america politics part 2 Flashcards
where does the money go in campaign finance with organisation ?
organisation does mean staff their salaries and adminstrive costs. These range from lower paid administrative staff to specialist political consultants, campaign managers and strategists.
-in 2020 biden promised that all his campaign staff would be paid a minimum hourly rate of $15 as well as full healthcare and sick leave benefits, although specialist staff come rather than more expensive.
where does the money go in campaign finance with organisation?
-in total salaries and administration/ travel make up a relatively small percentage of campaign expenditure.
-they consumed just over 10% of Biden overall 2020 campaign budget, though that still equated for over %50 million.
campaign also tend to hold money back to retain lawyers should they need to challenge any results after election day.
where does the money go in campaigning in campaign finance?
campaign see candidates travelling from state to state, so the costs are venue hire, travel, hotel accommodation and the like. These can range from the entirely predictable to the slightly more unexpected.
-during the democrat campaign phase for example Biden spent $12, 075 on food from the los angeles based got paella.
-2020 campaign did generally see rather less spent than usual on internal travel as fewer rallies and events were held across the country due to covid 19.
where does the money go in campaigning in campaign finance?
one could include the costs of internal polling as candidates do try to use polls to target exactly where to spend their valuable campaign time.
-a certain amount does go to badges, stickers and other paraphernalia, though as much of it is sold to the party faithful it also raises money for the campaign coffee.
where does the money go in the media in campaign finance?
-it is where a huge amount of money does go around 67% in the case of trumps campaign expenditure and over 80% in the case of biden.
-this is not just tv side but also increasingly those on social media as well as the more traditional roadside billboards.
-the deployment of such resources is increasingly sophisticated.
where does the money go in the media in campaign finance?
voters in swing states are not only subjected to a constant diet of political ads while watching television or engaging with social media but also increasingly micro targeted.
-for example in Florida the biden campaign bought ads specifically targeting Puerto rican voters and the Mexican American community in arizona.
-trump campaign meanwhile spent $11 million on an ad focused on his achievements with criminal justice reform that aired during the super bowl, a significant event
-one estimate calculated that 2020 would see 8 million broadcast airings of political ads an increase from 5.5 million in 2018.
what did south Carolina congressman mick Mulvaney say about campaign finance?
He admitted to a conference of 1,300 bankers in 2018 that ‘ we have a hierarchy in my office in congress. If your a lobbyist who never gave us money i didn’t talk to you. If your a lobbyist who gave us money. I might talk to you.’.
what are examples that show a incumbent president have a higher chance of becoming president?
eight of the last 12 presidential elections have featured an incumbent president seeking another term.
-one was 1976 general election in which Gerald ford stood for re election but food had arrived in the oval office through appointment rather than election
-he as appointed vice president in 1973 when vice president spiro angew resigned, he was then appointed president in 1974 when Richard Nixon resigned
-ford lost narrowly to jimmy carter
-of the remaining seven election bids four were successful and only three unsuccessful. this does suggest the power of incumbency is strong.
what figures do show that the power of incumbency is strong?
since 1976 32 president have run for re election of these 22 (69) of them have won and only 11 lost, donald trump is an example in 2020.
-defeating an incumbent president is hard, unless he fails to have the undivided support of his own party
-Three modern day presidents to be defeated fro re election gerald ford (1976) jimmy carter ( 1980 )George h.w bush (1992)
who were the last three president modern day president defeated by?
Gerald ford was challenged in the primaries by Ronald regan jimmy carter by senator Edward Kennedy and George h.w bush by conservative commentator pat Buchannan.
All three president were damaged by goods by the time they faced their general election opponent.
In contrast most incumbent president such as bill Clinton ( 1996), George hw bush ( 2004) barack obama (2012) and Donald trump ( 2020) can conserve their time energy and money during the primaries while the candidates of the challenging party wear themselves out and expend vast sums of money just winning the nomination.
what do president that aren’t incumbent president know before running for election?
-America default position tends to be to re elect incumbent president while candidates from the challenging party know that they are likely to face an uphill battle.
