Campaign
Finance
Background
The money that finances
a political campaign has tremendous influence on who runs for office, how that
person campaigns, and if elected, on how that person prioritizes constituent
interests. Each time Congress has passed a law designed to limit campaign
contributions and spending from any one individual or group, wealthy
contributors have found "loopholes" which let them avoid legal
restrictions. Additionally, the Supreme Court has ruled that absolute limits on
federal campaign spending violate the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Congress' most recent
effort to enact campaign finance reform is the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
of 2002, also known as the McCain-Feingold Bill. Among other provisions, the
law bars political parties from raising and spending "soft money"
contributions from businesses, labor unions, and individuals. As a result,
contributors have given millions of dollars to so-called independent
organizations that engage in political activities. One congressman described
the growing number of independent organizations as "the greatest threat to
the federal election process we have ever seen." ("New Fundraising Scrutinized."
Write a 4 to 6 page research paper. Your paper
should research the topic on campaign financing, interest groups and their
impact on the political process and contain the answers to the following
questions:
1.
How much money do Americans spend on political campaigns?
2.
Do wealthy contributors "buy" government influence?
3.
Should the government limit campaign contributions and spending?
What are the pros and cons of limiting campaign contributions and spending
limits?
4.
How can Americans
achieve genuine campaign finance reform without jeopardizing freedom of
expression
1. Using the resources indicated as well as others you
may find, research to answer the questions concerning interest groups and
campaign finance reform.
2.
Write a rough draft of your paper. Due December 11
3.
Final
draft is due Friday, December 19
Resources by Question
1. How much money
do Americans spend on political campaigns?
2. Do wealthy contributors
"buy" government influence?
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/cfmemos.html
Article:
Adam.
"Buying a High-Priced Upgrade on the Political Back-Scratching
Circuit." The New York
Times. 15 Sept. 2003. A18. ProQuest.
.
Day Month Year of access.
3. Should the government limit campaign contributions and
spending? What are the pros and cons of limiting campaign contributions and
spending limits?
http://www.ncpa.org/pd/govern/govern2.html
http://www.cato.org/research/crg/finance.html
4. How can Americans achieve genuine campaign finance reform
without jeopardizing freedom of expression?
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/cleanelections.html
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/21/presidential.money.ap/
http://www.ncpa.org/pd/govern/govb.html
http://www.ncpa.org/pd/govern/pdgov/pdgov3.html
Terms
Political Action
Committees (PACs): Organizations
established by businesses, labor unions, and interest groups to channel
financial contributions into political campaigns.
Buckley v. Valeo, 1976:
Landmark Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of the Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended in 1974. While the Court upheld
limits on contributions to candidates for federal office, it ruled that overall
limits on spending by federal candidates and their committees violated the
First Amendment. For more information see Hoover Institution, Campaign Finance: Buckley v. Valeo
http://www.campaignfinancesite.org/court/buckley1.html
"Hard" Money: Political contributions that are restricted by election laws.
"Soft" Money: Unregulated contributions to political parties that are
theoretically spent on "party-building activities", such as
"issue ads" and "get out the vote" campaigns. Such spending
is often called a major loophole in federal campaign spending law. For more
information, see Common
Cause: Campaign Finance Reform; and National Center for Policy
Analysis: Effects of the Proposed Campaign Finance Law.
Issue Ads: Advertisements that purport to inform citizens about political
issues. Critics claim that such ads - paid for with unregulated funds - are
used to influence the outcome of elections. For more information, see NOW with
Bill Moyers: Interview
with Kathleen Hall Jamieson; and WASHINGTON
POST: Court Challenge Likely if McCain-Feingold Bill Passes
Public Financing of
Presidential Campaigns: Under the 1974
amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, presidential
candidates can receive government subsidies if they accept spending limits.
Currently, they can obtain as much as $18.6 million in public subsidies for
their campaign through the nominating conventions. In return, they must agree
to a $45 million spending limit during that period as well as caps in
individual states. For the general election, party nominees receive about $75
million in public money. During the 2004 election campaign, President Bush and
Democratic candidates Howard Dean and John Kerry refused to accept public
funding for the presidential primary campaigns so that they could raise more
money than the rules permit.
Bipartisan Campaign
Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), Public Law 107-155, also known as the
McCain-Feingold Bill: The law, passed on
March 27, 2002, places new restrictions on soft money and issue ads. For more
information see Federal
Elections Commission: Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002; and Common Cause: Campaign Finance
Reform. For a full text of the law, see NOW with Bill Moyers:
The Clean Election Movement and the "Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
of 2002".
McConnell, Mitch, et al.
v. Federal Election Commission, 2003: An
amalgamation of 11 suits argued that the BCRA limits First Amendment rights. In
a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the BCRA on the key issues of banning
"soft-money" contributions and limiting "issue ads." For
more information, see NOW with Bill Moyers: Campaign Finance in the Supreme Court;
and a legal brief of the case from On the
Docket: Medill School of Journalism
Additional
Resources
General
http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm
Buckley v. Valeo, 1976
http://www.campaignfinancesite.org/court/buckley1.html
Soft
money
http://www.ncpa.org/iss/gov/2002/pd021502a.html
Issue ads
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript123_full.html#jamieson
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), Public Law 107-155, also known
as the McCain-Feingold Bill
http://www.fec.gov/pages/bcra/bcra_update.shtml
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/cleanelections.html
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/campaigncourt.html
McConnell, Mitch, et al.
v. Federal Election Commission, 2003