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Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 8 Campaigns and Elections Listing Questions for Test #5 1. Describe the 2 – step flow of political communication; 2. What are 4 jobs of the Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.); 3. Describe the 3 phases of the development of radio in this country; 4. Describe the 3 phases of the development of newspapers in this country; 5. What are 4 jobs of the Interstate Commerce Commission (I.C.C.). Elections: The Rules of the Game Elections are held at fixed intervals that cannot be changed by the party in power Terms are fixed and, for some offices, staggered Term Limits Twenty-second Amendment No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term. Effects of a Winner-Takes-All, Single-Member District System In a winner-takes-all system, the candidate with the most votes wins the election (not proportional); In a single-member district, the voters choose one representative only (not proportional) •Wasted-vote •Reinforcement •Difficult syndrome of moderate and centrist candidates for minor parties to get elected Proportional Representation An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote Benefits: More accurately reveals the division of voter preferences Gives those who do not vote with the plurality some influence as a result of their vote Problems: May make it harder to have a clear winner The Electoral College The Electoral College Why it exists: The framers did not trust the choice of president to a direct vote of the people How it works: Each state legislature is free to determine how to select its electors Each party nominates a slate of electors, usually longtime party workers In 48 states, candidates who win a plurality of the popular vote secure all of that state’s electoral votes In NB and ME, electoral votes are allocated to the winner of each congressional district plus two electoral votes for the winner of the state as a whole A state’s electoral vote is equal that state’s representation in both the House and the Senate The Electoral College If no candidate gets a majority of the electoral votes, the House chooses among the top three candidates Occurred in 1800 and 1824 Makes it possible for a presidential candidate to win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote Occurred in 1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000 Electoral Vote by Each State The Electoral Vote of each State is equal to that state’s representation in both the House and the Senate # of Senators + # of Representatives The most frequently proposed reform for Presidential general elections has been to change those to direct popular election Running for Congress Partisan gerrymandering – redrawing district lines to help a political party; Safe seats – an elected office that is predictably won by one party; Coattail effect – the boost a candidate receives because of the popularity of presidential candidates from their party; Open Seat – an election with no incumbent running Seats Lost by the President’s Party in Midterm Elections Incumbents have a strong advantage when seeking reelection Name recognition – being better known than your challengers Campaign contributions Resources of office Franking Privilege – sending mail free to constituents, using their signature as a stamp Services on committees The House of Representatives Mounting a primary campaign Raising money – 1st Step! Building a personal organization Campaigning for the general election Candidate appeal – often a focus on the personal attributes of a candidate National tide Name recognition U.S. House Incumbents Reelected 1960-2008 Only 2 House incumbents were denied renomination in the 1990’s – often gaining reelection because of name recognition The advantage of this incumbency effect has led many to coin the phrase “permanent Congress” Membership in Congress Congress = The House of Representatives + The Senate. The Senate membership is 100 (2 per state) – elected to 6 year terms with 1/3 being elected every 2 years The House membership is 435 and this number is set by the Reapportionment Act which keeps this number constant. The number of seats is “reapportioned” after the Census every 10 years – their terms are 2 years and all are elected every 2 years. The Senate Costs more than House races, but cost varies by state More likely than House seats to be seriously contested Running For President Stage 1: The Nomination Campaigning begins well before any declaration of candidacy, as candidates try to: Line up supporters to win caucuses or primaries in key states Raise money for their nomination effort Running For President Stage 1: The Nomination Primaries (when states move up the dates for their primaries, it is called “frontloading”) Beauty contest Actual voting Systems Proportional representation Winner takes all Delegate selection without a commitment to a candidate Delegate selection and separate presidential poll Caucuses – meetings of local party members to choose party officials of candidates for public office Conventions Campaign Strategies Selecting a theme Negative Campaigning Using focus groups and polling News management Paid advertising Seeking free airtime Running For President Stage 2: The National Party Convention National Party Convention A national meeting of delegates elected in