Campaign Strategy- the Master Game Plan Candidates Lay out to Guide Their Electoral Campaign

Chapter 9

Key terms

Nomination-The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party. Generally, success in the nomination game requires momentum money and media.

Campaign strategy- The master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign.

National party convention- The supreme power within each of the parties. The convention meets every four years to nominate the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates and to write the party’s platform.

Caucus- A meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention. Caucuses are usually organized as a pyramid

Presidential primaries- Elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate(or delegates pledged to him or her). Most delegates to the national party convention are chosen this way.

McGovern-Fraser Commission- A commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation.

Super delegates- National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the democratic national party convention.

Front Loading- The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention.

Party platform- A political party’s statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. The platform is drafted prior to the convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidate’s strength. It’s the best formal statement of a party’s beliefs.

Direct mail- A high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidate. It involves sending information and request for money to people whose names appear on list of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past.

Federal Election Campaign act- A law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. The act created the FEC, provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions.

Federal election commission- Six member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. The FEC administers the campaign finance laws and enforces compliance with their requirements.

Soft money- Political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grass roots level or for generic party advertising. Unlike money that goes to the campaign of a particular candidate, such party donations are not subject to contribution limits.

PAC- Funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms. A corporation, union, or some other interest group can create a PAC and register it with the FEC, which will meticulously monitor the PAC’s expenditures.

Selective Perception- The phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions.

Objective one

1.)Momentum money and media

2.)Other page

3.)Leaders could no longer handpick delegates in secret and states held primaries to pick delegates.

4.)Disproportionate attention goes to the early caucuses and primaries, Prominent politicians find it difficult to take out from their duties to run, Money plays too big of a role, participation is low (about 20 percent), and the system gives too much power to the media.

5.)To select presidential and vice presidential candidates and to write the party platform.

Objective two

1.)How candidates use their advertising budget and the “free” attention they get as news makers.

2.)Get a campaign manager, get a fund raiser, get a campaign counsel, hire media and campaign consultants, assemble a campaign staff, plan logistics, get a research staff and policy advisors, hire a pollster, and get a good press secretary.

Objective three

1.)Created the FEC, Provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, Limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and limited contributions.

2.)PAC assures with their campaign contributions that the candidate they fund will most likely support their cause if elected to office.

Objective four

1.)Reinforcement, activation, and conversion

2.)People pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions, Factors such as party identification influence voting behavior regardless of what happens during the campaign, Incumbents start with a substantial advantage in terms of name recognition and an established track record.

Objective five

1.)That after a defeat the parties will begin running more candidates past the American people very soon after an election.

2.)Campaigns shrink the scope of government as candidates have to appeal to the people to get in office and stay in office.

CHAPTER 10

Terms:

Legitimacy: A characterization of elections by political scientists meaning that they are almost universally accepted as a fair and free method of selecting political leaders. When legitimacy is high, as in the United States, even the losers accept the results peacefully.

Referendum: A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment.

Initiative petition: A process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions calling for such a referendum.

Suffrage: The legal right to vote; extended to African Americans by the Fifteenth Amendment, to women by the Nineteenth Amendment, and to people over the age of 18 by the Twenty-Sixth Amendment.

Political efficacy: The belief that one’s political participation really matters—that one’s vote can actually make a difference.

Civic Duty: The belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote.

Voter registration: A system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advance of Election Day. A few states permit Election Day registration.

Motor Voter Act: Passed in 1993, this Act went into effect for the 1996 election. It requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they apply for their driver’s license.

Mandate Theory of Elections: The idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics. Politicians like the theory better than political scientists do.

Policy voting: Electoral choices that are made on the basis of the voters’ policy preferences and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues.

Electoral College: A unique American institution, created by the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the state parties. Although the Electoral College vote usually reflects a popular majority, the winner-take-all rule gives clout to big states.

Retrospective Voting: A theory of voting in which voters essentially ask this simple question: “What have you done for me lately?”

Objective 1: Explain the functions and unique features of American elections:

1. List 3 kinds of elections found in the United States and their purpose.

-Primaries

-General Elections

-Electoral Vote

2. What is the difference between an initiative petition and referendum?

-Voters can vote for things presented to them by legislatures, initiative petition, allows the voters to propose changes in the state constitution (if there is enough interest by voters)

Objective 2: Describe how American elections have evolved using the presidential elections of 1800, 1896, 200:

Candidates and Party / Winner / Major Issues / Campaign Style / Significance of the election
Federalists:
Adams
Democratic-Republicans:
Jefferson / Jefferson / Strict/Loose Construction
Strong/Weak Federal Govt. / Newspapers
Debates / Peaceful Revolutions
Populist Party:
William JenningsBryan
Republicans:
McKinley / McKinley / Support for Gold/Silver / Debates
Sensationalism / Highest turnout ever
Republican:
Mini Bush
Democrats:
Al Gore / Mini Bush / Abortion
Surplus
Tax-Cuts
Chad… / Mudslinging
TV/RADIO
Newspaper / There’s no way to accurately vote.

Briefly summarize the positions of the three presidential candidates in 200 concerning economic policy (Al Gore, Bush, Nader)

Al Gore-

Bush- Tax cuts
Nader-

Objective 3: Discuss the factors that affect a citizen’s choice of whether to vote:

1. List three major reasons why people might vote:

-Voting against things

-Civic Duty

-Political Efficacy

2. What is major provision of the Motor Voter Act
Requires states to provide voter registration at same time of driver’s license.

3. Education

Age

Race

Gender

Marital Status

Mobility

Union Membership.

Objective 4: Explain how Americans vote and what factors influence how they vote:

1. What is meant by the “Mandate theory of elections”?

The Mandate Theory is the theory that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out their platform politics.

1. How has the influence of party ID on voting changed since the 1950s?

The parties are not nearly as influential as they have been. The parties have weakened and party voting has declined and stabilized at a new level.

1. What are the three most important three dimensions of a candidate?

Integrity, Reliability, Competence

1. What are the three conditions necessary for true policy voting to take place?

Voters must have a clear view of their policy positions. Voters must also know where candidates stand on policy issues. They must see differences between candidates on those issues. Finally, they must cast a vote for the candidate whose position coincides with theirs.

Objective 5: Explain how the electoral college works & what biases it can introduce.

1. How does the Electoral College works?

-State representatives vote for the pres. No. of reps from each state determined by states number in Congress, state rep. vote with general election, all vote unanimously except Nebraska and Maine.

1. What are two reasons why the electoral college is important to presidential elections?

-It introduces a bias into the campaign and the electoral process.

-It gives extra clout to the big states.

-Bias toward urbanites

Objective 6: Understand how elections affect democracy, public policy, and the scope of government.