-this produce a knock on effect of discouraging better known and potentially stronger candidates from throwing their hats into the ring when an incumbent is standing for the other party. Weaker candidates with less chance of winning do attract less money.
-recent exception to this was Donald trump. Unlike other incumbent president trump did go largely unchallenged in the republican primaries.
-his defeat was down to the exceptional circumstances of covid 19 pandemic and critisms of his handling of it, and his own controversial style and persona.
what are the advantages of an incumbent president?
-fundraising incumbent president do not have to fund a campaign to be the nominated candidate as they face no serious challenger. They also have to be an established donor base from their first election campaign. But this was not an advantage to the incumbent in 2020 when Biden heavily outraised trump and outspent trump.
-experience of the campaign The incumbent president has been there and done that and has experience of winning a Presidental campaign.
what are the advantages of incumbent presidents?
single candidate the incumbent is often unchallenged from within their parties or such challenges are minor. The challenger faces a gruelling primary/ caucus season that can exhaust the challenger, use up valuable campaign funds and even divide the opposing party.
-risk aversion If history is a guide’s American voters are unwilling to change as only 11 presidents have failed to win re-election when they have attempted to. compounded with part polarisation this does mean that an incumbent is less likely to lose unless something significant does occur for example the exceptional circumstances of the 2020 pandemic covid 19.
What are the advantages that an incumbent president does have?
name recognition, the incumbent candidate will be well known for the electorate which gives them a clear media advantage. It is during the first term presidents can address the nation and highlight their achievements and proven leadership qualities
-executive position. Presidents can use their position to benefit key groups and swing states or announce popular measures before the election for example Obama did announce the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2011.
what disadvantages can an incumbent president have?
unforeseen events. They can get the blame if things go wrong. As well as presiding over a weak economy carter faced further problems with foreign policy debacle when 52 Americans were held hostage in Iran for the entire final year of his presidency.
-George w bush lost the major architect of his successful 1988 campaign. lee Atwater who had died in 1991
-in 1992 election bush had to face a significant third party challenger when ross Perot a maverick entered the race. Perot won 19% of the popular vote and although it does remain an debate as to whether Perot cost bush the election, his presence did not assist the incumbent president.
what unforseen events were seen to disadvantage an incumbent president in 2020?
in 2020 the covid 19 pandemic did damage trump chance at re election. The huge challengers that covid 19 posed to all world leaders should not be underestimated.
-the usa did face a lack of clear and consistent message from its nation leader.
-trump did often appear to veer from denying the seriousness of the crisis to blaming the Chinese for the pandemic and demanding that they be held accountable.
-He also tended to overstate the success that his administration was having in managing the crisis. It often appeared that charts of infection rates and deaths did tell one story, while the president preferred ‘ alternative factors’.
-in a time of national crisis voters did not look for his attitude.
what are the advantages to an incumbent president?
They can have more publicity and sell their message. The rose garden strategy in which the president addresses the nation highlights the importance of the incumbent work. Obama speech on the death of us officials in benghazi in 2012 did highlight his role as commander in chief at the time of great national significance.
what an advantage to an incumbent president?
incumbent presidents do not usually face a primary challenge. Challengers often face a long bitter and expensive battle in which they are attacked by members of their own party. Romney faced this in 2012 when one of his defeated opponents ron paul continued to attack Romney at the party convention.
However it can be seen as a disadvantage as if incumbent president do not face primary challenges, this can be omen for presidential bids. in 1992 george w bush won a primary challenge but lost the election. Primaries may give a challenger the opportunity to show political strength and to take media focus away from the incumbent president.
what is a disadvantage to an incumbent president?
-money does not guarantee success. Jed bush raised record amounts in the 2016 republican primary but still lost. Clinton outspent trump in 2016 but lost. Also popularity could raise money not the other way around perhaps Obama raised more than romeny as he was more popular.
what is a disadvantage to an incumbent president?
