POSC 225 ACTUAL FINALS QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS SET A+
✔✔4- during election year, to provide a rationale for party's reelections - ✔✔
✔✔Opposition party response - ✔✔-often rising star in party
-MA congressman Joe Kennedy
-since 1966
-formal opportunity to respond, but not equal
-gives Pres advantage
✔✔Campaign $$$ - ✔✔-US they're candidate-centered than party-centered
-candidates must assemble own campaign teams, raise own $, design/execute
strategies, and hire consultants/technical specialists
✔✔It's expensive - ✔✔-ads are also important now that the media have surpassed
parties as info center
✔✔Privately financed elections raise 2 problems - ✔✔1-democracy demands political
equality, but $ is distributed unequally
2- raise suspicion that candidates will serve themselves and not their constituents
CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW
✔✔Before 1970s, campaigns were effectively UNREGULATED, congress acted - ✔✔-
Federal Election Campaign Act 1971, 1974
-est. partial public financing of pres elections
-req. public disclosure of contributions/expedintures
-capped individual and PAC to 1000
-SC overturned this in Buckley v. Valco 1976 on 1st amendment grounds
✔✔New problems emerged as unintended consequences - ✔✔-greater reliance on
PAC
-candidates spend more time raising money Maggie Lauderer 1994
, -soft money (unregulated) and independent expidentures
✔✔Congress responded with Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act 2002 - ✔✔-
McCain R - Feingold D
-raised cap on individual and PAC contributions
-limited soft money and independent spending
-with citizens united 2010, sc overturned spending limits
-spending = speech
✔✔Campaign now operates finance through 2 parallel systems - ✔✔1- money directly
to candidates is subject to limits on the size of contributions and full source disclosure
(hard money regulated)
2- money raised/spent outside of campaign is lightly regulated (super PACS, soft money
unregulated)
✔✔Do winning candidates repay their donors with votes that support policy to benefit
donors? - ✔✔-Bernie Sanders thinks so
✔✔Few deny that $ provides access - ✔✔-research has not provided indisputable
evidence of this
✔✔Constraint calls for reform - ✔✔4 reasons
✔✔1- Campaign spending ceilings - ✔✔-could magnify incumbency advantage
-money leads to access problem
✔✔2- Forbidding large donations/banning PACs - ✔✔-would make it harder for
candidates to raise money
✔✔3- Financing congressional campaigns w tax dollars? - ✔✔-not supported by public
-3rd parties and independent candidates?
✔✔4- Ultimate barrier - ✔✔-first amendment
-SC of the US
✔✔Congress "The Broken Branch" - ✔✔
✔✔House Constitutional
-435 reps
-pop determines size of state delegation
-each representative rep districts within states (avg 724k constituents)
-2 year terms (all members)
-originates revenue bill
-initiates spending bill
-domestic affairs
ANSWERS SET A+
✔✔4- during election year, to provide a rationale for party's reelections - ✔✔
✔✔Opposition party response - ✔✔-often rising star in party
-MA congressman Joe Kennedy
-since 1966
-formal opportunity to respond, but not equal
-gives Pres advantage
✔✔Campaign $$$ - ✔✔-US they're candidate-centered than party-centered
-candidates must assemble own campaign teams, raise own $, design/execute
strategies, and hire consultants/technical specialists
✔✔It's expensive - ✔✔-ads are also important now that the media have surpassed
parties as info center
✔✔Privately financed elections raise 2 problems - ✔✔1-democracy demands political
equality, but $ is distributed unequally
2- raise suspicion that candidates will serve themselves and not their constituents
CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW
✔✔Before 1970s, campaigns were effectively UNREGULATED, congress acted - ✔✔-
Federal Election Campaign Act 1971, 1974
-est. partial public financing of pres elections
-req. public disclosure of contributions/expedintures
-capped individual and PAC to 1000
-SC overturned this in Buckley v. Valco 1976 on 1st amendment grounds
✔✔New problems emerged as unintended consequences - ✔✔-greater reliance on
PAC
-candidates spend more time raising money Maggie Lauderer 1994
, -soft money (unregulated) and independent expidentures
✔✔Congress responded with Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act 2002 - ✔✔-
McCain R - Feingold D
-raised cap on individual and PAC contributions
-limited soft money and independent spending
-with citizens united 2010, sc overturned spending limits
-spending = speech
✔✔Campaign now operates finance through 2 parallel systems - ✔✔1- money directly
to candidates is subject to limits on the size of contributions and full source disclosure
(hard money regulated)
2- money raised/spent outside of campaign is lightly regulated (super PACS, soft money
unregulated)
✔✔Do winning candidates repay their donors with votes that support policy to benefit
donors? - ✔✔-Bernie Sanders thinks so
✔✔Few deny that $ provides access - ✔✔-research has not provided indisputable
evidence of this
✔✔Constraint calls for reform - ✔✔4 reasons
✔✔1- Campaign spending ceilings - ✔✔-could magnify incumbency advantage
-money leads to access problem
✔✔2- Forbidding large donations/banning PACs - ✔✔-would make it harder for
candidates to raise money
✔✔3- Financing congressional campaigns w tax dollars? - ✔✔-not supported by public
-3rd parties and independent candidates?
✔✔4- Ultimate barrier - ✔✔-first amendment
-SC of the US
✔✔Congress "The Broken Branch" - ✔✔
✔✔House Constitutional
-435 reps
-pop determines size of state delegation
-each representative rep districts within states (avg 724k constituents)
-2 year terms (all members)
-originates revenue bill
-initiates spending bill
-domestic affairs