primaries, caucuses, or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president, ratify the party platform, elect officers, and adopt rules The statement on party perspectives on public policy will be stated in the platform The Vice Presidential Nominee Presidential candidates usually submit their choice for vice president in the run-up to the party’s national convention Running For President Stage 3: The General Election - Debates – to be included in the debates, candidates must have received an average of 15% or higher in 5 major polls identified by the Commission on Presidential Debates - TV and Radio Advertising In the 2000 Presidential Election: Al Gore won the popular vote while George Bush won a majority of the electoral college; Al Gore narrowly beat George Bush in New Mexico, but lost in the Electoral College after George Bush narrowly won in a controversial election in the state of Florida; This shows that election outcome usually do have policy consequences as there were many difference in political ideologies between these candidates. Method of Selection is the electoral college The people cast their ballots on – the 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November The electors in the electoral college cast their ballots on – the 1st Monday after the 2nd Wednesday in December Money in U.S. Elections Watergate The 1972 Watergate scandal led to the discovery that large amounts of money from corporations and individuals were “laundered” in secret bank accounts outside the country and used by Nixon’s campaign for political and campaign uses Efforts at Reform Three strategies used to prevent abuse in political contributions 1. Imposing limitations on giving, receiving, and spending political money 2. 3. Disclosure laws Governmental subsidies The Federal Election Campaign Act Serious campaign finance reform began in the 1970s with the Federal Election Campaign Act (1971) Buckley v. Valeo (1976) challenged the constitutionality of campaign finance limits Now, politicians must get small amounts of money from many sources, with an exception for “soft” money (In 1974, the Federal Election Campaign Act was amended to administer election reform laws through the Federal Election Commission) Soft Money Until 1998, more important in presidential contests than in congressional contests Between 1998 and 2002, soft money contributions more than doubled Soft money enabled large donors to be major players in campaign finance Banned by BCRA Issue Advocacy Advertising Promoting/attacking candidates without explicitly saying “vote for” or “vote against” Surged in 1996 In recent elections, issue advocacy groups have sometimes spent more than the candidates did themselves Often more negative than the ads run by candidates Only partially addressed by BCRA Section 527 and 501(c) Organizations 527s: May advertise for or against candidates 501(c): Include nonprofits whose purpose is not political America Coming Together Media Fund Swift Boat Veterans Independent Expenditures Buckley v. Valeo (1976): Individuals/groups have “First Amendment” right to spend as much money as they wish Restrictions: Must be truly independent of the candidate May not use corporate or union money Possible Reforms National presidential primary Regional primaries Expand use of caucuses Reforming the Electoral College Should we use a direct popular election instead of the electoral college? Pros Give every voter the same weight in presidential balloting Winners would have greater legitimacy Cons Plan would undermine federalism Unrestrained majority rule Populous states would lose influence Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 9 The Media and American Politics Role of the Internet in the 2008 Presidential Election The Internet was extremely beneficial to Barack Obama’s campaign By March 2008, Obama had about 1 million “friends” on MySpace and Facebook “Friends” received invitations to campaign events, links to speeches, and requests for campaign contributions Music videos supportive of Obama on YouTube Obama also advertised on Web sites Iron Triangle – informal association of a federal agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group The Influence of the Media on Politics: Television Most people in the U.S. watch some kind of TV news every day Recent growth of around-the-clock cable news and information shows Voters now rely more on TV commercials for information about candidates and issues, and less on news coverage The Internet More than 153 million unique domains have been registered worldwide For 37 percent of Americans, the Internet is their primary source of news The Internet provides an inexpensive way to communicate with volunteers, contributors, and voters, allowing people to respond rapidly to political events The Internet is now changing how politics is funded through its ability to quickly raise funds The Changing Role of the American News Media First newspaper: Boston NewsLetter, April 1704 Avoided controversial issues During Revolutionary War, newspapers abandoned impartiality and worked to build resistance to British policies 1833, advent of the penny press and in these early 1800’s, a move to be more responsive to the public’s increasing literacy and participation 1848, creation of the Associated Press Yellow journalism – the use of exaggeration and sensationalism to increase media attention Centralization of ownership of newspapers in early twentieth