Others can exploit the media. Presidential television debates allow challengers to impress on voters their advantage over a president regean put carter in his place in a television debate performance. Asking the audience is they were better off than they were four years ago and commenting ‘there you go
what is a disadvantage to an incumbent presidency?
Being in the white house can be double edges president can receive praise but also blame when things go wrong. Obama had to counter accusations of leadership features over health care reform. The falling economy under president George bush and his subsequent willingness to compromise on his famous campaign promise ( ‘’ read m lips no new taxes’’) helped his demise.
why is the final enumerated power the most significant?
It does give congress the right to make all laws ‘necessary and proper ‘ to carry outs its responsibilities. This has become known as the ‘elastic clause’ as it has enabled congress to ‘stretch’ beyond it enumerated powers to additional implied powers-enabling it to address issues that could be foreseen when the constition was written.
why was the presidency( the executive branch of government) established?
-it was established under the constition primarily to conduct foreign policy and to implement laws passed by congress.
Most of the specific presidential responsibilities outlined in the constition relate to foreign policy as this was the area where president would play a leading role. However in the age of Salling ships with over 3,000 miles of ocean between the usa and its enemies it was not expected that this would be a significant role.
what does the constition say in relation to powers?
In domestic affairs the constition only specifically mentions the president having the power to pardon and to suggest legislative priorities having the power to pardon and to suggest alternative priorities to congress in the annual state of the union address.
Otherwise there seemed to be an exception that the president would play a second role of serving congress, ensuring that the legislature will was carried out. As a result the president was given the vague power to ‘faithfully execute’ national laws which like the ‘elastic clause’ has been the basis of substantial increases in power of time.
why was the supreme court set up?
The supreme court was set up to the rule on disputes that steamed from national laws any cases involving disputes between the states and the rare cases in which a foreign diplomat was put on trial.
Its powers were outlined in article ii of the constition implying that the judiciary was lesser important than the other branches of government.
-It did not address the issue of who would be responsible for deciding whether or not the constition had been properly respected - a role that would require careful examination of the text coupled with mature judgement and would seem logically to be suited to the nations highest court.
-14 years after the constition was adopted the supreme court did take on the role of constitional interpretation, the judiciary did become very significant.
what were the Safegard of government power
founding fathers were aware that the additional roles and responsibility given to the national government could be used as a platform to extend its powers. This could result from the best of intentions with frustrated politicians believing that they could do more for the people if they had more power
-The founding farther said however an overly powerful national government would be a minor abuses of power leading to a more significant misuse of power and tyranny.
How is the government committed to prevent an overriding power of the constition?
-limiting the amount of power available to the national government
-dividing that power into smaller fragments by diving the national government into separate branches and providing each with distinct limited roles.
-stopping the branches of national government from working together to weaken the effectiveness on these safeguards against excessive power
-holding politicians to account for the use they made of powers available to them.
what is federalism and how does it limit abuses of power?
federalism does serve to limit the amount of power available to the national government. The constition does aim to restrict the national government to decisions which effect the whole country, outlining which powers are needed to do this. All other powers belong to the states. These are called reserved powers. The importance of these powers to the founding fathers was shown in the 10th amendment that reinforces the principle that any powers not explicitly given to the national government by the constition belong to the states or the people.
How has federalism limited power?
It has always had importancce on a practical level in a country where the national goverment has been distant and remote to the great majoirty of the population. Even when the us consisted of just thirteen states on the eastern cost the capital city was many days of travelling for most people. The national government has also been seen as being culturally as well as geographically remote. The population of the usa had been always diverse, with in the early days refugees have little in common with economic refugees, apart from their fear and hatred of tyranny.
how has federalism limited power?
Consequently all national policies that are applied in a uniform way across the country have always been likely to be seen as inappropriate or unsuitable by significant sections of the population.
National policies made by distant policy makers who have no direct experience or understanding of the impact of their decisions on particular group or communities.
what has federalism been associated with?
