voters could opt to parcipate in the republican party and vice versa
-2012 the Wisconsin republican open primary 11% of voters did say they were democrats. while mitt romney won the primary overall with 44% of the vote to 37% for rick Santorum among democrats Santorum beat Romney by 20 percentage points.

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46
Q

what did the 2012 suggest in an open primary?

A

result did suggest either these were conservative democrats who genuinely preferred Santorum’s policies to those of either president Obama or mitt romney, or that they were mischievous democrats deliberately casting a vote for someone they perceived as an easier opponent for president in November.

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47
Q

what do modified primaries do?

A

-do allow those that have registered as independents to vote in either party primary. for example in new jersey primary in 2020 registered republican voters could vote only in the republican primary, registered democrats could vote only in the democratic primary could vote in either party’s primary.

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48
Q

what other features are there of types of primary’s?

A

could also be classified according to how delegates to the national party conventions are chosen
-in most primaries candidates win delegates in proportion to the votes that they get. They are known as proportional primaries.
-most states get set a threshold, a minimum percentage of votes that a candidate must receive to get any of the states delegates, usually 10% or 15% of the vote.
-all democrat and almost all republican primaries are now proportional primaries

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49
Q

what happens when an incumbent president is running in the primary’s?

A

-as donald trump did in 2020 the primaries for the president party go on with little or no coverage at all
-some states don’t both with a primary under such circumstance, e.g in arizona and south Carolina in 2020 were among the states that did dispense with a republican presidential primary.
-incumbent presidents are usually renominated by their parties without any serious opposition. trump did face only token challenges in 2020 bill weld and mark Sanford, were never in serious contention.

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50
Q

what is the role of national party conventions?

A

all democrats and republicans do hold usually national party convention in the july august, or possibly early September of election year, which does usually last 3 to 4 days.
-traditional for the challenging party to hold convention first
-exceptional conditions of the covid 19 pandemic meant that these for 2020 were virtual affairs.

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51
Q

what is the role of party conventions and how were they affected in 2020 ?

A

-democratic convention postponed by a month, was held in Milwaukee as planned but on a much smaller scale most speeches were delivered remotely in 2020.
-republican convention was scheduled for charlotte north Carolina, and then moved to Jacksonville Florida when charlottes city authorities refused president trumps demand for the convention to take place wit full crowd and no public health measures such as social distancing
-republicans did hold the first day of their convention including the formal nomination in charlotte under 330 attendees and days in Washington dc including pre taped speeches.

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52
Q

what is the formal functions of national party conventions?

A

national party conventions were traditionally said to perform three formal functions choosing the partys presidential candidate, choosing the partys vice presidential candidate, deciding the party’s platform.

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53
Q

what is the function of choosing the party presidential candidate?

A

-conventions do choose party’s presidential candidate in a roll call vote, each state delegates announce which candidate they wish to vote for.
-in pre reform days delegates came to the convention and made up there minds in convention hall but today most delegates arrive at the convention as committed delegates, committed to vote for a candidate in first ballot if a candidate is still in the race. -result of the convention ballot to choose the presidential candidate is a forgotten conclusion as it is known before hand

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54
Q

How can you win the presidential nomination?

A

-to win the presidential nomination a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the delegate votes. so in 2020 joe Biden had the support of 2687 delegates easily exceeding the 1991 to secure the nomination.

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55
Q

what is the choosing the party presidential candidate?

A
  • to win Presidental nomination a candidate would have to receive an absolute majority of the delegate vote. in 2020 joe Biden did have support of 2,687 delegates exceeding 1991 needed to secure nomination.
    -convention does confirm the party’s presidential candidate rather than chooses.
    -if no candidate does gain an absolute majority then the balloting does continue until one candidate does so in what is called a brokered convention.
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56
Q

what happens in broken convention and modern convention in the choosing party’s presidential candidate?

A

-during these ballots delegates doe become free agents, no longer committed to vote for a certain candidate. party leaders do dread this proposect leading as it would to an open display of intra party welfare and factionalism.
-modern party convention is all about positive publicity, display of unity and grabbing the headline for the right reasons. exercises in meangiful democracy they are not.

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57
Q

what is the choosing of the party’s vice presidential candidate in the party national party convention?

A

-conventions role in choosing the vice president has lost in the last 2 decades.
-convection is n longer he forum for the announcement of the running mate, last convention at which this happened was the republican convention in 1988.
-kamala haris was announced as bidens running mate a few days before the democratic convention in 2020.

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58
Q

what is the deciding of the party platform in one of the function of the national party convention?

A

party platform is a document that does contain policies which the candidate does intend to pursue if elected. It is put together by the platform commitee under the direction of the party national committee. platform committee holds hearing around the country’s during the first 6 months of the election year.
-national committee does then agree to draft the platform which is presented to delegates at the national party convention. there could be debates at the convention on various parts of the platform known as planks. however recently parties have sought to avoid debates on policy issues at conventions. media does portray such debates as a divided party

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59
Q

what is the deciding of the party platform in one of the function of the national party convention?

A

the national committee does agree to hold a platform, this could include debates. In 2016 the most continuous platform debate was on issues regarding sexuality at the republican convention. the platform committee did propose a platform with a staunchly conservative view on homosexuality, same sex marriage and transgender issues calling for an overturning of Obergefell v Hodges, (2015) which declared same sex marriage legal.
-when platform came to the convention floor it was however proved a voice vote with only a few nays audible. due in part to covid 19 the republican party did choose not to write a new platform in 2020 but runt the same again.

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60
Q

what is the deciding of the party platform in one of the function of the national party convention?

A

the national committee does agree to hold a platform, this could include debates. in the 2020 democratic platform there was a 90 page document that did put together policy aspirations. The platform did avoid the Medicare for all policy favoured by sanders during the primaries, instead promising to protect strengthen,, and build upon our bedrock health care programmes that included affordable care act.
-added private insurance need real competition to ensure they have incentive to provide affordable coverage to every American’s.
-there were also endorsement such as supporting statehood for Washington dc and finding a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

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60
Q

what is the deciding of the party platform in one of the function of the national party convention?

A

the national committee does agree to hold a platform, this could include debates. The democratic platform adopted at its 2020 convention a 90 page document containing a range of policy aspirations across all main areas, foreign and domestic. put together by committee of both progressive and moderate wing of the party, some pledges included the covi 19 pandemic.
-did include increased funding for centre of disease control and prevention, and providing more aid to state and local government for initiative such as contract training.

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61
Q

what is the deciding of the party platform in one of the function of the national party convention?

A

-a lot of what is in the party platform is little more than support for motherhood, the American dream and apple pie.
-there are significant differences in certain policies.

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62
Q

where is the significant differences on certain policies?

