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Political Parties, Interest Groups and
the Mass Media
Presidential v. Congressional
Campaigns
• Differences:
– More voter participation in presidential election
• candidates work harder, spend more $$
– Presidential races more competitive than house races
– Members of Congress can do things for their constituents the
President never can
• Grants, contracts, bridges, canals, highways built, etc
– Members of Congress can distance themselves from
Washington (in theory)
• “Washington is a mess!” I’ll change it!
• Overall effect: Congressional elections now independent of
presidential elections
Types of Elections
Running for Congress
• Best way to get elected to Congress – BE AN INCUMBENT!
– Since 1962 over 90% of incumbents won reelection!
• Failing that, hope that one of the two enduring problems
characterizing congressional election politics works out in
your favor (but unlikely, since you’re not in Congress to
finagle the boundaries)
– Malapportionment: districts have different populations. Less
populated district votes “weight more” than more populous
district votes.
– Gerrymandering: boundaries are drawn to favor one party
over another, resulting in odd-shaped districts.
Types of Elections
A Quick Review of Types of Elections:
• Primary: an election held to choose
candidates for office (can be open or closed)
• Caucus: Meeting of party members to select
delegates backing one or another primary
candidate
• General Election: an election held to choose
which candidate will hold office
Types of Elections
Sources of Campaign Money
• Presidential Primaries
– Part private, part public money
• Federal matching funds for all individuals’
donations of $250 or less (incentive to raise
money from small donors)
• Governmental lump-sum grants to parties
to help pay convention costs
Sources of Campaign Money
Sources of Campaign Money
• Presidential General Elections
– All public money (usually)
• Nominee eligible for $20 million +
the cost of living adjustment, and
can spend $50,000 of his/her own
personal funds
• Barack Obama the first major
candidate to drop out of the
modern campaign financing system
since its creation in 1976
(essentially had no spending limits)
Sources of Campaign Money
Sources of Campaign Money
• Congressional Elections
– Mostly private money
• $2000 maximum for
individual donors
• $5000 limits for PACs
Oooo….Pretty!
PACs tend to view funds as a way to get access to
candidates. (have access, but don’t “own them” because
of small donation amounts)
-give bulk of $ to incumbents or candidates with no
opposition.
-give $ to democrats and republicans in Congress since
no way to predict who will have majority next
Sources of Campaign Money
Hard $ vs. Soft $
Soft Money
– unregulated contributions to national political parties
– funds spent by independent organizations that do not
specifically advocate the election or defeat of
candidates
– funds which are not contributed directly to candidate
campaigns.
Hard Money
– contributed directly to a candidate of a political party
– regulated by law in both source and amount
– monitored by the Federal Election Commission.
Sources of Campaign Money
1973 Reform Law
• Limit individual donations to $1000 per candidate per
elections
• Reaffirmed ban on corporate and union donations in place
since 1925
• Allowed for creation of PACs to raise money for
corporations, unions, etc.
– Need at least 50 voluntary members
– Have to give to at least 5 federal candidates
– Limited to giving $5000 per election per candidate, or no more than $15,000
per year to any political party
• Created public funding for presidential campaigns
Sources of Campaign Money
Problems with Reform Law
Challenged in the Supreme Court
as a First Amendment violation, but
mostly upheld in Buckley v. Valeo
Independent expenditures
 An organization or PAC can spend as
much as it wishes on advertising, so
long as it is not coordinated with a
candidate’s campaign.
Soft money
 Unlimited amounts of $ may be given
to a political party, so long as a
candidate is not named; this $ can then
be spent to help candidate with voting
drives, etc.
Sources of Campaign Money
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
• Did the limits placed on electoral expenditures by the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and related
provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, violate
the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and
association clauses?
– NO: limits on contributions to campaigns and candidates
guards against corruption; doesn’t violate 1st amendment.
– YES: limits on a candidate’s spending from personal accounts
does violate 1st amendment; practice doesn’t prevent
corruption and doesn’t serve a great enough government
interest to curtail free speech.