century has continued to this day “Objective Journalism” “Independent journalism! That is the watchword of the future in the profession. An end to concealments because it would hurt the party; an end of one-sided expositions… an end of assaults that are not believed fully just but must be made because the exigency of party warfare demands them.” -New York Tribune editor Whitelaw Reid The Impact of Broadcasting Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to recognize the effectiveness of radio to reach the public – known for his “fireside chats” The Impact of Broadcasting TV added a dramatic visual dimension In 2004, an investigative team at CBS News uncovered and aired this and other photos of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib. Although the military had been privately investigating the situation for several months, the actions of the CBS reporters brought the tragedy into the national spotlight. Investigatory Journalism Seymour Hersh and the Pentagon Papers Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein and Watergate - a scandal broken by the Washington Post Nina Totenberg and Clarence Thomas Dana Priest on the existence of secret CIA prisons Media Consolidation Emergence of large conglomerates owning multiple media outlets Rupert Murdoch, founder of the FOX network, owns 35 TV stations in the U.S., DirecTV, 20th Century Fox, HarperCollins Publishers, MySpace.com, and TV Guide, which has the largest magazine circulation in the U.S. Regulation of the Media The national government oversees TV and radio licensing, financing, and even content Mediated Politics The pervasiveness of the media confers enormous influence on the individuals who determine what we read, hear, and see because they can reach so many people so quickly The news media have also assumed the role of speaking for the people The Media and Public Opinion The ability of TV to present images and communicate events has influenced U.S. public opinion Civil Rights movement Vietnam War Watergate hearings September 11 Hurricane Katrina Factors That Limit Media Influence on Public Opinion Political Socialization Recall and Comprehension Audience Fragmentation Selectivity Needs Public Opinion Issue Framing Agenda Setting The power to set the context, to frame the issue, to interpret the facts, and potentially to provide legitimacy for people, issues, or groups are powerful and controversial functions of the media Deciding what will be decided, defining the problems and issues to be addressed by decision makers – calling attention to certain issues The Media and Elections: Choice of Candidates Presidential candidates welcome invitations to appear with Oprah, Leno, or Letterman, and try to reformulate their messages in a light, comedic style that fits the program Consistent with the media’s focus on personality is its highlighting of mistakes and gaffes by candidates Campaign Events Officials want to control information about themselves and their policies, including the way such information is framed and presented by the media Technology With the Web, citizens now have the opportunity to interact with each other on a wide range of political topics. The Internet allows people to communicate and organize rapidly in response to political events Image Making and Media Consultants Role of media consultants: Campaign professionals who provide candidates with advice and services on media relations, advertising strategy, and opinion polling - Give advice on what colors to wear, how to behave and act on TV A portrait of Abraham Lincoln as “Abe the Rail Splitter” - Use focus groups (asking small groups about issues and candidates) and public opinion polls to determine what the candidate says and does - Media consultants have taken over the role party politicians formerly played The Media and Voter Choice Personality over substance The horse race – common tendency to focus more on who is ahead than on the issues Negative advertising Information about issues Making a decision Election night reporting Ronald Reagan has often been called the “Great Communicator” for his ability to use the media to his advantage. The news media, however, still seems to be the most influential at the “local” level. Almost 70% of the public thinks that the press is a watchdog on the actions taken by the government. When referring to the media as the fourth branch of government, it must be stated that the Judiciary seems the least dependent on the press. The Media The media plays a major role in the shaping of public opinion and can assist and complicate the government in dealing with events Events such as the Gulf War in 1991 and American involvement in Somalia in 1993 are good examples Mass media refers to the technologies employed in communications to distribute information to large and widely dispersed audiences Mass media includes both print media and broadcast media, using electronic means of communication Group media, currently including the use of the fax and the Internet, are technologies primarily used within groups of common interest The media, especially the print media, is often called the “fourth branch of government Newspapers 1. During the Revolution and early 1800’s, newspapers were often organs of political parties 2. By the 1830’s, newspapers were largely independent 3. By the 1890’s, they included entertainment fare, such as comics, advice, sports, etc. Today, the 3 largest national newspapers are: 1. The Wall Street Journal 2. USA Today 3. The New York Times Magazines Tending to have a much smaller circulation, they are often forums for opinion-therefore, more like group media than mass media 2-Step Flow of Communications 1. Attentive policy elites-group leaders who follow news in specific areas 2. Policy elites then influence mass opinion by circulating their views in the media Radio 1. Radio began in the 1920’s and made celebrities out of news personalities 2. The novelty of radio was live coverage and in the 1930’s, it became much more objective for politics! 