A

the 2016 republican platform did state the issue on abortion and right to life as’ we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed’
the democratic platform on the other hand did assert that ‘ we believe unequivocally, that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care service, including safe and legal abortion regardless of where she lives, how much money she make or how she is insured’

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63
Q

What is an incumbent president?

A

an incumbent president is a person who currently hold an office, in this case the elected office. they can benefit from an advantage often called the incumbency effect.

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64
Q

what happens when an incumbent president runs for re election or running?

A

When an incumbent president is running or re election as Barack Obama did in 2012 the primaries for he president parties go on with little or no coverage at all. Some states do not both with a primary under such circumstances, e. g in 2012 Virginia south Carolina, new York, Florida were among the states that dispensed with a democratic presidential, primary.
Incumbent presidents are usually re nominated by their parties without any serious opposition. It was the case in Ronald Reagan in 1984, bill Clinton in 1996 George w bush in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2012.

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65
Q

what have been the results of the incumbent president running in the primaries ?

A

President Obama was embarrassed during 2012 democratic primaries to receive less than 90% of the primary vote in 14 states, failing to reach 60% in west Virginia, Arkansas (58%), Kentucky (58%), and Oklahoma (57%).
In west Virginia the president opponent Keith Judd did win more than 40% of the vote despite the fact that he was at the time serving a lengthy prison sentence for extortion. President Obama showing of 92% of the total democratic primary vote was certainly in line with other incumbent presidents who went on to win in November. It was better performance than president Clinton in 1996.

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66
Q

What was Ronald Reagan result of the primary vote as am incumbent president?

A

Ronald Reagan was republican and in the year 1984 he did receive 99% of the primary vote
the result of the election was that he won.

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67
Q

What was Ronald Reagan result of the primary vote as am incumbent president?

A

Ronald Reagan was republican and in the year 1984 he did receive 99% of the primary vote
the result of the election was that he won.

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68
Q

what was the primary result of george bush as incumbent president?

A

george w bush, republican president in the year 2004 who received 98% percentage of the primary vote. the result of the election was that they won.

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69
Q

what was the primary result of barrack Obama as an incumbent president?

A

barrack Obama was democratic and did run for re-election in 2012 he did receive 92% of the primary vote. the result was that he won.

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70
Q

what was the primary result of bill Clinton as running as an incumbent president?

A

bill Clinton was democratic, and running for re-election in the year 1996. The percentage of primary vote was 89 per cent. The result was that he won the election by 89 per cent of the primary vote.

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71
Q

what was the primary result of Goerge hw bush in running as incumbent president?

A

George hw bush was a republican incumbent president who did loose his election as he only received 72 % of the primary vote in 1992.

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72
Q

what was the primary result of Gerald ford as incumbent president?

A

Gerald ford was a republican president that did have 53 per cent of the primary vote. He did loose the election.

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73
Q

what was the primary result of jimmy carter running as incumbent president?

A

jimmy carter is democratic president in year 1980 he did run for the election, and did receive 51 per cent of the primary vote. the result of the election was that jimmy carter did loose.

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74
Q

what happened in the elections of 1976, 1980, 1992?

A

in the elections of 1976, 1980 and 1992, the incumbent president did face significant opposition from within his own party and therefore the primaries and caucuses were hard fought even in the president party.
In 1976 the republican president Gerald ford faced a strong challenge from the former governor of California Ronald Reagan..

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75
Q

what happened in the elections of 1976, 1980 and 1992?

A

in 1980 president jimmy carter faced an equally stiff challenge from senator Edward Kennedy in the democratic primaries. Senator Kennedy won 12 states contest including the primaries in new York and California.
In 1992 president George hw bush had to fight off a challenge from the conservative commentator pat Buchanan in the republican primaries. Although Buchanan did not win any of the primaries and caucuses. Hi 37% in the new Hampshire primary was a great embarrassment for bush, Buchanan went on to win more than a quarter of the vote in a dozen states.

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76
Q

what happened in the elections of 1976, 1980 and 1992?

A

although all these three presidents saw off their primary challengers, they all went on to loose in a general election. A strong primary challenge for the president makes him damaged goods even before he faces his real opponents in the general election.

Criticism that is made of the president within his own party is the primaries is often recycled as damaging campaign material by his opponent later in the year. As robin toner said in the new York times in February 1992 of Buchanan’s criticism of president bush in that year republican primaries ‘ down the road Mr bush will confront a democratic party that has now been given a road map of his vulnerabilities’ by Mr Buchanan and what exactly happened.

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77
Q

what was shown in the elections of 1976, 1980 and 1992?

A

As a parody of presidents bush broken pledge not to raise taxes, ‘read my lips no taxes’ Buchanan has used the slogan ‘ read out lips no second term needless to say, this did become a favourite with the campaigns of bill Clinton and ross Perot in the autumn of 1992. This is why it is so important for an incumbent president to avoid an significant challenge in the primaries.

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78
Q

what is the voter turnout in the primaries?

A

Since the McGovern Fraser reforms of the nomination process in the late 1960s participation in presidential primaries has greatly increased. This has been partly due to more states hold primaries.
In 1968 the last nomination cycle under the pre reform system, just 12 million people participate in the 17 democratic and 16 republican presidential primaries, which did represent around 11 % of the voting age population.
-in 2016 around 61 million people participated in the 37 democratic and republican primaries, which represented under 29% of the voting age population.

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79
Q

what is the voter turnout in primaries?

A

Turnout does vary form state to state, even within the same election cycle. For example in 2016 while new Hampshire over 52% of eligible voters participate in the presidential primaries turnout was just 18% in Louisiana. In 2016 14 states saw over one third of eligible voters participate in the primaries The lowest runouts were as usual in caucus states with the Kansas caucuses attracting just 5.5 % of he states eligible voters. Even the Iowa caucuses for all the media hoopla attracted a turnout of just 15. 7%.

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80
Q

how is demography affect the turnout in primaries?

A

Turnout does vary between demographic groups. Stephen Wayne (2001) found that the better educated, higher income and older member of the electorate are a lot more likely to vote in primaries than are younger, less educated and poorer people
In the north Carolina republican primary in 2016 for example over half of the voters had a college degree one third earned more than $100000 per year and three quarters of voters were 45 or older with only 6% being aged 24 or younger.
There is a belief that primary voters are more ideologically extreme in their political beliefs than the general election voters, though the evidence if mixed. In the same north Carolina republican primary 37% described themselves as being very conservative.

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81
Q

how does the type of primary affect the turnout in primaries?

A

Open primaries that do allow any registered voter to vote in either primary, are likely to attract higher turnout than closed primaries in which only self identified party supporters can vote. This is true when only one party does have a competitive race, as was shown in 2012.
Of 11states which held open primaries in the republican contest in 2012 ten did see an increase in turnout on 2008 with turnout in Wisconsin up 92% and in Mississippi up 105%. On the other hand of the 15 states that did hold closed primaries in the 212 republican contest, only two did seen an increase in turnout.
In Connecticut turnout was down 61% on 2008 and in new York it was down 71%.

