Social Media

For the initial post, respond to one of the following options, and label the beginning of your post indicating either Option 1 or Option 2:

• Option 1: List the ways in which contemporary presidential campaigns have used social media as a campaign tool. Do you consider social media as a successful tool? Explain your answer. Do you see social media as an unsuccessful tool? Explain your answer and provide examples.
• Option 2: There are numerous discussions involving the Electoral College. There are some people that want to abolish the electoral college while others want to keep it. What do you think? Keep the electoral college or abolish it? Explain the reasons for your choice.

Be sure to make connections between your ideas and conclusions and the research, concepts, terms, and theory we are discussing this week.

Writing Requirements

• Minimum of 2 posts (1 initial & 1 follow-up)
• Minimum of 2 sources cited (assigned readings/online lessons and an outside source)
• APA format for in-text citations and list of references

*****you can refer to the lesson****** (attached)

 

Introduction

President George Washington warned against the influence of political parties. In fact, the framers of the Constitution of the United States were concerned about factions (parties) that included interest groups and their prominent position as instruments of democracy. In a perfect setting, political parties are to unite majorities around distinctive rules of government to win public office and in turn, when entering public office, they will be able to enact these laws. This result is called a responsible parties’ model. Yet, this is not what is happening in our government today. Instead, the Republican and Democrat parties have grown ideologically apart over the years. Our country has become a divided government meaning one party controls the executive branch and either separate parties control the House and Senate or one party controls both the House and Senate. This is why it seems like very little ever changes and its politics as usual.

In elections today, our candidates are the ones fundraising, meaning, political parties are given a limited role in campaigns. This is not to say political parties do nothing. In fact, they organize electoral (election) choice by reducing the number of ambitious office seekers (by way of investigations, quality checks, etc.) that advance as our Democratic and Republican candidates. Even though we have a divided government, our government seems to, most of the time, function.

So, what process is involved to nominate a candidate?

Nomination and Primaries

Before the Progressive Era reforms, party leaders would get together and decide on the nominee. Now, primary elections have pretty much replaced conventions in electing Democratic and Republican nominees for office. There are different types of primaries. Closed primaries allow only registered Republican or Democrat voters whereas open primaries allow voters to choose their party on election day.

There is also something called the invisible primary where the presidential candidate must try to gain as much support from his party as possible. This is called the invisible primary because this is usually done behind closed doors and in private.

To complicate matters further we have indirect primaries, which is when voters choose convention delegates, and the delegates determine the party’s candidate in the general election and direct primaries when voters decide party nominations by voting directly for candidates.

The general election is held in November, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday for presidential and most state elections.

Next, let us take a look at some of the important characteristics of the US political system.

 

The US Political System Transcript

Voting, Campaigns, and Elections

Free elections are the cornerstone of American democracy. This is the time when voters can choose one candidate over another to hold political office or to retain the political office in local, state, or federal elections.

What are the requirements to run for office?

Requirements to Run Accordion Transcript

Who runs for office? In the past, it was usually white professional men, but now we see women and African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos running for office in Congress and for the presidency. For example, Hillary Clinton was close to winning the presidential nomination in 2008 and she succeeded in 2016, but then lost the presidency to President Donald Trump by a slim margin. President Barrack Obama was our first African American president in 2008. He won in a groundbreaking vote!

Now, let us focus on the presidential campaign. After the candidates have been nominated, usually through primary election, the most expensive and extensive part of the election process begins with the general election. There are three stages of the presidential campaign process.

First, they need to be nominated by one of the two major parties (Republican or Democrat). Second, the nominee must be formally named at the national party convention which is usually held in late summer. This is the first formal acknowledgment of the nominee. Third, comes the general election. This is the time for candidates to travel to battleground states so the candidate can secure the minimum of 270 electoral votes that are necessary to win the presidency. To campaign, candidates need funding for travel, television campaign advertisements, radio advertising, staffing, and posters, banners, and other campaign items. In early American history, campaign financing was unregulated, and no data was collected concerning campaign funding. However, this changed in the 20^th century when federal corruption practices acts could regulate campaign financing. The Hatch Act of 1939 restricted the political activities of civil servants and made it unlawful for a political group to spend more than 3 million in any campaign and limited individual contributions to a campaign committee to $5000. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 replaces all past laws and restricted the amount that could be spent on campaign advertising and the amount that candidates could contribute to their own campaign. It also required release of all contributions and expenses over $100. The Federal Election Commission consists of six bipartisan administrators whose prime duty is to enforce compliance with the requirements of the acts.

