US: Parties and Elections Flashcards
1
Q
ETVT Campaign finance reform has limited the influence of money on presidential elections
A
- While there has been effective legislation it has been brought down by loopholes:
- Tillman Act 1907 and subsequent additions, FECA 1974 and 2002 McCain-Feingold laws
HOWEVER:
- 501(c)(4) 49% capacity of charity donation, 1944 PACs and 1979 FECA amendment to allow for “soft money” + 2008 Barzun/Obama small online donations ($150 million in September 2008 alone) - While there are instances the S.C. has attempted to save it, in general they have hampered efforts
-Austin v Michigan Chief of Commerce 1990 and McConnell v FEC 2003
HOWEVER
- Buckley v Valeo 1976 freedom of speech, Citizens United v FEC 2010^, McCutcheon v FEC 2014 no cap on donations
- (+ civil courts) Speechnow.org v FEC 2010 formation of SuperPACs
2
Q
TWE are presidential elections democratic
A
- Representation
YES:
- Requirements to be president are inclusive. Candidates tend to balance their ticket w VP
- E.C. avoids tyranny of majority and there are mail-in ballots for oversea voters
NO:
- Closed primaries, Iowa and New Hampshire have a head start with older white voters
- Past runs of who becomes the president shows the system favours the white, old, male and rich (costs $1bn to run)
- Political Etch-a-Sketch, Glen Younkin and moderates
- Not everyone votes (e.g. more people didn’t vote for Biden than did, Trump votes + no votes)
- Winner-takes all system - Accountability
YES:
- Incumbents don’t always win (1976 Reagan defeats Ford). The threat of re-election keeps them accountable (+limit on terms)
- Barzun effect, Obama did not have to accept any large donations which could have held him down
- Presidential debates and conferences hold people accountable for their promises
NO:
- Dark money makes presidents less accountable (Sheldon Adelson and Knoch brothers)
- Al Gore and Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2001 and 2016
- Incumbent presidents have advantages, patronage, bully pulpit and track record
- There will always be a home state/supportive state bias - Participation
YES:
- Wide voter eligibility, over 18 and U.S. citizen= 100s of millions
- Open primaries and conventions mean high turnout (e.g. 2020)
- Social media engagement to encourage a turnout targeted
NO:
- Turnout in elections is usually only 55% + primary party crashing
- Shelby County VS. Holder (+ Georgia State restrictions) target minority groups ID laws
- Many states do not take a day off for election day, lower class can’t turn out + disabled can’t reach pols
3
Q
ETVT Parties are more divided internally than externally
A
Economic:
Republican party: NAFTA and FTD. Standards fiscal Republicans like FTDs as they are good for business and trade wars are bad. However, Trumpites don’t like free trade as they think it gives foreigners the chance to trade with America. Trump left NAFTA.
Trump was very in favour of a large infrastructure bill (exactly like what Biden has just passed through the House) Standard republicans also like immigration as it provides cheap labour, but Trump thinks foreigners are stealing our jobs
Trump designated Mexico as a safe country and ended southern border asylum seekers.
Similarities: trump tax cut of 2017 was very popular, and executive orders removing regulation. Fiscal Republicans were horrified because of the deficit (as there was no cut in public spending) however other Republicans and their donors loved it.
Democrats: everything is filtered through Joe Manchen, Green New Deal, raising the minimum wage to $15 and breaking up mega-corporations.
Foreign
- Trump, America first and isolationist. Republicans like GWB and Dick Cheney so they argued this reduced American influence
- Trump’s relationship with Putin and Kim Jong Un made lots of Republicans very worried.
- Trump’s Israel policy, recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, was very popular. Also ending the Iran-Nuclear Deal and re-introducing sanctions on Cuba.
- Democrats seem to have a more united international cooperation with UN and WHO than Republicans. Trump left WHO in the middle of the COVID pandemic.
Social
- Culture wars (BLM, political correctness, Fox News commentators) fiscal conservatives see it as anti-intellectual, especially as it has affected attitudes towards the pandemic (mask-wearing and vaccinations help businesses stay open but Trump republicans are against all of that).
- Republicans united on abortion but not on racist language. Mitch McConnell discounted everything Trump said in his campaign about Mexicans, but is just as pro-life as every other Republican (touch-stone issue)
- very few democrats who are anti-abortion, women’s rights, BLM. The only disagreements are the degree to which Democrats support issues (e.g. Biden will not defund the police)
4
Q
How united is the Republican party- what are some examples of conflict?
A
- Republican party is much more united under Trump than the democratic party under Biden (Trump’s 2nd impeachment trial only 9 House Republicans voted to impeach). Furthermore, a 147 Republicans backed Trump’s claim that the election had been rigged with no evidence.
- Opinion polls within the Republican party suggest that if Trump ran in 2024 he would win backing due to his popularity. He targets Republicans who stand up to him- Liz Cheney who used to be seen as incredibly right-wing is now seen as moderate and is no longer recognised by the Republican party and removed from her House positions in 2021 (she was one of the Republicans who voted against Trump).
- Many Republicans have left due to Trump. House speaker Paul Ryan retired when he realised Trump would be President.
- House Min. Leader, Kevin McCarthy is a Trump ally
- A House Committee, ran by Devin Nunes, investigated the FBI for investigating Trump in 2018
- Sen. Majority leader, Mitch McConnel, voting against impeachment for Trump not because he thought Trump was innocent but because he felt the charges did not merit impeachment. He then made a speech where he said others may wish to investigate him- clearly hating Trump but not wanting to be the one to remove him.
- Republican party more united than it has ever been due to Trump supporters. Glen Younkin became Republican governor of Virginia yet had to say he agreed with Trump’s policies.
5
Q
How united is the Democratic party- what are some examples of conflict?