3. Today, radio is more important as a forum for talk than as a source of live coverage of events. Television brought the ability to present images and communicate events which has greatly influenced American public opinion, especially in the field of politics (this has been true for over 40 years. In 2004, more than 2/3 of U.S. citizens said their main source of campaign news came from television. While only 15% of U.S. citizens use newspapers as their main source for campaign news, most agree that newspapers do a better job of covering politics and devotes more attention to the campaign issues. The mass media are privately owned in the United States: Private ownership makes the media more dependent on advertising profits; Newsworthiness often means the appeal to the audiences, which means high impact, sensationalism, etc. Government regulation of the broadcast media began in 1934 The 1934 Communications Act created the Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) and formed the basis for government regulation for the next 60 years The media was regulated in 3 areas: 1.Technical regulations arose because of the limited number of frequencies available for broadcasting; 2. The FCC also regulated the ownership of electronic media; 3. The FCC also regulates the content of broadcasters, who use the public airwaves, not newspapers. The equal opportunities rule provides that a station must make available an equal amount of time under the same conditions to all political candidates The reasonable access rule requires stations to make their facilities available to conflicting views from all responsible elements in the community Changes have undermined the basis for the 1934 Act: 1. Technological change has made television commonplace. New technologies, such as computers, satellite transmissions, etc. have caused businesses to begin to pressure Congress to remove restrictions so these businesses could exploit these new technologies 2. Many business leaders argued that more competition would ensure a “marketplace of ideas” and regulation was an unnecessary abridgement of broadcasters’ First Amendment rights-the Reagan Administration agreed with this view and began to remove both ownership and content regulations. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 further removed many regulations *The intent of this act was to allow all communications media to compete in offering varied services to customers. The media has been criticized for “making” the news by deciding what to report as news Those in the media are often referred to as “gatekeepers”, as they decide what to present and how to handle various events Television is especially restricted by the time it can give to events. This is changing due to networks that are totally devoted to news, but the major networks are still under this limitation today In the covering of an election, the term for the coverage by the media is “horse-race journalism” The media focuses on who’s ahead more than on the specific issues Regulatory Commissions Interstate Commerce Commission (I.C.C.) 1887 – was the 1st regulatory commission and was established to regulate railroads 1. *Set Routes; 2. Set Rates; 3. Set Wages; 4. Set Safety Standards. Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) – an independent regulatory commission for the nation’s public airways (broadcasting) 1. License stations; 2. Set frequencies; 3. Censor material; 4. Fire employees who refuse to follow the guidelines set by the F.C.C. If no candidate gets a majority of the electoral votes, the House chooses among the top three candidates Term limits require a constitutional amendment, such as the 22nd Amendment In a winner-takes-all system, the candidate with the most votes wins the election (not proportional) In a single-member district, the voters choose one representative only (not proportional) The framers did not trust the choice of president to a direct vote of the people If no candidate gets a majority of the electoral votes, the House chooses among the top three candidates Each state legislature is free to determine how to select its electors Candidate appeal – often a focus on the personal attributes of a candidate The national party conventions is a meeting of delegates elected in primaries, caucuses, or state conventions assemble every four years to nominate and adopt the party platform Ronald Reagan had the greatest success in going from the radio to the use of the new media of television to further his goals (In 1974, the Federal Election Campaign Act was amended to administer election reform laws through the Federal Election Commission) Lack of press attention to the policies that may be implemented may explain, at least in part, why the public does not understand the business of politics