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82
Q

how does the competitiveness of the nomination race affect voter turnout in primaries ?

A

In 2008 and 2016 both parties that had a competitive nomination race, turnout was significantly higher than in 2004 and 2012 when only one party did have a competitive race, neither john Kerry for the democrats in 2004 nor mitt Romney for the republican inspired a great deal of voter enthusiasm.

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83
Q

how does whether the nomination been decided or not affect voter turnout in primaries?

A

Primaries scheduled early in the nomination race will be more likely to attract higher turnout than those coming towards the end of the cycle when the identity of the nominee is already known.
In 2008 the new York republican primary was held on 5 February, that years super Tuesday when the race for the republican nomination was still undecided and a total of 642, 894 voters were cast.

In 2012 the new York republican primary was held on 24 April by which most of the republican candidate had dropped out of the race, leaving mitt Romney as the presumed nominee. Romney won 62% of the vote but the turnout was just 189, 599. This again accounts for the higher than usual primary turnout in 2016, with both parties nomination contest running well into the second half of the primary calendar.

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84
Q

how is the primaries more increasingly important

A

The presidential primaries play an important role in the process of choosing presidential candidates. In the 1950s and 1960s a lot of states did not hold a presidential primaries. The parties preferred to control candidates selection through a series of state party conventions. Whereas any registered voter can vote in a primary of caucus only certain party members could participate in these state conventions.
In the ‘ smoke filled rooms’ decisions were made by party bosses powerful state leaders such as city mayors. It was them that did decide who would become the party’s presidential candidate. The few primaries that were held were not decisive. In 1969 in neither party did the overall winner of the primaries get his party presidential nomination.

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85
Q

how is there more increasingly importance of primaries?

A

The system was argued to be undemocratic, elitist non participatory and potentially corrupt. It was reformed at the instigation of the democratic party following the events at its 1968 national party convention.. that convention chose vice president Humphrey as the party’s presidential candidate despite the fact that he had not entered any primaries at all. The few votes he received were by voters that did write so called ‘ write in’ votes.

Following Humphreys loss to Nixon in the general election that November the democrats established the McGovern Fraser commission to recommend reforms of the presidential nomination process. It was this commission that did lead to significant increase in the number of states holding presidential primaries from 1976 onwards. The nomination process has changed a lot over the last 40 years.

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86
Q

what are the strengths of the new nomination process?

A

Increased participation
-increased level of participation in ordinary voters
-in 1968 the last year of the unreformed system only 11. 7 million did take part in the nomination process, or 11% Of the voting age population.
-by 1988 the figure was 35 million or 21% of the voting age population. In 2016 61 million Americans did take part in the nomination process, or just short of 30% of the voting age population.
Increased choice

87
Q

what are the strengths of the nomination process?

A

Politicians who do not initially have a national reputation such as jimmy carter ( 1976), bill Clinton ( 1992) and Barack Obama (2008). In 2016 the primaries were the only way that Donald trump could emerge as the presidential candidate, someone with no previous experience of elective office and who was opposed by most of the hierarchy of his own party.
-more choice in candidates
-in 1968 there were just five presidential candidates to choose from, three democrats and two republicans
-In 2016 there were 22 candidates, 17 republicans and five democrats
Open to outsiders

88
Q

how is the primary seen as gruelling?

A

Gruelling race through the primary is seen by many as an demanding test for a demanding job.
-in 1992 senator Paul Tsongas who had fought back form cancer to run for the presidency was seen to have a lighter schedule than his rivals.
-although many admired Tsongas as a person and liked his policies, they saw in the primaries that he could not have the physical resilience to be a president.
-in 2008 many suggested that Barack Obama was a stronger candidate after his gruelling primary battle with Hillary Clinton than he would have been had he won the nomination without a fight.

89
Q

what are the advantages of invisible primaries?

A

visibility and support for candidates - invisible primaries help candidates to gain visibility and build a platform for both support and campaign finance. there is a high correlation between who is leading the polls at the end of the invisible primary and who actually wins the presidential nomination.
allows for a range of candidates - the first democrat debate in June 2019 and had 20 democrat candidates from all factors of the party.

90
Q

what are the advantages of the invisible primaries?

A

scrutiny - invisible primaries allow candidates to be scrutinised in print, televisual and electronic media.
in the 2011 debate governor rick perry of texas had a much publicised memory loss when he could not recall the three executive departments he would loose if he were president.
he would later poll less than 1% of the vote in the new Hampshire primary. candidate can be road tested enabling potential flaws or hidden scandals to emerge before the general election.

91
Q

what are the disadvantages of the invisible primaries?

A

lack of serious debate -the debates have so many candidates that the process is as much about soundbites as serious issues.
the 2020 democratic primary race was especially crowded with close to 30 candidates bidding for the nomination at various stages in 2019. 20 candidates participated in the first televised debate with the candidate split into two groups debating over consecutive evenings.

-dependent on fundraising candidate survival is heavily dependent on whether they can accumulate the necessary finance to conutie the campaign. the ability to fundraise is often seen as being more important than being the best candidate.

92
Q

what are the disadvantages of invisible primaries?

A

voter apathy - the process is long winded and can causes voter apathy. by the end of the invisible primaries a lot of voters have already been switched off by a steady stream foo tv ads and candidate debates.

hidden scandals- not all scandals emerge at the invisible primary stage. the notorious Hollywood access tape featuring trumps lewd comments about women only surfaced during the presidential campaign itself.

93
Q

what are the advantages of the primaries and caucuses?

A

maintain federalism - the variation seen in both primaries and caucuses allow states to assert their independence. states decide themselves whether to hold primaries or caucuses and also what form these should take such as whether they are open to closed.

94
Q

what are the disadvantages of primaries and caucuses?

A

voter apathy- both primaries and causes have low turnouts. in 2020 the Iowa caucus saw a turnout of 9.1% while the highest primary turnout in Montana was still only 45.7% of eligible voters.
undemocratic critics argue that causes are dominated by a small groups who are selecting individuals they are comfortable with rather than always the best candidate for the presidency. fewer states are opting for this method of choosing convention delegates. Colorado was one state that ditched caucuses for 2020.

95
Q

what are the advantages of national party conventions?

A

publicised the candidate this is the candidates chance both to engage with the party faithful present but alos to receive tv and internet coverage enabling national parcipation and involvement.
-the national party convention usually leads to an increase in poll rating in the short term and the candidates hopes that this will snowball into national momentum in the weeks leading up to the election.
set the narrative the successful candidate will attempt to define both themselves and their opponent on the key issues.

96
Q

what are the disadvantages of national party conventions?