A
- Much more divided than Republicans, Nancy Pelosi said “we are not a lock-step party”. Much more ideologically and politically divided.
- Range from Bernie Sanders to Joe Manchin
- BBBB was blocked by the progressive caucus (otherwise known as “The Squad”) as they wanted it to have more environmental bills. It has passed today in the House.
- Joe Manchen in the Senate represents WV, a big coal mining state. Before Biden went to COP26 he was advocating strongly for less environmental laws and blocked Biden’s guarantees on banning coal usage.
- The Senate is 50 50 so Joe Manchen is arguably the most powerful person in US politics
- Democrats see people of colour, urban and young people as their core voters, while Republicans aim at the rural, white and suburban.
6
Q
Examples of IGs which have successfully influenced the executive
A
- Heritage Foundation: 64% of its proposals in “Mandate for Leadership” were included in Trump’s 2018 budget. Trump also drew SC nominations from their recommendations
60% of Reagan’s policies were from H.F. - Sierra Club: launched $600k campaign to get Jared Polis elected as Colorado governor (and then he was)
- AIPAC: Outbid all other pro-israel groups in presidential funding and got Trump to move embassy to Jerusalem in 2018. Trump also increased financial donations to Israel in 2019 and Pence spoke at their conference
7
Q
Examples of IGs which have tried but failed to influence the executive
A
- League of Conservation Voters: The Dirty Dozen: Attempting to prevent Trump’s election and failing
- BLM has not achieved their goals in defunding the police- only able to co-opt with Biden rather than influence
- Teamsters, brought lawsuits against 3 of Trump’s Executive Orders but failed
8
Q
Examples of IGs which have influenced the legislative
A
- NRA: successful in getting Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. All states have passed an average of 4.8 NRA-backed laws since 2003. Spent $1.6m against H.R.8 bill (which would have enforced stricter background checks on gun buying)
- NAACP: Voting Rights and Civil Rights Act under the Kennedy and LBJ admin
- BLM: LAPD reallocated $333m in 2020, passed “Breonna’s Law” in Kentucky and Louisville (but not federal). Lobbied NY state to repeal 50-A, a law which obscured policy records from the public
9
Q
Examples of IGs which have been unsuccessful in influencing the legislative
A
- NRA: spent $1.1m backing Luther Strange in 2018 Senate election in Alabama (he lost)
- BLM failed to pass “Breonna’s Law” on a federal level (however succeeded in Kentucky and Louiseville)
10
Q
Examples of IGs which have influenced the Judiciary
A
- ACLU: McCreary v ACLU 2005, won first amendment case using amicus curiae. Also filed a brief in McKinny v Arizona 2019 in support of McKinny’s claim of the courts not considering his PTSD (he was protected by 8th amendment and won)
- NAACP: NAACP v Michigan and Flint 2016, court ordered $641m settlement for the majority black town for water crisis. Brown v Board brought to SC by NAACP
- NARAL: Whole Women’s Health v Hellerstedt 2016 supported WWH and won (bill declared unconstitutional)
11
Q
ETVT PGs have too much power (legislation paragraph)
A
Legislation:
- Obamacare, passed despite private health insurance companies opposing it (employed 3 lobbyists for every member of Congress that’s 1,500 lobbyists)
- Campaign Finance Reform Act 2002, lobbyists opposed strongly still through
- However, these bills have been weakened/defeated in Congress, e.g. Senate removed Medicare from Obamacare +/ SuperPACs etc.
- Gun Control successfully blocked by NRA, after Sandy Hook Obama was still unable to pass gun control laws
- AARP, largest PG in America with 40 million members backed Obamacare but it was still weakened by corporate PGs
12
Q
ETVT PGs have too much power (election paragraph)
A
Elections:
- Pressure Groups are unlikely to change minds about key issues if people are decided on them
- LCV Dirty Dozen (Usually about 8/12 lose their next election however)
- NRA gives all incumbents a report card where they core then F to A so voters know what to think of them
- NAACP campaigned against politicians in Georgia elections in 2021 and Dems win both
- The point is, most Americans are undecided therefore PGs don’t need to change radical opinions just moderate ones
13
Q
ETVT PGs have too much power (policy paragraph)
A
Policy:
- Government policy dictated by election promises and party issues, president does not have a lot of access points
- Congress, on the other hand, does; with many politicians going on to become lobbyists showing how ingrained it is
- Influence over government due to Iron-triangles, most policy areas have one. Congressional Committees oversee the implementation of this making lots of access points for contracting PGs. C.Cs also take donations from PGs which supports corporate interference in tax money (e.g. military-industrial complex)
- Environmental legislation, US commitment to COP-26 watered down due to coal industry hold over Joe Manchen (and previously over McConnel from Kentucky the coal mining state)
14
Q
Impact of the AIPAC
A
- Claims credit for May 2019 letter to Trump from House Foreign Affairs Select Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urging him to “underscore Israel’s right to self-defence” and increase donations
- The AIPAC nation conference is a “must stop for foreign-policy minded politicians and presidential candidates” (2020 Speakers included Pence, McConnel and Joe Biden)
- Relocation of Israeli embassy to Jerusalem and US withdrawal from Obama-era Iran Nuclear Deal- as well as cuts in US aid to Palestinians
- Lobbying claims up to $3b in Israeli aid yearly
15
Q
Impact of the ACLU
A
- Vocal opponent of US Patriot act 2001 and while it was unsuccessful gained publicity from withdrawing from Combined Federal Campaign charity drive (and effectively became blacklisted by the government)
- Helped hundreds of wrongfully convicted people, one success is Mr James Erin McKinny whose PTSD claim was protected by 8th amndmt
- 2012 ACLU won lawsuit defending KKK from being rejected from the State’s “Adopt-a-Highway” programme