Sources of Campaign Money
New Campaign Finance Law
• Following 2000 election, there was
a desire to reform the finance law
• 2002 - Bipartisan Campaign Finance
Reform Act (McCain-Feingold Law)
– Banned soft money
contributions
– Raised limit on individual
donations to $2000 per
candidate per election
– Restricted independent
expenditures
– “Stand by your ad” provision
Can’t use own $ to refer to a
clearly identifiable candidate
during 60 days before general
election or 30 days before
primary election (…but)
Sources of Campaign Money
Problems with the Law
• Challenged in court as restriction of free speech, but
Supreme Court upheld almost the entire law
(McConnell v. Federal Election Commission)
• 527 Organizations (named after IRS code)
– Can spend money on politics as long as they do not
coordinate with a candidate or lobby directly for that
person
– Essentially the same effect as soft money
Sources of Campaign Money
Political Party
*Party = principle determinant in how people vote,
but not the only thing…
• Not as simple as it seems: most people identify
as Democrats, but the Democrats lost 6 of 9
presidential elections between 1968 and 2000
-Democrats less wedded to their party than are
Republicans
-GOP does better among independents -- -~Republicans have higher turnout
Decisions in Elections
Finding a Winning Coalition
1.
Ways of looking at various groups
-How loyal, percentage voting for party
-How important, or number voting for party
2. Democratic coalition
-African Americans most loyal
-Jews almost as loyal as African Americans
-Hispanics loyal, though somewhat mixed because of underlying ethnic
differences
-Catholics, southerners, unionists departing the coalition
3. Republican coalition
-Party of business and professional people who are very loyal
-Farmers are often Republican, but are changeable
-Party usually wins majority of the votes of the poor (includes elderly)
4. Representatives
of different segments of the coalition
stress loyalty or numbers, because can rarely claim
both
Decisions in Elections
Political Parties
Decentralization - city, state, and
national bodies, no one source of
power
• Arenas of politics in which parties
exist
-Label, in the minds of voters
-Organization, recruiting , and campaigning for candidates
-Set of leaders, organize and try to control the legislative
and executive branches
• United States parties have become
weaker in all three arenas
• Party machines of the 1930’s were
often corrupt and used a patronage
system which was later outlawed.
History of Political Parties
Clearest cases of realignment: 1860, 1896, 1932
• 1860: slavery issue fixed new loyalties in the popular
mind
• 1896: economics issues shifted loyalties to East v. West,
city v. farm
• 1932: economic depression triggered new coalition for
Democrats
1980: a new realignment?
• Reagan won in 1980 because he was not Jimmy Carter
• Could not have been a traditional realignment because
Congress was left in the hands of the Democrats
Major shift that has occurred: shift in presidential voting
patterns in the South
History of Political Parties
Party decline?
Evidence that parties are
declining, not realigning
“Dealignment” = moving
away from both major parties
Proportion of people
identifying with a party
declined 1960-1980
Proportion of those wanting
a split ticket increased (as
opposed to a straight ticket)
History of Political Parties
National Party Structure
• Both Republicans and Democrats have similar
organizational structures
• A brief introduction…
– National Convention
• A meeting of party delegates held every 4 years
– National Committee
• Delegates who run party affairs between national
conventions.
– National Campaign Committee
• Focuses on strategy of election/campaign
– National Chairperson
• Day-to-day party manager elected by the national
committee
Political Parties Today
Minor Parties
• Ideological parties- comprehensive radical view
– Most enduring
Ex. Socialist, Communist, Libertarian
• One-issue parties- address one concern, avoid others
Ex. Free Soil, Know-Nothing, Prohibition
• Economic protest parties- regional, protest economy
Ex. Greenback, Populist
• Factional parties- from split in major party, usually over
pres. Nominee
Ex. Bull Moose, Henry Wallace Democrats, American
Independent Party
Impact of Minor Parties
• Develop ideas that major parties later adopt
• Influence public policy
• Affect outcomes of elections?
The Two-Party System
• Rarity among nations today
• Evenly balanced nationally, but not locally
• Why has the two-party system endured for so long?
1. Electoral system – winner-take-all and plurality system
limit the number of parties
2. Opinions of voters – two broad coalitions work,
although there may be times of bitter dissent
3. State laws have made it very difficult for third parties
to get on the ballot
Political Parties Today
Why are Interest Groups Common in
the U.S.?
• Lots of kinds of cleavages mean lots of different
interests
• Constitution provides many access points to the
government
• Political parties are so weak, interest groups can
work directly on the government
• First Amendment—right to assemble
• Federal system provides thousands of “pressure
points” for interest group activity
– You can join groups on all levels.