A

few major decisions are taken- in relating most key decisions e.g the selection of the running mate the party platform and the selection of the candidate themselves have already been decided before the convention.
in this sense the conventions are more like prime time carefully choreographed coronations.
soundbite coverage - the convention is often reduced to clips of acceptance and endorsement speeches from fellow politicians family members and celebrities with little policy detail.

97
Q

what is the informal function of promoting party unity?

A

-primaries can turn into bitter personal battles, and it is vital that internal party wounds are healed before the general election campaign begins.
-divided parties are rarely winning parties. the convention gives a golden opportunity to heal the wounds.
-the republican party convention in 2016 was less successful as a promote of party unity mainly because of the failure of a number of prominent republicans to support Donald trump as a candidate.

98
Q

what is the informal function of promoting party unity in the national party convention?

A

-can be seen as unsuccessful as even up to the opening of the republican convention some of trumps diehard opponents were still considering ways to deny him the nomination.
-some leading republicans including 2012 presidential nominee mitt Romney and former president george w bush stayed away completely.
-trumps former primary opponents while some were fully supportive e.g governor john kasich of ohio in whose states the convention was being held-stayed away.

99
Q

what is the informal function of promoting party unity in the national convention ?

A

can be seen as sometimes unsuccesufl in promoting party unity as shown in the 2016 republican convention.
-when senator ted cruz trumps main rival in the primaries’ took to the podium his 20 minute speech fialed to include an endorsement of the nominee closing with a call for people merely to ‘ vote your conscience’ rather than ‘ vote for trump’
-trumps supporters were infuriated and booed cruz off the stage. republican strategies must have been pleased as trump therefore went effectively unchallenged in 2020 avoiding such scenes even if covid 19 did force the abadomoment of the mass rally that trump desires.

100
Q

what is the informal function of promoting party unity in the national convention?

A

-can be seen as not always successful in promoting a party of unity
-during the 2020 democratic primary race there had been some sharp exchanges of view between Harris and bidden. Harris brought up Biden view from the 1970s against the policy of bussing which was designed to promote desegregation.
-Biden was critised for his remark ‘ go easy on me kid’ made before one of the primary debates, regarded by some as dismissive and patriosing towards an experienced 54 year old senator.

101
Q

what is the informal function of promoting party unity in the national party convention?

A

-the democratic national party convention did give biden and Harris a golden opportunity to come together in and exercise in unity and mutual administration.
-so on the penumilate night, Harris praised the man who was to become the usa 46th president.
-harris said ‘ what also moved me about joe was the work he did. this is the leader who wrote the violence against women act, and enacted the assault weapons ban, who as vice president implemented the recovery act’
-biden too was equally praising of haris ‘ i will have a great vice president at my side. senator kamala Harris. she is a powerful voice for this nation. her story is the American story’

102
Q

what is the informal function of enthusing the party faithful in the national party convention?

A

-it is vital that the party faithful in all 50 states feel enthusiastic and committed as they head home to fight for their party and candidate during a 9 week campaign.
-there will be meetings to organise, calls to make, literature to distribute and voters to transport to the polls, and they will be at the forefront of the organisation.
-the convention provides an ideal oppounirty to enthuse the party faithful through speeches as well as through appearances by the partys past champions and heors.

103
Q

what is the informal function of ensuring the party faithful?

A

-it is vital that the party faithful in all 50 states feel enthusiastic and committed.
-in 2020 an inspirational speech at the democratic convention by former first lady Michelle’s Obama attracted wide publicity following on from a powerful speech delivered in 2016.
-one part of her speech provided a attack on the then president
‘ so let me be as onset and clear as i possibly can. Donald trumps is the wrong president for out country. he had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head’.

104
Q

what is the informal function of ensuring the ordinary voters in the national party convention?

A

-as ordinary voters are not present in the convention hall they must be enthused through television.
-there is one golden opportunity to gain the attention of the ordinary voters in the convention and that is when the newly adopted presidential candidate delivers the acceptance speech -traditionally on the conventions final night.
-once the candidate has been selected and the policies finalised, voters may well tune in an take their first serious look at the party, its candidate and its policies.

105
Q

what is the informal function of enthusing the ordinary voters in the national party convention?

A

first impressions can be important as most voters will not have paid attention to the primaries.
-it can be especially important to give a good first impression if a Canidate is running for the second time as Donald trump was doing in 2016.
-trump was the only person to win the republican presidential nomination at the first attempt since senator barry Goldwater in 1964, the other being george w bush in 2000.
-president Biden did unsuccessfully run for the democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008.

106
Q

what is the informal function of enthusing the ordinary voters in the national party convention?

A

-what was noteworthy about the 2020 acceptance speech was how different they were in tone and temper.
-in his acceptance speech doanld trump did present a picture of a country with a stark choice before it.
-‘at no time before have voters faced a clear choice between two parties, two visions, two philopshers or two agendas. this elections will decide if we save the American dream or whether we allow a socialist agenda to demolish our cherished destiny’.

107
Q

what is the informal function of enthusing the ordinary voters in the national party convention?

A

-as ordinary voters are not present in the voter hall it is important that they are enthused through the television.
- 2020 democratic acceptance speech were very different in tone and temper.
-joe bidens acceptance speech did include a more optimistic refrain of a nation.
‘ the current president has cloaked america in darkness for too much too long. too much anger. too much division. here and now i give you my word, if you entrust me with the presidency i will draw on the best of us not the worst.’

108
Q

what is the informal function of post convention ‘bounce’ in the national party convention?

A

-opinion polls do register the immediate effect of the conventions, with instant polls showing that any increase the candidate has enjoyed as a result of the speech’ the increase in the candidate polls rating as compared with the last pre convention poll is referred to as ‘ bounce’.
-the importance of post conventions bounce can be exaggerated.
-in an analysis of the impact of the political conventions since 1960 larry Sabato of the university of Virgina concluded that post convention polls signal the eventual outcome of the election about half the time.

109
Q

what is the informal function of post convention ‘ bounce’ in the national party convention?

A

-in an analysis of the impact of the political conventions since 1960 larry Sabato of the university of Virgina concluded that post convention polls signal the eventual outcome of the election about half the time.
-‘ you could flip a coin and be about as predictive, says sabato. ‘ its really suprsing how quickly convention memories fade’ the 2020 conventions produced no discernible bounce for either Canidate.
-a cnn poll saw bidens support rise by just 1% post convention while trump actually saw his poll rating fall by 3%.

110
Q

is the national party convention still important?

A

the only time the national parties meet together
oppounnirty to promote party unity, especially after diverse primary campaigns.
-oppountiry to enthuse party members and activists
-introduce presidential and vice presidential candidates
-delivery of presidential candidate acceptance speech.

111
Q

are the national party conventions still important?