It has been associated with the types of freedoms that Americans fought for when they broker away from the united kingdom and is regarded by many as the most important feature of the constitution.
how has federalism developed over time and how has it been enacted?
enumerating powers; by listing the specific powers of congress the founding fathers aimed to reinforce federalism as the list would serve to limit the government ability to extend its role into any policy area that has not been specified. Article I of the constitution list eight restrictions on congress, known as denied powers.
how has federalism developed over time and how has it been enacted?
separation of powers, The founding farther did drew up arrangements that would ensure that the three main role of the central government would be carried out by different groups of people. The constution does prohibit anyone from working in more than one branch of government at the same time, there by creating strict separation of personnel.
For example in 2009 Obama appointed several members of congress to his administration they all had to resign from the legislature before taking up their posts in the executive branch..
how has federalism developed over time and how has it been enacted and what did james Maddison say?
-as james Maddison puts it limits on the national goverment would be effective as a result of ‘ambition counter acting ambition’. If ambitious members of any of the three branches of goverment would attempt to expand their power they would inevitably take power from one of the others, but the equally ambitious members of the other branches could be relied upon to resist loosing the limited powers they had.
In this way each branch would serve as a check on each state. The constitution does set out ways in which each branch constraints the other with emphasis on limited the power of the president to prevent the emergence of the national leader that would act as a dictator.
what did the founding fathers do to complement the checks?
-the founding fathers did aim to ensure that there was an appropriate balance of power between the three branches as they would not be able to effectively protect themselves from intrusion if one of the branches was much more powerful than the other.
what else was put in place for federalism and to make sure there was not an abuse of power?
Elections; it was possible that voters could be persuaded to elect one political group to both legislature and the executive branches of goverment which would undermine the system of checks and balances. To prevent this they organised many events.
what was put in place to not undermine checks and balances?
indirect elections. The upper chamber would consist of senators appointed by state legislatures. The president would be elected by the people but their views would be filtered through an electoral college.
staggered election; There would never be a time when everyone in the national goverment would be elected simultaneously. Member of the lower chamber would be elected every two years. The president would be elected every four years. Senators would hold office for six years but only one third of them would be appointed at each election cycle
Defined election dates- to ensure that those in power could not use a crisis or create a crisis to extend their time in office elections could be held on set dates regardless of circumstances.
what was put in place to not undermine checks and balances?
amendments to the constution; To ensure that politicians would not be able to evade or dilute these restrictions the founding fathers made the constitution extremely difficult to amend.
There are two mechanisms for changing the constitutions out lined in article v of the document. Both are slow complicated processes and require the support of a super majority.
How is the constitution amended?
The first method does require a two third majority in both houses of congress to propose and amendment and at least three quarters of the states to agree to the amendment for it to become law.
The second method does require at least two thirds of the state to call a national convention similar to the convention at Philadelphia that wrote the constitution to propose and agree to an amendment. This method has never been used.
How difficult is it to get an amendment passed?
Over 5000 amedments have bee proposed but only 27 have ever been passed of which the first ten are considered to be part of the origional constition.
The equal right amedment illustrates the difficulty in amending the consitution. Providing a constitional guarantee of equal rights for women, this amendment was passed by congress in march 1976 with a seven year deadline for it to be ratified by three quarters of the states.
-22 of the necessary thirty eight state ratifications were achieved in the first year, but the place did slow as opposition did begin to grow.
-There were only eight ratifications in 1973, three in 1974, one in 1975 and none in 1976.
How difficult is it to Amend the constition?
In 1977 Indiana became the thirty fifth and last state to ratify the Era. A demonstration of 100000 supporters of the amendment in Washington dc lead to congress granting an extension until 30 june 1982 but with no further support from the states the deadline passed leaving it three short of the required threshold.
Recent examples of proposed amendments that opinion polls demonstrated had considerable popular support but failed to gain the necessary two thirds support from congress include
; balanced budget amendment
flag desecration amendment
school prayer amendment
tax limitation amendment
Defence of marriage amednemnt
how difficult is it to amend the constition?
