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Big Question

Big Question. What do you think might be the impact of a campaign system based on private fundraising?. How do federal laws regulate campaign finance?. 2012 Election. $4.2 billion Total amount raised during the 2012 election, for the presidential, House, and Senate races

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Big Question

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  1. Big Question What do you think might be the impact of a campaign system based on private fundraising? How do federal laws regulate campaign finance?

  2. 2012 Election • $4.2 billionTotal amount raised during the 2012 election, for the presidential, House, and Senate races • $6 billion2012 election cost • $3.8 billionTotal amount raised for the 2008 election, the previous record

  3. $931,471,420Total amount spent on the campaign to re-elect Obama $1,022,753,733Total amount spent on the campaign to elect Romney 599Obama campaign field offices 300Romney campaign field offices 1.1 millionTV political ads run since April, mostly in nine battleground states

  4. $750 millionCost to run those ads 100,674Ads Obama ran in Ohio 41,162Ads Romney ran in Ohio 219,414Total political ads run in Ohio, including those of outside groups 50.1Percent of the vote Obama won in Ohio, versus 48.2 percent for Romney 149Wealthy donors who each donated at least $500,000, for a total of at least $290 million $53.69 millionAmount donated by Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife to defeat Obama and other Democrats 4.2 millionIndividual donors to the Obama campaign Source: The Week, November 2012

  5. QUOTe OF THE DAY "Politics really understands a couple of things - votes and dollars. My father always used to tell me, 'No peso, no say-so.'" HENRY R. MUÑOZ III, the finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee, the first Latino to hold the job. March 2013 The Washington Post

  6. * In millions of $

  7. Campaign Finance Law • Federal Election Campaign Acts (FECA) (1971, 1974) • Established Federal Election Commission (FEC) • Restricts contributions to election campaigns. • Candidates must report all the money they receive and spend and where the money came from.

  8. Campaign Finance Law • Federal Election Campaign Acts (FECA) (1971, 1974) • Reasserted ban on direct donations from corporations and labor unions (established in 1907 and 1947) • No donations from foreign nationals. • No donations in the name of another.

  9. Campaign Finance Law • Federal Election Campaign Acts (FECA) (1971, 1974) • Formalized “political committees” or Political Action Committees (PACs).

  10. Top Political Action Committees (PAC) Contributors (2011-2012)

  11. Campaign Finance Law • Buckley v. Valeo (1976) • FECA contribution limits are constitutional. • Government could NOT limit the amount of money an individual spends on his or her own campaign or to advocate for any other candidate.

  12. Campaign Finance Law • FECA and ensuing legislation restricts direct contributions to campaigns (aka “hard money”) from: • Individual donors • Party organizations • Political Action Committees (PAC) • “Bundlers” – persons who gather individual donations from a number of people.

  13. Campaign Finance Law • “Soft money” – unrestricted sources of funds • Soft money contributions: Money given to political parties and interest groups for party-building activities, get-out-the-vote drives, voter education, issue advocacy. • Soft money spending: Money spent by issue advocacy groups and political parties on advertisements, etc. to promote an issue or on party-building activities, etc.

  14. Campaign Finance Law • Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act (aka McCain-Feingold Act) (2002) • “Electioneering communications” • Corporations and labor unions are prohibited from running these kinds of ads andcontributing money to groups that run those ads. • Individuals and interest groups were prohibited from doing this as well. • Only campaigns and PACs could produce ads that name a candidate within the above time limits.

  15. Public Financing of Presidential Campaigns • What is public funding of presidential campaigns, and when did it begin? • What do you think is the purpose of public financing of presidential campaigns? • Has the program met the objectives you’ve described above?

  16. Top Twenty Self-Financed Candidates for Federal Office Since 1990 (Source: Center for Responsive Politics)

  17. “I think publicly financed elections are the answer. Our tax money is being spent on so many ridiculous things as it is, that paying to finance elections hardly seems like a major quibble. And we would be getting so much in return– politicians would no longer feel the need to do the bidding of their most wealthy campaign contributors. Instead their focus would be shifted to doing the bidding of the voters... exactly as it should be."

  18. Recent Developments • Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) • Corporations and unions, like persons, are entitled to free speech as per 1st amendment. • Therefore, the government may not limit independent spending on electioneering, even by corporations or labor unions.

  19. Recent Developments • Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) • Long-time ban on direct contributions by corporations and labor unions to political candidates remains. • Corporations and labor unions and other groups outside of candidate campaigns can now spend their own money on ads and campaigning for candidates. This has led to Super Pacs.

  20. Citizen’s United Decision (cont.) • Corporations are legal “persons” and as such have the same rights as individuals, including the freedom of speech. Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not? • Even though corporations and labor unions can independently spend as much as they please now during an election, some have argued that they would be reluctant to spend vast sums for fear that American audiences might react negatively to overt corporate and union influence. Do you think this is true? Might requiring all ads to have source of funds listed be enough to curtail spending?

  21. http://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/video/inplay/the-next-citizens-united/2013/10/08/1598d148-2c8b-11e3-b139-029811dbb57f_video.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/video/inplay/the-next-citizens-united/2013/10/08/1598d148-2c8b-11e3-b139-029811dbb57f_video.html

  22. 2012 Fundraising • http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/campaign-finance • http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/track-presidential-campaign-ads-2012/?tid=rr_mod • http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/super-pacs-2012/

  23. Super Pacs http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/superpacs.php?cycle=2012

  24. What is the meaning of this cartoon? Do you agree or disagree with its message?

  25. Campaign Finance • Which is more important: free speech or fair elections? • Can you have both? Explain

  26. Congressional vs. Presidential Elections • Congressional elections are privately funded (by candidates and from donations)—no federal funds are available • No term limits • Incumbents are re-elected at a very high rate—app. 95% in the House • Safe seat: a district in which an incumbent wins by a margin of 55% or more • Open seat: no incumbent running

  27. Incumbent Advantages • Name recognition • Constituent services • PAC donations • Money savings through franking privileges • Free publicity through: • Sponsoring legislation • Committee assignments • Media attention

  28. PAC Contributions, 2002-2006Source: Federal Election Commission (FEC) • Incumbents vs. challengers • 2002: $213.4 vs. $28.5 • 2004: $246.8 vs. $22.3 • 2006: $279.3 vs. $36.3 (millions of dollars)

  29. Most Expensive Senate Races (2008)

  30. Most Expensive House Races (2008)

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