A

-can lead to significant bounce in the polls
-many voters don’t tune in to the campaign until the conventions start
-a significant number of voters make their decisions about who to support during the conventions.

112
Q

are national party conventions still important?

A

NO
vice presidential candidate now announced before, instead of during the convention
party platform mostly agreed before rather than during the convention.
-television coverage is much reduced nowadays.
more balloons and hoopla is much reduced nowadays.

113
Q

are national party conventions still important?

A

NO
-More balloons and hoopla than serious policies.
-2020 saw no conventions ‘ bounce’ in the polls
-the absences of the traditional large scale conventions in 2020 did not appear to alter the dynamics or fourtunes of either candidate signficantly.

114
Q

Why is it bad to think of the national party convention as useless ?

A

-they still perform important functions. not only are they a time for celebrating a glorious past, but they can be important in identifying the rising stars of the nature.
-in 2004 a little known state senator from Illinois wowed the democratic convention with his impressive keynote address.
his name was barrack Obama and just 4 years later he returned to the convention as its presidential nominee.

115
Q

what is the consitional framework?

A

the legislature ( to make the laws)
the executive ( to carry out the laws)
the judiciary ( to enforce and interpret the laws).

116
Q

what is campaign finance?

A

campaign finance does refer to all funds raised to promote candidates, political parties or policy initiatives and their agendas during an election. it is a major and often controversial aspect of America politics.

117
Q

what did republican mark hana say about campaign finance?

A

‘there are two things that are important in politics; the first thing is money and i cant Rember what the second one is’

118
Q

how has campaign finance rules changed?

A

-the federal election campaign act of 1974 was a direct result of the Watergate scandal which brought down president nixon, made a number of changes by limiting the direct contributions ( hard money that individuals, unions and corporations could give, hoping to there by reduce candidates reliance on a few, very wealthy donors and equalise the amount of money spent by both the major parties.
-the objective was praiseworthy and partly successful however the law was found to have too many loopholes and was weakened by both the supreme court and congress.

119
Q

what loopholes were made in the reforms of campaign finance?

A

-in 1976 in buckley v valeo the supreme court ruled that limitations on what individuals or political actions committees could spend either supporting or opposing a candidate infringed first amendment rights and were therefore unconstitional.
-in 1979 congress did weaken the law by allowing parties to raise money for such aspects as voter registration and get out the vote drives as well as ‘ party’s building activities’. this so called soft money would soon be regarded by most observes as out of control, leading to the need of further reform.

120
Q

what loopholes were made in the reforms of campaign finance?

A

-in 1976 in buckley v valeo the supreme court ruled that limitations on what individuals or political actions committees could spend either supporting or opposing a candidate infringed first amendment rights and were therefore unconstitional.
-in 1979 congress did weaken the law by allowing parties to raise money for such aspects as voter registration and get out the vote drives as well as ‘ party’s building activities’. this so called soft money would soon be regarded by most observes as out of control, leading to the need of further reform.

121
Q

what is hard money?

A

hard money is money donated directly to a political party or an individual candidate campaign. donations of this type are capped by federal law.

122
Q

what is soft money?

A

soft money is money donated indirectly to political parties and political action committees and therefore not tightly regulated by law.

123
Q

what happened between 1976 and 2008 in regards to campaign finance?

A

-between 1976 and 2008 presidential campaigns were funded largely through what were known as matching funds - federal money administered by the newly formed fepc and given to presidential candidates who met certain criteria and agreed to certain limitations.

124
Q

what happened between 1976 and 2008 in regards to campaign finance?

A

-in the 1976 presidential election the fepc paid out over $72 million in matching funds.
-in 2008 however democrat nominee barrack Obama opted out of matching funds which did leave him free from fundraising and spending limitations imposed by the fepc. As a result he was able to gain significantly outspend his republican opponent john mccain who took the 84$ million in matching funds for his general election campaign.
-this was though to be critical in Obama win in November and did set the pattern for the subsequent election cycles.

125
Q

what happened in the 2012 election in regards to campaign finance?

A

in 2012 neither obama nor governor mitt romeny took matching funds the first time that both major candidates opted out of public fundraising for the whole election cycle
-in 2014 obama signed legislation to end the public financing of the parties national conventions
-as a consequence of all this by 2016 the fecs total pay-outs amounted to only just over $1 million.
-it did seem that the days of public funding of presidential campaigning are finished. in the 2020 election neither party candidate did drew on matching funds.

126
Q

what happend in 2014 in regards to camapign fiannce?

A

in 2014 president obama signed legislation to end the public financing of the parties national conventions
-as a result of all of this by 2016 the fepc total pay-outs amounted to only just $1 million
-it did seem that the days of public funding of presidential campaigns are finished. in the 2020 election neither leading party candidate drew on matching funds.

127
Q

what was the McCain Feingold act ( 2002)?

A

reform had further come in 2002 by two senators republican john mccain and democrat russel feingold. this was the bipartisan campaign reform act, commonly called the mccain fiengold act.
-the 2004 election did see the appearance of the so called 527 groups named after the section of the us tax cade which they operate
-527 such as america coming together and swift boat veterans for truth raised and spent million of dollars most of it donated by a few super rich, and unknown people..

128
Q

what was the mccain feingold act ( 2002)

A

-national party committees were banned from raising or spending soft money
-labour unions and corporations were forbidden from directly fundraising issue advertisement
-the act did prohibit the use of union and corporate money to broadcast advertisement that mention a federal candidate within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary

129
Q

what was the mccain feingold act ( 2002)

A

-did set individual limits on contributions to individual candidates or candidate committees at $2,300 (2007/8) to be increased for inflation in each odd numbered year
-contributions from foreign nationals were banned
-the stand by your ad provision resulted in all campaign advertisement having to include a verbal endorsement by the candidate.

130
Q

what was the individual contribution limits of the 2019/ 20 federal election cycle?

A

candidate committee, individual contribution limit was $2,800 per election
political action committee individual contribution limit was $5000 per year
state/district/local party committee individual contribution limit was $10000 per year ( combined)
national party committee individual contribtuion limit was $35000 per year

131
Q

what are the divisions of power, and what does article i say?

A

the divisions of powers is the first three articles of the consition
-did establish congress as the national legislature, defining its membership the qualification and method of election of its members, as well as its powers. under article i section 8 congress was given specific powers such as those to coin money and declare war

132
Q

what did article ii say?

A

it did decide on a singular executive by vesting all executive powers in the hands of a president. the president would be chosen indirectly by an electoral college.

133
Q

what did article iii establish?

A

-did establish the supreme court added trial and appeal courts. although the role was not explicitly granted, the court was to be the umpire of the constiiton implied in the supremacy clause of article vi and the provision in article ii itself that the courts judicial power applied to ‘ all cases arising under this consition’. the court would make this more explicit in its landmark decision of Madbury v madison in 1803.