The 19th amendment which was introduced in congress 118 times before its passage and the 27th amendment was not passed until over 200 years after it was originally introduced.
what is the separation of powers as one of the principles of the constitution?
separation of powers- a theory of goverment where by political powers is distributed among the legislature the executive the judiciary each acting both independently and interpedently. It was put in place due to fear of tyranny. Montesquieu argued for separation of powers into legislative executive and judicial branches in order to avoid tyranny.
-He wrote ‘ when the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person there can be no liberty’.
what is the separation of powers as one of the principles of the constitution?
The founding fathers had the idea that each of these branches independent yet co equal branches should check the powers of each other.
-It was decided that no person could be in more than one branch of the federal goverment at the same time- what we might call ‘ separation of powers’.
-when in 2008 senator Barack Obama was elected as president, he had to resign from the Seante as did newly elected vice senator joe biden.
-The branches of goverment are in this sense entirely separate.
How is the seperation of powers misleading?
for it is the institutions that are seperate not the powers. proffesor richard neustadt was the most helpful in clearing up this confusion. He wrote ‘ The constitional convention of 1787 is supposed to have created a goverment of ‘‘separated powers’’. It did nothing of the sort. Rather it created a goverment of separated intuitions sharing powers.
-so the concept is best though of as the doctrine of shared powers.
-The ‘shared powers’ are what checks and balances are all about for the founding fathers set up an intricate system where by each branch of the federal goverment would check and balance the other two.
what is checks and balances?
Checks and balances are a system of goverment that give each branch legislative, executive and judicial the means to partially control the power excersied by the other branches largely to resist encroachments on its own powers and to maintain democratic goverment.
How do checks and balances work?
Because the constitution creates a system of separate intuitions that share powers each institution can check the powers of others. The major checks possess by each branch are as follows..
what are the major checks possessed by the branch of the president?
-can check congress by vetoing a bill it has passed
-can check the federal courts by nominating judges and by the power of pardon
what are the major checks’ possessed by congress?
can check the president by
-amending/ delaying/ rejecting the president legislative proposals
-overriding the president veto
-the power of the purse
-refusing to approve the president appointment ( Seante only)
-refusing to ratify the president treaties ( senate only)
-using the impeachment and trial power to remove the president from office
what are the major checks possessed by congress?
Congress can check the federal courts by
-proposing constitional amendments to overturn a judicial decision
-refusing to approve a person nominated to the federal courts ( senate only )
what are the major checks possessed by the federal courts?
The federal courts
-can check congress by declaring a law unconstitional
-can check the president by declaring the president actions - or the actions of any of the president subordinates unconstitional
As well as these formal checks there are also informal checks such as congress check of investigation through its committee system.
what are the checks by the president on congress?
The president is given the power to recommend legislation to congress. They do this formally in January of each year in the sate of union address.
President use this set piece speech delivered to a joint session of congress as well as cabinet members the justice of the supreme court and other invited guests before a nationwide audience on television.
-it is an opportunity for the president to lay out their legislative agenda, in effect saying to congress ‘ this is what i want you to debate and pass into law’.
-president Obama used the state of union address in January 2010 to focus on his healthcare reform proposals, urging congress ‘ lets get it done’. He signed the bill two months later.
what is the state of union address?
An annual speech made by the president to a joint session of congress setting out his proposed legislative programme for the coming year.
what other powers does the president have in check on congress?
The president does also have the power to veto bills passed by congress. During his eight years in office Obama did use the regular veto on 12 occasions including in 2016 his veto of a bill that would have rescinded part of his healthcare reform legislation.
What checks does the president have on the courts ?
They have two significant checks. First the presidential nominates all federal judges - to the trail courts appeal courts and supreme court. During his first term president Barack Obama was able to make two appointment to the supreme court - Sonia Sotomayor (2009) and Elena Kagan ( 2010). By choosing justices whose judicial philosophy matches their own president can hope to mould the outlook of the court for years to come..
what checks does the president have on the courts?
The second of their checks they hold on the courts is the power of pardon. This has become controversial in recent times. In 1974 president nixon pardoned his predecessor president nixon for any crimes that nixon could have committed in the so called Watergate affair.
