Chapter 10: Elections and Campaigns
This is the term given to a candidate at the top of a ticket helping candidates from the same party running for other offices in the same election.
What is the "coattail effect"?
This is a main difference between an IG and a political party.
What are (1) IGs are policy maximizers and parties are vote maximizers; and (2) IGs do not nominate candidates whereas parties do?
This is when the media report more on who is ahead instead of what the candidates' positions on issues are.
What is horserace journalism?
This is the statute that bans direct contributions by corporations to candidates or their campaigns.
What is the Tillman Act?
This is the difference between redistricting and reapportionment.
What is redistricting is simply redrawing district boundaries of the existing number of MCs while reapportionment is changing the number of MCs a state has based on changes in that state's population as reflected in the most recent decennial census?
This is the difference between an iron triangle and an issue network.
What is an iron triangle consists of an IG, a Congressional committee/subcommittee, and an agency that all work on the same issues, whereas an issue network consists of those plus the media, lawyers, people in think tanks, professors, etc.?
These are the 3 roles of the media with respect to government.
What are gatekeeper, scorekeeper, and watchdog?
This is the difference between "express advocacy" and an "issue ad".
What is express advocacy says vote for or against someone, whereas an issue ad -- while stopping short of saying vote for/against someone -- provides information about an issue and perhaps a candidate's position on that issue, thus doing indirectly what an express advocacy ad does directly?
This is the statute that severely restricted (some say banned) "soft money" contributions to political parties.
What is the McCain-Feingold Act (a/k/a the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act)?
This is the case that said districts may not be malapportioned.
What is Wesberry v. Sanders?
These are 5 of the many tools available to IGs.
What are (1) providing information, (2) providing money, (3) GOTV efforts, (4) filing lawsuits, (5) filing amicus briefs, (6) grassroots lobbying, and (7) endorsements/candidate rankings?
This is the case that permits corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of their own money on express advocacy and issue ads, as long as the money is spent as an "independent expenditure" (i.e., not coordinated with the candidate/campaign).
What is Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission?
Of the equal time rule and the fairness doctrine, this is the one that still applies, and this is what it means.
What is the equal time rule, and it means that TV and radio stations must sell ad time to all candidates for a given race at the same rate?
These are 5 of the many advantages of incumbents.
What (1) franking, (2) name recognition, (3) ability to deliver pork, (4) ability to do casework, (5) money, (6) seniority, and (7) scaring off good challengers?
These are 4 of the 6 roles of IGs.
What are (1) they represent the people (they are a linkage institution); (2) they try to get people elected; (3) they educate; (4) they frame issues; (5) they build agendas; and (6) they monitor how policymakers are doing?
This is an "electioneering communication," and this is the case that struck down the restrictions on such communications.
What is (1) an issue ad that is run in the 30 days before a primary and the 60 days before a general election, and (2) FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life?
These are 4 of the many reasons why political parties have declined.
What are (1) split-ticket voting; (2) the Australian ballot; (3) open primaries; (4) front-loaded primaries; (5) an increase in the number of registered independents; (6) better technology (less need for a party to get your name out); (7) the Pendleton Act (no more spoils system); and (8) the Hatch Act (limits on political activities of federal employees)?
These are 4 of the many restrictions on lobbyists.
What is (1) they must register as a lobbyist and say who they are working for and what issues they are working on; (2) they cannot bribe; (3) they cannot give gifts of any amount; (4) they are subject to post-employment lobbying bans if they recently left the government; and (5) they are subject to all the campaign finance laws?
This is the impact that the media have had on campaigns.
What is a greater focus on the candidate and less on the issues, as demonstrated by (1) replacing speeches with an emphasis on sound bites; (2) causing politicians to stick to highly-scripted speeches and media events so as to avoid the media's focus on mistakes; and (3) horse-race journalism?
This is the way to provide unlimited sums of money for use on issue ads and express advocacy while preserving your anonymity.
What is give money to a 501(c)(4) group, have that group spend 49% of its money on political speech, and have the group contribute to the rest to a Super PAC or other 501(c)(4) groups?
These are 2 of the several differences between a PAC and a Super PAC.
What are (1) corporations may not contribute to a PAC whereas they may contribute to a Super PAC; (2) PACs may give $$ to a candidate while Super PACs may not; and (3) PACs must have at least 50 voluntary members whereas there is no minimum number of members of a Super PAC?