134
Q

what do the three articles of the consition contain?

A

-enumerated ( or delegated powers_ granted to the federal government. it does mean that the federal government does not posses unlimited power, but only the power it is given in the constition. it was also given much less specific powers

135
Q

what is enumerated powers?

A

powers delegated to the federal government under the cosntition. mostly these are enumerated in the first three articles of the consition.

136
Q

what is the supremacy clause?

A

supremacy clause is the portion of article vi which states that the consition as well as treaties and federal laws ‘ shall be the supreme law of the land’

137
Q

what did article i establish of the consition and what did it provide?

A

’ all legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a congress of the united states which shall consist of a senate and house of represenatiatives’

138
Q

what did article ii of the consition provide?

A

’ the executive power shall be vested in a president of the united states of america’

139
Q

what did article iii of the consition provide?

A

’ the judicial power of the united states shall be vested in one supreme court and in such inferior courts as the congress may from time to time ordain and establish’

140
Q

what did articel iv of the consition provide?

A

federal state and state federal relationships

141
Q

what did article v of the consition provide?

A

amendment process

142
Q

what did article vi of the consition provide?

A

miscellaneous provisions including the supremacy clause

143
Q

what did article vii of the consititon provide?

A

ratification procedure

144
Q

what is a codified consition?

A

a codified consition is a consition that does consist of a full and authorize set of rules written down in a single text.
The united states consisiton is the collected and authoritative set of rules of American government and politics.

145
Q

what is the nature of the consition?

A

-it is a codified consition
-it is a blend of specificity and vagueness
-its provisions are entrenched

146
Q

what does the codified consition contain and consist of?

A

-does consist of seven articles

147
Q

what is federalism?

A

federalism is a theory of government by which political power is divided between a national government and state government each having their own areas of substantive jurisdiction.
james madison called it a ‘ middle ground’

148
Q

what are the different strategies that are for when choosing the vice president?

A

-a balanced ticket is a pairing of presidential and vice presidential candidate on a ticket who attract support for different reasons there by making the broadest to voters.
- ‘ balance ‘ might be looked at in terms of geography region, political experience, age and ideology maybe even gender, race religion.

149
Q

what is an example of balanced ticket?

A

-best example of balanced ticket was probably in 2008 when barrack Obama chose as his vice presidential running mate senator Biden Delaware.
-biden was at 65 a balance to Obama youthful 47. biden did serve in the senate for almost 36 years compared with Obama less than 4 years.
-Biden did also bring significant foreign policy expertise, having served as chairman of the senate foreign relations committee.

150
Q

what is a strategy for choosing vice presidential candidate?

A

potential in government
-presidential candidate may think more long term and choose his running mate for what they think more long term and choosing his running mate not for what they might bring to the campaign but for what they bring to the white house. The focus will be on governing rather than campaigning.

151
Q

what is an example of potential in government as choosing it as a strategies for vice presidential candidate?

A

–this strategy was adopted by governor George w bush in 200 in choosing dick Cheney. bush had no Washington experience at all and was generally thought to lack gravitas.
-his choice of Cheney as his runny mate was made
-cheney had served as both white house chief of staff to president ford and secretary of defence to bush farther. between these two tours of duty in the executive branch, Cheeney had been a member of congress rising to become the republican whip in the house of repsentatives the number two spot in the house republican leadership team.
-Cheney did bring gravitas to the republican ticket
-probably this strategy of choosing for governing rather than campaigning that motivated Donald trump to choose mike pence in 2016.

152
Q

what is other strategies of choosing party unity?

A

-another strategies is promoting party unity but this strategy is rarely adopted
-one way of reuniting the party after the primaries is for the eventual nominee to choose one of his former rivals as his running mate

153
Q

where was the strategy of choosing party unity of choosing a vice presidential candidate shown to be used?

A

-this strategy was adopted by Ronald regean in choosing George w bush in 1980
-bush had been seen as regean principal rival in the republican primaries and by choosing him as the number two on the ticket regean reunited the party after a somewhat bitter personal battle.

154
Q

why is party unity strategies rarely adopted as a way to choose vice presidential candidate?

A

had barrack Obama adopted the party unity in strategy in 2008 he would have chosen Hilary Clinton as his running mate and had Donald trump or hillary Clinton used it in 2016 the would have chosen respectively ted cruz and Bernie sanders.
-the trouble is that former party rivals are often quite incompatible politically and have often said such harsh things about each other during the primaries that it somewhat implausible to think they could suddenly become partners on the ticket.

155
Q

what was the individual contribution limit for 2019-20 electoral cycle

A

$2,800 per election

156
Q

what was the political action committee individual contribution limit for the 2019-2020 electoral cycle?

A

$5,000 per year

157
Q

what is the individual contribution limit for the 2019-2020 electoral cycle of state/ district/ local party committee?

A

$10000 per year ( combined)

158
Q

what was the individual contribution limit for the 2019- 2020 electoral cycle in national party committee?

A

$35,000 per year

159
Q

what is a pac?

A

a pac is a political committee that does raise limited amounts of money and spends these contribution for the express purpose of electing or defeating candidates

160
Q

what is a super pac?

A

a super pac is a political committee that makes independent expenditure but does not make direct contributions to candidates

161
Q

what did pac come into force?

A

because of the limits on contributions to candidates and political parties new organisations did come to be formed that made independent expenditures on their own.
-they either give money to candidates they support or spend money against candidates whom they oppose.
-most pacs do represent business, labour groups, ideological groups, or single issue groups

162
Q

what was citizens united v federal election commission?

A

-case brought to the supreme court by citizens united who did want to both air a film critical of Hilary Clinton and to advertise that film on tv in 2008
-united states district court of Columbia had ruled the broadcast to be a violation of the McCain Feingold act which prohibited broadcasts that mentioned a presidential candidate within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary
-the supreme court did reverse this decision by ruling in favour of citizens united 5-4. they did say that the McCain Feingold act violated the first amendment protection of free speech.

163
Q

what did supreme court justice Kennedy say about the citizens united v federal electoral commission?

A

he said ‘ if the first amendment has any force, it prohibits congress from fining or jailing citizens or associations of citizens for simply engaging in political speech

164
Q

what was the significance of the citizens united v federal electoral commission in campaigning finance?

A

-did grant corporate and labour organisation the same rights of political free speech as individuals, there by giving such groups the right of unlimited independent political expenditure
-along with this and by the united states court of appeal speech now. org v federal election commission did lead to the setting up of the independent expenditure only committees. They were soon dubbed the super pacs
-

165
Q

what could super pacs do?

A

they could solicit and accept unlimited contributions from individual corporations, labour organisations or other political committees.
-they do spend money to achieve their desired objectives, but they are forbidden from making any direct contributions to federal candidates or parties - they are ‘ expenditure only’

166
Q

what was the significance of the citizens united v federal electoral commission in campaigning finance?

