Campaigns and Elections Flashcards
Would a campaign in France work just as well in America?
nope, you need to develop plans specific to the unique situations of American politics
What are the two crucial phases of elections?
getting nominated and getting elected
True or False: An organizational effort is the deciding factor in winning a nomination in a parliament in Europe
True, they vet you, decide whether to allow you to run and put your name on a list of candidates
THEY THEY THEY
True or False: An organizational effort is the deciding factor in winning a nomination in a state
False, it requires a LOT of individual effort
YOU decide to run
YOU raise money
YOU (and others) get signatures
YOU appeal to voters based on personality and stances on issues
ALL YOU
this may be why some think they have big egos
True or false: parties play no role in American politics
False, they do play a role, but parties are more labels not as much vote churning machines used to be far more involved
incumbent
the person already holding an elective office
coattails
the alleged tendency of candidates to win more votes in an election because of the presence at the top of the ticket of a better-known candidate, such as the president
Size Differences between Congressional and Presidential
President gets larger turnout, candidates work harder/spend more
Competitiveness Difference between Congressional and Presidential
Presidential more competitive
prez, generally winner gets less than 55% of the vote (in two party)
House, incumbent wins generally by over 60%
Off year turnout Congressional elections
Smaller percentage vote in off years, so appeal to partisan and motivated voters
helps contribute to incumbent victory
Can the president and members of congress do the same things for their constituents?
nope!
congress members take credit for everything that the gov provides the district
send letters to constituents( gov foots bill oc)
visit districts
pres does not get credit at local level/uses mass media
helps contribute to incumbent victory
Responsibility- prez vs. incumbent congress member
Congress member- “I have nothing to do with that mess in Washington, congress is not good, you guys know me as a person”
President- held responsible for eveverything in the nation ever
helps contribute to incumbent victory
Does it help congress members to be in the same part as the president?
people used to say yes, absolutely, coattails of pop prez (think FDR) will get you elected, now, generally little to no value in that
if people are angry at prez, gets taken out on members of their party
Are congressional elections independent of presidential ones?
In large part they are, though still linked by some financial things
What is the first task of someone who wants to become president and how do they do this?
They have to get mentioned as being of presidential caliber
How??
There may be a super secret “Great Mentioner” with mentioning power
OR
let reporters know off the record that you want to run
Give speeches (Ronald Reagan)
Be famous (John Glenn astronaut)
be identified with major legislation (Bill Bradley- Tax Reform Act of 1986)
Be the Governor of a Big State, especially NY (media)
What is step two in wanting to be president (after being mentioned)?
set a LOT of time to run, especially if you aren’t super well known
Reagan ran for like 6 years
most office holders have run while holding office
What is the profile for prez? What previous experience is generally required?
people like those with strong military backgrounds (war heroes) or governors rather than right from Congress
VP exp helps former members of Congress
PAC
political action committee
a committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations
Money (in relation to presidential campaign time)
it takes a really long time raise all of the money needed for a campaign and build up an organization
Organization in Presidential Campaigns
raising and accounting for money requires a staff of fund-raisers, lawyers, and accountants
need press secretary, travel scheduler, advertising specialist, direct-mail company, pollster, and volunteers from states (at a minimum those with primaries)
volunteers essential at a local level
position papers
info on stuff candidate should know about but doesn’t
rarely get used/read
Strategy and Themes in Presidential Campaigns
strategy depends on whether you are incumbent
incumbent- defend record
challenger- attacks incumbent
no incumbent- both candidates come up with plans, if your party is in office, take some blame for that
Tone of a presidential campaign
positive (build me up)
negative (attack the opponent)
Theme of a presidential campaign
a theme is a simple appealing idea that can be repeated over and over again Carter- Trust Reagan- COmpetence, morning in America Clincon we need change Bush- compassioante conservatism
timing of a presidential campaign
If unknown, put everything in early primaries and caucuses
try to hope for the best, hope for the best
already front-runner, either go for broke (and try to beat all opponents) or hold back reserves for the long game
Whom should you target in a Presidential campaign?
only a small percentage of voters change their from one election to the next
Have to figure out who is likely to change?
Are incumbents more liekly to get elected in the House????????
YES!!!!!!
What is the length of a senate term?
six years
What is the length of a representative term?
two years
True of False: The constitution says a lot about how representatives will be selected and who will vote
False
nothing about districts or who could vote
just said that had to live in the statesthat they are chosen from/ they need to have at least one per state
malapportionment
drawing the boundaries of legislativ districts so that they are unequal in population
gerrymandering
drawing the boundaries of legislative districts in bizarre or unusual shapes to favor one party
What are the four problems to solve in deciding who gets represented in the House?