Money and Politics

The connection between money and elections is an extremely sensitive issue in American politics. Many people believe that large corporations and wealth control the political system. The FECA (Federal Election Campaign Act) in 1974 and 1976 allowed corporations, labor unions, and other interest groups to set up political actions groups (PAC’s) to raise funds for candidates. PAC’s can contribute up to $5,000 per candidate in each election. Each corporation or union is limited to operating one PAC. Since the 1970s, PAC’s have leveled off and interest groups and activists have found alternative methods for funneling resources into campaigns. Interest groups and PAC’s started using soft money meaning campaign contributions to political parties that escaped the limits of federal or state election law. There are no limits to contributions to political parties for activities such as voter education and voter registration drives. This loophole enabled the parties to raise millions of dollars from corporations and individuals.

As of 2016 political campaigns are financed in two ways:

• One is spending by the candidate’s own committee. An individual can contribute up to $2,500 to a candidate in a single election as well as contributions by committees.
• The second way is independent expenditures. In January 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens v FEC that corporations, unions, and nonprofits may spend freely to support or oppose candidates so long as the expenditures are made independently and are not involved with candidate campaigns. This ruling developed the new political organization called the Super PAC’s. This group aggregates unlimited contributions by individuals and organizations and in turn funnels the money into independent expenditures. Super PAC’s are supported usually by wealthy individuals more than corporations or other organizations.

Voting

Let us move on to discuss voting! Why do voters vote the way they do? There are three models that describe the way people vote.

• First, the prospective or responsible party model. This model assumes that a party will stick to their promises and people will vote for one party over another based on those said promises.
• Second, the electoral competition voting model assumes that the party with the most moderate position (meaning the candidate who stays closer to the center in his or her views instead of going to the extreme left or extreme right) will win. The problem with this method is that it can lead to partisan divides and gridlock. For example, the environment is a huge issue today. A candidate can state an environmental issue does not exist but that would be extreme and vice versa a candidate can say, we must get rid of everything that will hurt the environment which would also be considered extreme. Taking the middle would be a candidate that acknowledges environmental issues that need to be addressed, while avoiding promising extreme action.
• Third, the retrospective voting model that seeks to reward, or punish, politicians for their actions in office. The problem with this model is that the candidate has already served a full term in office. There is also the issue of the median (middle) voter hypothesis. This is when the voter is undecided when it comes to making a choice between liberal/conservative views. Instead, they tend to focus on what each candidate represents especially concerning healthcare, the environment, and jobs.

 

States and Constitution

Each state constitution has different requirements when it comes to voting. The Fourteenth Amendment protects the basic right to vote and forbids states from imposing requirements concerning this right. However, the problem with individual state constitutions setting their own standards has become a major issue. As of now, state control voting policies and procedures shows a pattern of inconsistent voting rules. Voting should be a simple process where every registered voter can participate. Voter identifications and registration requirements as well as the machines that some states use versus what other states use has caused problems with consistency. States and counties also design their own ballots and have almost complete authority when it comes to state voting policies and procedures. For example, North Carolinas state constitution asserts felons do not have the right to vote when they get out of prison and you must show a face id before voting whereas New Hampshire allows felons the right to vote after finishing their sentence and voter ids are also required. Some members of House and Senate are pushing for a Right to Vote Amendment that protects individuals right to vote that is protected in the Constitution. It also establishes voting as an individual right, not just a privilege given by the states.

Summary

This week we discussed political parties and voting, campaigns, and elections. We examined the reasons why we in our American government have a two-party system and how political parties play an important role in our political system as well as our elections. We explored the fundamental election procedures, the rules of the game that detail how a candidate is nominated and how the president is elected by the electoral voting process. We also examined how the United States compares to other foreign governments.