A

the net effect of these court cases was to severely limit the impact of the mccain Feingold act.
-total campaign expenditure rose sharply thereafter, much of it channelled through super pacs and their independent expenditure.

167
Q

what is the mccutheon v federal election commission (2014)?

A

-the supreme court has continued to favour first amendment rights over legal caps on political donations
-2014 mccutheon case did concern how much an individual could donate in total to candidates and political parties.
-the mccainn feingold act and feca before it also placed limits on how much one individual could donate to individual candidates but also placed an overall limit on how much one individual could donate in any election cycle to their favoured candidate

168
Q

what was the mccutcheon v federal election commission?

A

-2014 case concerned how much an individual could donate in total to candidates and political parties
-there was limits on how much an individual could donate in any election cycle to their favoured candidate
-by the 2011-2012 cycle this was set at $117000 which was rather less than if someone wanted to donate the maximum to all republican or democratic congressional candidate- even donating to all 5 senate candidates from one party to a total donation of in the excess of $100000
-this was successfully challenged by the courts meaning individuals are now free to donate the capped amount to as many candidates as they wish.

169
Q

what are super pacs and what role do they play?

A

-do play a key role in fundraising and campaign expenditure in the 2020 cycle, with some 2,197 groups registered with the fec.
-some of these hybrid pacs which maintain one account for making contributions to candidates like regular pacs and a separate account for making independent expenditures, like super pacs -much of their expenditure was on negative campaigning, so called ‘ attack ads’ rather than promoting their own party candidates and policies

170
Q

what were the super pacs campaigning finance in the 2020 election pro biden/ democrat?

A

-future fowards usa spent over $114 million in independent expenditure both supporting democrat candidates ($47 million) and attacking republican candidates ( about $67 million)
-house majority pac (carey comitee), spent $138 million on attacking republican candidates and just over 5$ million on supporting democrat ones
-the Lincoln project- founded by disulionshed republicans but mainly bankrolled by democrat donors, it raised just over $67 million and spent most of this on ads to seek to win over moderate republicans that could tend to vote trump in 2016.

171
Q

what were the super pacs campaigning finance in the 2020 election pro trump/ republican?

A

-senate leadership act -raised around $309 million which was mostly spent on attack ads targeting democrat candidates in key senate races. it did pour round $90 million into just two races. north Carolina and Georgia
-club for growth action pac raised around $63 million of which aside from congressional races, $10. 4 million was spent on ads

172
Q

what were the super pacs campaigning finance in the 2020 election pro trump/ republican?

A

committee to defended the president ( a carey committee) did raise over just $15 million and spent over two thirds of this on pro trump advertising.

173
Q

what can super pac often be associated with?

A

super pac can often be associated with either gun control or defending the second amendment. the national rife association fund super pac spent over $16 million entirely supporting republican candidates and attacking democrats
-by contrast the pro gun control Everytown for gun safety victory fund spent in excess of $20 million in entirely the opposite way.

174
Q

what role have the super pac played?

A

the super pac have played a significant role in fundraising and spending in the 2012 presidential election and have continued to do in every subsequent us election
-their role has received mixed reviews, supporters see super pacs as a positive consequence of deregulation that provides an important outlet for political speech, advocating independent calls for the election or defeat of specified candidates
-opponents do contend that they are yet another outlet for unlimited money in electoral politics while legally indepdent are merely functional extensions of one or more campaigns.

175
Q

how has fundraising changed since 2016?

A

-as a general rule us elections have continued to get progressively more expensive helped in part by wealth individual donors such as koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson on the republican side and Michael Bloomberg for the democrats.
-during the 2020 campaign the latter spent over $1 billion of his own wealth on backing democrats candidates and causes including his own short lived bid for the white house
-over the course of the 2016 primary and general elections the trump campaign raised about $340 million

176
Q

how has fundraising changed since 2016?

A

-over the course of the 2016 primary the clinton campaign which maintained a longer and more concentrated fundraising focus brought in about $581 million
-total spend for 2016 including presidential and congressional races, money raised and spent directly by candidates and by outside organisation was around $6.5 billion
-the 2018 midterms did see a total spend of $5.2 billion, a 35% increase since the 2014 midterms.

177
Q

how has fundraising changed since 2016?

A
  • the 2020 election did break all records with a total campaign bill for all elections of just under $ 14 billion according to some tallies
    -this was greater than the enitre gdp for some countries such as Mauritius.
178
Q

how has fundraising changed since 2016?

A

-the greatest amount of donations are given by a small group of the ultra wealthy.
-article on the conservation did calculate that by the late summer of 2020 just 2,635 people or couples less than one thousands of the us population together provided $1.4 billion, roughly one fifth of total campaign contribution reported
-many would say that such a system does little benefit to us democracy, though at least both sides are on the receiving end of large donation cheques.

179
Q

how has fundraising changed since 2016?

A

-the democrats have benefited from the generosity of big tech executives.
asana ceo Dustin Moskovitz who is the founder of Facebook did spend around $24 million
-former google ceo eric Schmidt donated around 6$ million. Most of his money did go to the pro Biden super pac future forwards USA

180
Q

how has fundraising changed since 2016?

A

-there has been a growing development in dark money, namely donations where the identity of the donor is secret. for example pro republican senate leadership fund pac received $63 million from its allied dark money group one nation.
-in total across all types of independent expenditure only 30% came from group that fully disclosed their donors an all tie low
-the latter account for around $218 million of the finances in the north Carolina senate race. there is an increasing willingness for wealthy donors to donate where their money is likely to be most effective..

181
Q

what was the total amount raised by biden campaign?

A

$1. 6bn

182
Q

what was the total amount raised by trump campaign 2020?

A

$1.1 bn

183
Q

what was the total raised by all democrat candidates and groups in 2020 ?

A

$6.9 bn

184
Q

what was the total amount raised by all republican candidates and groups in 2020 ?

A

$3.8 bn

185
Q

what was the proportion given by small donors less than $200 in 2020?

A

22% of the total raised

186
Q

what was the proportion given by large individual donors in 2020 ?

A

42% of the total raised

187
Q

what was outside spending by super pacs political parties, and dark money groups in 2020?

A

$2.6 bn

188
Q

what was the most expensive senate race in 2020?

A

north Carolina with in excess of $265 m spent, iowa was second with a total spend of around $220 million

189
Q

what was the most expensive house race in 2020?

A

California 25th district with just under $34. 5 m

190
Q

does money influence elections yes?

A
  • in 2020 Biden out fundraised trump and won
    -in the 2020 senate race for Arizona republican incumbent Martha McSally was outspent by $30 million by democrat challenger mark Kelly and lost
191
Q

does money influence elections outcome yes?