Establishing the total size of the house
allocating seats in the House among states
Determining the size of Congressional districts within states
Determining the shapes of those districts
When was the House number decided upon? Has it remained constant
1911- decided 435 was big enough
EXCEPT had 437 at one point because Alaska and Hawaii entered in 1959
How often does reapportionment occur/how is it determined?
Constitution says every 10 years
System developed in 1929- complex, statistical, automatic
sophomore surge
an increase in the votes congressional candidates usually get when they first run for reelection
Have there been attempts to get away with malapportionment?
Yes, in 1964 the Supreme Court said it was illegal and that it should be as close as possible to one person, one vote
How do you win a party nomination?
Used to be: political parties nominated candidates
Now: get signatures to go to primaries and then the outcome of this is beyond the ability of political parties to influence
win by getting more primary votes by forming personal followings
Do most incumbents in Congressional elections win primaries?
Yes, overwhelmingly so
Parties have less say
What is the reason for the sophomore surge?
memebers of Congress use office to run PERSONAL, not party, campaigns
send out free(“franked”) mail
go visit district all the time
radio and tv broadcasts
distribute services to district
this makes constituents think highly of them
appeal to distrust of fed by promising to clean things up if reelected
run for Congress by running against it
Do congress memebres have lots of freedom in voting?
generally, they have more freedom in voting unless single-issue groups are actively working for something in their districts
What are some important effects of the local orientation of legislators?
Every member of Congress organizes his or her office to do everything possible for those at home
If your representative serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, state has a better chance of getting a new bridge or canal
If your representative is on the House Appropriations Committee, more likely to get a grant for water and sewage treatment programs
who said all politics is local?
Tip O’Neill
What two important effects does the way people get elected to Congress have?
Legislators are closely tied to local concerns
party leaders have a relatively weak influence over legislators
delegates vs. trustees
delegates- do what district wants
trustees- use best judgement on issues without regards to preferences of district
primary election
choose party’s nominee
general election
picks who will hold office
caucus
meeting of people where they vote on who they want to nominee to be
What do you have to do to win a primary or caucus?
mobilize political activists who will give money, do volunteer work, and attend local caucuses
appeal to the most ideological people
What is the first real test of someone who wants to be nominated for President?
Iowa caucus in Feb
What is the problem with ahving more ideological bases in primaries?
Candidates have to be more extreme, which will not be forgotten by opponenet, hurts them in states that lean toward the other party
clothespin vote
the vote cast by a person who does not like either candidate and so votes for the less objectionable of the two, putting on a clothespin to cover the stench
position issue
an issue about which the public is divided and rival candidates or political parties adopt different policy positions
Valence issue
an issue about which the public is united and rival candidates or political parties adopt similar positions in hopse that each will be thought to best represent those widely shared beliefs
spots
short television ads
visual
campagin activity that appears on a news broadcast
Does television advertising(spots) have a huge influence on general elections?
not that anyone can tell
closed primary
a primary election in which voting is limited to already registered party memebrs
open primary
a primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place
blanket primary
a primary election in which each voter may vote for candidates from both parties
runoff primary
a second primary election held when no candidate wins a majority of the votes in the first primary
Delegate Selection Only
only the names of prospective delegates to the convention appear on the ballot. They may or may not indicate presidential preferences
Delegate Selection With Advisory presidential preference
voters pick delegates and indicate their preferences among presidential candidates. The delegates are not legally bound to observe these preferences
Binding presidential preference
Voters indicate their preferred presidential candidates. Delegates must observe these preferences, at least for a certain number of convention ballots. The delegates may be chosen in the primary or by a party convention
Democratic Party v. La Follette
1981 SC ruled that political parties, not state legislatures, have the right to decide how delegates are selected
(can only have open primary if the party wants one)
may have little effect since people may not declare themselves as democrats or republicans in advance
Which contains more information, spots or visuals(with accompanying newscasts)?
generally the spots,
most people think advertising is manipulative or devoid of info and that programs are informative and balanced
BUT
news programs contain vert little info, and have no impression, if they are watch,
commercials contain a good amount of info that is seen, remembered, and evaluated by people who can tell the difference between good and bad info
True or False: Incumbents(or well-known candidates) have lots of incentive to debate their opponents
false, they do not want to give them more publicity
True or False: it is the cost of TV visuals and debates that deters candidates from them
nope they are worried about a slip of the tongue Reagan--- trees cause pollution Carter-- lust Ford-- Poland not part of Soviet bloc
Do candidates tend to give fact filled, long speeches or stock ones that set out a theme and have applause getting lines?