Interest Groups
Kinds of Interest Groups
Most fall into two categories: institutional interests and membership
interests
Institutional Interests
1. Defined: individuals or
organizations representing
other organizations
2. Types
-Business firms (ex. General
Motors)
-Trade or governmental
associations
3. Concerns: bread-and-butter
issues of concern to their
clients
4. Other interests: governments,
foundations, universities
Membership Interests
1. Americans join some groups
more frequently than citizens in
other nations
-Social, business, professional,
veterans’, charitable – same
rate as elsewhere
-Unions – less likely to join
-Religious, political, civic
groups: more likely to join
-Greater sense of political
efficacy, civic duty seems to
explain tendency
Interest Groups
Incentives to Join
• Solidary (social rewards—sense of pleasure)
• Material ($ or things valued in monetary terms)
• Purposive (a benefits that comes from serving the
cause—abortion, gun control, etc)
• Have to be careful of the “Free Rider Problem” –
people will receive the benefits if a group is
successful regardless of whether they’re
members (ex. – Sierra Club)
Interest Groups
Funding
• Foundation Grants
1. One study found that 1/3 of public-interest lobbying groups received more
than half of all their funds from foundation grants
• Federal Grants and Contracts
1. Expansion of federal grants in the 1960s and 1970s benefited interest
groups; cutbacks in 1980s hurt them
2. Money given not for lobbying, but to support projects
3. Very difficult to tell whether grants are used effectively or not
• Direct Mail
1. Unique to modern interest groups
2. Through the use of computers, mail is sent directly to a specialized audience
3. But this approach is also expensive
4. Techniques: Teaser on the envelope, letter arouses emotions,
personalization of the letter
**Membership organizations have the most trouble raising money
Interest Groups
Gathering and Supplying Information
• Single most important tactic of interest groups
• Detailed, current information at a premium
• People interested in a specific issue can provided more
detailed and thorough information than others can
• Different methods for this, including ratings system
Activities and Relations of Interest Groups
Money and PACs
• Money is the least effective way to influence
politicians
• Campaign finance reform law of 1973 had two
effects
– Restricted amount interests can give to candidates
– Make it legal for corporations and unions to create
PACs that could make donations
• Rapid growth in PACs has probably not led to
vote buying
Activities and Relations of Interest Groups
The Revolving Door
• Federal government workers leave to take more
lucrative positions in private industry
• May give private interests a way to improperly
influence government decisions
• Agencies differ in vulnerability to outside influences
Activities and Relations of Interest Groups
The National Media
 Consists of:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Wire services
National magazines
Television network evening news broadcasts
CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc.
Newspapers with national readerships
Why significant?? Large readership, political elites follow
closely!
 Roles played
◦ Gatekeeper—influences what subjects become national
political issues, and for how long.
◦ Scorekeeper—tracks political reputations & candidacies
◦ Watchdog—investigate personalities & expose scandals
History and Structure of the Media
Rules for the Media
 Newspapers almost entirely free from
government regulation, but radio and television
are highly licensed and regulated
◦ FCC license required to operate a radio or TV station
◦ Some movement lately to deregulate
 Confidentiality of Sources
◦ Reporters want it, government doesn’t
◦ Supreme Court allows the government to compel
reporters to divulge information in court if it bears on a
crime
Remember the NYTimes case from Unit 2.
Only libel if printed maliciously!
History and Structure of the Media
What are the Views of the Media?
Are the National Media Biased?
• Studies confirm the national media are generally more
liberal and secular than the average citizen (but some
media outlets are known for conservatism—Fox News,
Rush Limbaugh radio show)
• Most Americans believe there is a media bias
Media and Government
Is There an Effect?
• Real question is whether or not the perceived
media bias affects how the public thinks
– Selective attention: people remember or believe only
what they want to
– Press coverage can affect the importance people
place on policy issues
– But personal experience is always a limit to media
influence
Media and Government
The Media, the President, and
Congress
 all walk into a bar….
 Has TV increased the power of the presidency?
 Perhaps
 President gets constant coverage because he’s just one
person; Congress has 535 members all competing for media
time
 Also, president has a press secretary with constant access to
the White House press corps
 But Congress is much less restrictive than in the past and
broadcast more often (C-SPAN)
Media and Government
Media’s Effect on Government
 Media enhances democracy
 Watchdog
 Linkage institution (enhanced access to info)
 Platform for citizens
 Media undermines democracy
 “If it bleeds, it leads” allows media to profit from and
worsen public fears
 Sensationalism detracts from issues
 Gatekeeper function could keep the public ill-informed
 Attack journalism contributes to cynicism
 More emphasis on speed than accuracy
 TV contributes to “dumbing down” of America
Be sure to know:
• Definition of political parties and interest groups
and relationship between the two
• Attempts at campaign finance reform (pro’s and
con’s)
• Minor parties- why they have survived and why
they don’t win
• Media’s effect on government- good and bad