A

-superior funding enables candidates to air more tv ads and to employ more fieldworkers and campaign staff both of which are important in maximising their vote. effective campaigning usually requires considerable outlay in terms of both advertising and personnel
-neglecting the importance of effective fundraising is a risk that few candidates are prepared to take, not least incumbent facing a strong challenge

192
Q

does money influence election outcomes no ?

A
  • in 2016 Clinton significantly out fundraised trump and lost
    -in the 2020 south Carolina senate race, republican incumbent Lindsey graham was outspent to the tune of over $40 million by democrat challenger Jamie Harrison but was still safely re elected
193
Q

does money influence the outcome of an election no?

A

-arguably the ability to raise large sums of money just indicates a strong challenger candidate a powerful and popular incumbent or an existing legislator facing a tough race. money does follow strong and viable candidates rather than creating them in the first place
- a larger war chest is the only one factor in detereming the final result.

194
Q

What is the nature of the constition?

A
  • it is a codified constition
    -it is a blend of septicity and vagueness
    -its provisions are entrenched
195
Q

what did article iii establish?

A

articel iii established the united states supreme court, though congress quickly added trial and appeal courts.
-the court was to have the role of umpirse of the constition implied in the supremacy clause of article vi and the provision in article iii itself that the courts judical power applies to ‘ all cases arising under this constition’ . The court would make this more explicit in its landmark decesion of marbury v madison in 1803
-these three articles contain what are called enumerated ( delegated) powers granted by the federal goverment.

196
Q

what is enumerated power?

A

enumerated powers are powers that are delegated to the federal government under the constition. generally these are those enumerated in the first three articles of the constition.
-the significance of this is that the federal government does not posses unlimited power but only such power as is given it in the constition. but it was also given much less specific powers.

197
Q

what is implied powers?

A

implied powers are powers possesd by the federal government by interference from those powers delegated to it in the constition.

198
Q

what are implied powers?

A

-they are powers of the federal goverment that the constition does not explicity mention but that are reasonably implied from the delegated powers.
-e.g the power to draft people into the armed forces could be implied from congress enumerated power to raise an army and navy.
-congress was given the power to ‘ provide for the common defense and general welfare of the united states’ .
-from this implied that congress had the power to levy and collect taxes to provide for the defence of the united states.

199
Q

where are implied power deduced from?

A

necessary and proper clause. this is often referred to as the elastic clause of the constition as by it the powers of the federal government can be stretched beyond the specifically delegated or enumerated powers.
-some parts of the constition are vague, and some are specific the part that are vague had been able to adapt to the ever changing circumstances of the nation.

200
Q

what does the constition include?

A

the consition does also include reserved powers, that is powers that are reserved to the states alone or to the people. this provision if found in the tenth amendment. this again limits the power of the federal government by stating that all the powers not delegated to the federal government or prohibited to the states ‘ are reserved to the states or to the people’.

201
Q

what does the constition include?

A

-the constition does also include concurrent powers of the constition those powers shared by the federal and state government such as collecting taxes, building roads and maintaining courts.

202
Q

what is concurrent powers?

A

concurrent powers are powers possessed by both the federal and state government

203
Q

what are reserved powers?

A

reserved powers are powers that are not delegated to the federal government or prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states and to the people.

204
Q

what is necessary and proper clause?

A

the final clause of article i section 8 which empowers congress to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out the federal government duties.

205
Q

what is the tenth amendment?

A

’ the powers not delegated to the united states by the constition nor prohibited by it to the state are reserved to the states respectively or to the people

206
Q

what is the supremacy clause?

A

alongside the specific granting of powers there is a supremacy clause of article vi. this enshrines into the constition a key principle of American government that asserts that the laws passed by the federal government under its constitional powers are the supreme laws of the land. Any legitimate national law automatically supersedes any conflicting state law.

207
Q

what is the part of the constition that is entrenched?

A

entrenchment is the application of extra legal safeguards to a constitional provision to make it more difficult to amend or abolish it.
-it is entrenched by a complicated system as well as on super majorities in order to make amending such provisions exceedingly difficult thereby affording them to make special protection.
-in the united states consition entrancement is provided through the amendment process.

208
Q

how is the constition provided a separation of powers

A

legislature - congress
-senate
-house of repsentatives
executive ( carries out the laws)
-president
-vice president
-cabinet
judicary ( enforce and intepret laws )
-supreme court
-other federal courts

209
Q

what does the supreme court do?

A

-the suprmee court is where nice justie chosen by the president but confirmed by the senate rule on whether the laws that congres passes and the presdient signs are compatible with the constition.
-over recetn decades the court has found itself hving to rule on such issues as gender rights the rights of racial minoirities, restrictions on the owenrship of firearms, freedom of speech, freedom of religion.

210
Q

what does the supreme court do?

A

-the suprmee court is where nice justie chosen by the president but confirmed by the senate rule on whether the laws that congres passes and the presdient signs are compatible with the constition.
-over recent decades the court has found itself having to rule on such issues as gender rights the rights of racial minorities, restrictions on the ownership of firearms, freedom of speech, freedom of religion.

211
Q

what was obama healthcare reform (2010) ?

A

congress and the suprem court are all required to play in part in the governance of the united states.
-first both houses of congress had to pass the healthcare reform bill. this is because both houses have equal legislative power. after almost a year of trying this finally occurred on 21 march 2010
-in order for the bill to become law the president needed to sign it. in just two days later 32 march president Obama signed healthcare reform into law. it was not the job of the executive branch of government to carry laws by rolling out the provisions it mae for healthcare and healthcare insurance.

212
Q

what was obaam healthcare reform ?

A

-congress had passed the law andthe president had signed it. some opponents of the new law thought it was uncostitional -. resolving that dispute was the job of the courts, and ulimately the united states supreme court.
-almost two years after the law did become effective lawyers from both sides argued their case before the nine justices of the supreme court. on 28 june 2012 the court did announce its decision essentially upholding the laws provisions

213
Q

what are the rules within a constition?

A

congress the president and the supreme court are politcally seperate. They are entirely separate when it comes to membership. no one is allowed to be simultaneously a member of more than one Branche of government. thus when in November 2008 senators barack obama and joe biden were elected respectively president and vice president both had to resign from the senate. it would be like the prime minister having ot resign from parliament before taking up residence at 10 downing street

214
Q

how are the intuitions not separate?

A

richard neustadt did remark they are ‘separate instuitions, sharing powers’. for the patient protection and affordable care act, otherwise known as Obama care to become and remain law all three branches of government had to be in agreement for each of them has shared power.
-can make the excerise of politcal power somewhat problematic, but then what the framers of the constition waned.

215
Q

what is the powers of government?

A

-to ensure that the goals laid out in the preamble could be met the national government was given far more power than its predecessor under the articles of confederation