APPLAUSE GETTING LINES!!!!!
want to be uncontroversial
What is the most visible example of modern technology’s effect on campagins?
Tv
Hoawrd Dean
VT gov ran for pes in 2004
super unknown, but got internet following
direct mail
sent to specific groups
express ideas without offending people from other groups
The List
a list of potential contributors that you can send appeals to
guarded super carfully
like “the ring”
True or False: someone said money is the mother’s milk of politics
True
Oh California
Sources of Campaign Money (Prez)
private donors citizens, parties, and PACs federal gov (matching)
1972 Federal Election Campaign Act (and amendements from 1974)
individuals couldn’t contribute more than 1000 per candidate in a single election
corporations and unions can’t give, but PACs can
Political Action Committees
PACs
each corporation, union, or association can have one
A PAC must register 6 months in adavance, have at least 50 contributors, and give to at least 5 candidates
independent expenditures
Spending by political action committees, corporations, labor unions that is done to help a party or candidate but is done independently of them
soft money
funds obtained by political parties that are spent on party activities, such as get-out-the-vote drives, but not on behalf of a specific candidate
Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002
no national party/party committee can accept soft money
restrict independent expenditures
no referencing specfic candidate 60 days before gen or 30 days before primary (PACs are separate)
527 organixations
organizations that, under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, raise and spend money to advance political causes
pocketbook vote
good econ times, generally that party does well
bad econ times, white house parrty generally does badly
presidential character q
effective speaker, displaying dignity and compassion, sounding like someone who can take charge and get things done, and coming across as reasonable and likeable.
True or False: VP nominees make a difference
generally, they do not
True or false: Political reporting makes a difference in Presidential elections
Not really
Does abortion stance make a big difference in a pres election?
more of a primary issue, but in gen election not as big of a deal
retrospective voting
voting for a candidate because you like his or her past actions in office
prospective voting
voting for a candidate because you favor his or her ideas for handling issues
Who is more strongly attached to the party, dems or repubs?
Republicans, definitely
Who wins a larger percentage of indpndnt vote generally?
Republicans
Who votes more, democrats or republicans?
Republicans
In what three ways do campaigns make a difference?
reawaken partisan loyalties of voters
watch how candidate handles pressure and give candidates a chance to apply pressure (negative ads)
allow voters to judge character and core values of candidates (thematic campaigning)
How do you measure how loyal a group is to the party?
you look at what percentage of that group votes for the party
ex. > 2/3 of African Americans vote democratic
How do you measure how important a group is to a parry?
What percentage of the party is that group?
Dem Coalition
African Americans
Jewish
Non Cuban hispanics
Republican Coalition
Biz and professional
very loyal
farmers(but they are fickle, sway based on farm prices)
usually wins a majority of the votes of poor people (many are elderly retired people)
Can most voters be written off or taken for granted by a presidential nominee?
NOPE
political party
a group that seeks to elect candidates to public office
What is a party in the mind of the voters
a label
What is a party in the mind of a candidate?
An organization that campaigns and recruits
What is a party of the executive and legislative branches?
a set of leaders who try to control and organize them
Federalism in party boss era
coalition of local coalitions
primary goal=jobs
do American parties play a comprehensive role in our lives?
no, they play a segmental one
did the Founders like parties?
nope parties=factions=baaddddddddd=all about self-interest andambition #FarewelladdressbyGW
first organized political party
Jefferson followers republicans wanted peopel to know republic 17902 v loose caucus
Federalists
hamilton and co we love constitution
loose caucus
Second party system
Jackson built from bottom up eliminate practice of having congress members nominate prez candidates replaced by party conventions democrats like Jackson Whigs don't like Jackson
first convention
antimasonic party 1831
mugwumps
progressives
Republican party faction of the 1890s to 1910s, composed of farmers who opposed patronage
What strengthened post civil war north south repub dem split?
Bryan, dem, alienated Repub north in 1896
stalwarts
Old Guard part of Repub party machines, lotaltly, patronage
intraparty competitition develeoped
becuase states became polarized one party states, leaving each party to divide, esp repub
critical or realigning period
periods when a major, lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties
1800
first realignment Republicans defeated federalists
1828
when Jacksonian Dems came into power
1860
Whig collapse and Repub came to power
1896
Repub defeated WJB
1932
Democrats came to power with Roosevelt
two kinds of realignemnt
a. party beaten so badly that it disappears and a new party emerges
b. existing parties continue but voters shift support
MA offic bloc callot
Can split ticket
Congressional amp sign committee
Helped people fun