-on the final day of his presidency president Clinton pardoned 140 people march rich a notorious tax fugitive. President Obama pardoned 142 people during his final weeks in office.
what checks does congress have on the president?
-can amend block or even reject items of legislation recommended by the president. In 2010 it passed president Obama healthcare reform bill. But congress blocked Obama attempt at immigration reform and rejected every proposal he made regarding meaningful gun control and legislation.
what checks does congress have on the president?
Congress can override the president veto. To do this it needs to gain a two third majority in both the houses of congress. During president George bush two terms congress overrode four of hir 11 regular vetoes, including his vetoes of the 2007 water resources development bill and the 2008 food conservation and energy bill.
-it was not until the last four month of hi eight years in office that congress first overrode on of president Obama vetoes.
-In September 2016 obama vetoed the justice against sponsors of terrorism act that would have allowed American families of the victims of September 11 terrorist attack to sue the goverment of Saudi Arabia for any role they played in the plot.
what checks does congress have on the president?
It is also congress that does have the power that is reffered to as ‘ the power of the purse’’. All the money that the presidetn does want to spend on the president policie must be voted for by congress.
-It refusal to vote fro this money will curtail what the president can do - be in domestic or foreign policy. In 2007 the democrat controlled congress attempted to limit george bush spending on the military operatins in iraq.
what checks does congress have on the president?
It is also congress that does have the power that is reffered to as ‘ the power of the purse’’. All the money that the presidetn does want to spend on the president policie must be voted for by congress.
-It refusal to vote from this money will curtail what the president can do - be in domestic or foreign policy. In 2007 the democrat controlled congress attempted to limit george bush spending on the military operations in iraq.
what checks does congress have on the president?
In foreign policy congress has two further checks on the president. Although the constition confers on the president the power to be ‘’ commander in chief’’ of the armed forces it confers on congress the power to declare war.
However this power does seem to have fallen in the last two decades, the last time congress declared war was on Japan in 1941.
what checks does congress have on the president?
Although the constition confers on the president the power to be ‘’ commander in chief’’ of the armed forces it confers on congress the power to declare war.
Congress had successfully forced president since the declaration of Japan war in 1941 to seek specific authorisation before committing troops to situations in which hostilities are likely or inevitable.
-in October president George w bush gained specific authorisation from congress to use military forces in iraq. The house approved the use of troops in iraq by 296 votes to 182 while the vote in the senate was 77 votes to 23.
what checks does congress have on the president?
The senate does have the power to ratify treaties negotiated by the president. This requires a two third majority. In 2010 the senate ratified the new START treaty with Russia by 71 votes to 26.
In 1999 the senate rejected the comprehensive test ban treaty by 48 votes to 51, 18 votes short of 66 that are required.
-it was the first major treaty to be rejected by the senate since the rejection of the Versailles treaty in 1920.
-five minor treaties had been rejected in between. Then in December 2012 the senate rejected the convention on the rights of persons within disabilities by 61 votes to 38, five short of the two thirds majority required.
what checks does congress have on the president?
The power to confirm many of the appointments that the president makes to the executive branch and all the appointments he makes to the federal judiciary.
-executive appointments subject to senate confirmation include such high profile posts as cabinet members, ambassadors and heads of important agencies such as the cia and fbi. Only a simply majority is required for confirmation.
-rejections are unusual but normally as president consult prior naming only those whose confirmation is fairly certain.
what checks does congress have on the president?
-The power to confirm many of the appointments that the president makes to the executive branch and all the appointments he makes to the federal judiciary.
-In 1987 the senate rejected president regean nominee Robert bork for a place on the supreme court.
In 1989 the senate rejected john tower as secretary of defence
-in October 2005 Harriet miers withdrew as a nominee to the supreme court following critism by republican senators of her lack of qualification and conservative credentials.
-The republican controlled senate did refuse to proceed with the confirmation of merrick garland to the supreme court, claiming that the nomination should await the new president who would take up office in January 2017.
