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U.S. Presidential Campaign Finance: Comparisons, Myths and Developments

U.S. Presidential Campaign Finance: Comparisons, Myths and Developments. By Marcin Walecki and Jack Santucci. From Canvassing for Votes , William Hogarth, 1755. Tory and Whig electioneers bribe an English landowner for his vote. U.S. Political Finance: A Brief History.

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U.S. Presidential Campaign Finance: Comparisons, Myths and Developments

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  1. U.S. Presidential Campaign Finance:Comparisons, Myths and Developments By Marcin Walecki and Jack Santucci From Canvassing for Votes, William Hogarth, 1755. Tory and Whig electioneers bribe an English landowner for his vote.

  2. U.S. Political Finance: A Brief History 1758 – George Washington woos voters with £5,000+ in beer and rum (£40 at the time); wins seat in Virginia colonial legislature. 1883 – Congress bans gifts by federal employees. 1910-11 – Congress mandates disclosure of $100+ gifts to congressional races. 1967 – First attempt to enforce laws. Thwarted by Justice Dept. 1971 – First comprehensive law: Federal Election Campaign Act.

  3. 1974-5 – Watergate scandal. Congress createsenforcement body, Federal Election Commission.1976 – Supreme Court sees spending limits as“infringement on free speech” in Buckley v. Valeo.2002 – Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold) bans “soft money,” but loopholes emerge in time for 2004 presidential race.2008 – Relying heavily (though decreasingly with time) on small donors and the Internet, Barack Obama breaks presidential fundraising records. U.S. Political Finance: A Brief History, cont’d

  4. Spending Limits in Selected Democracies Sources: Istituto Federal Electoral (Mex.), Federal Electoral Commission (USA), International IDEA, Central Election Commission (Rus.).

  5. The Cost of Campaigning Source: OpenSecrets.org. 2008 data as of October 20. Source: FairVote.org. “Ad dollars” covers money spent on television advertising.

  6. The Cost of Campaigning, continued This one-night-only ad cost $2.6 million. The entire Senate campaign in Minnesota, for all candidates, so far has cost only 10 times that. Sources: OpenSecrets.org as of 30/10/08 and adage.com. Presidential “advertising” includes all expenditures. Sources: MSNBC, OpenSecrets.org as of 27/10/08.

  7. Public Financing of Campaigns • Candidates who agree to limit spending may receive public matching funds. • This money comes from a fund to which taxpayers voluntarily contribute. • U.S. House and Senate candidates do not have access to this program. • Without public financing, the following candidates may not have been viable: • In 2004, however, the funding-limit “tradeoff was no longer worthwhile” for: • In 2000, public funds were 8% of the total $3 billion spent on federal races. In 2008, this share will be much lower, though projected total expenditures are $5.3 billion. McCain took public money but only for the general election. • Ronald Reagan (1976) • Jimmy Carter (1976) • George H.W. Bush (1980) • John McCain (2000) • George W. Bush • John Kerry Sources: Jeffrey Carlson; USAID, Money in Politics Handbook, 2003; Campaign Finance Institute, So the Voters May Choose,2005; Center for Responsive Politics.

  8. Public Financing of Campaigns, continued A prisoner’s dilemma? “Again, even a candidate committed to revitalizing the public financing system would be committing suicide to have opted in in the 2008 primary season.” - Rick Hasen, Election Law Blog, 27/5/08

  9. Public Financing of Campaigns, a rejoinder “…move to such positive goals as increasing electoral competition, candidate emergence and promoting equality through small donors and volunteers.” - Michael Malbin, “Rethinking the Campaign Finance Agenda,” 2008. “The concept of fairness is closely connected with the notion of a level playing field.” - Marcin Walecki, “Ensuring Equal Rights in the Election Process,” 2004. Source: Campaign Finance Institute, 25/9/08. Data as of 31/8/08.

  10. Explaining Small Donors: The Internet • Enabling condition or main reason? • Mostly small (<$200) gifts that campaigns do not have to report. • Undermining traditional sources? • PRO: Ease boosts participation: go online, enter credit card, click. • CON: An avenue for fraud and foreign funding? Lawyers for both the Republican and Democratic parties… pointing to dozens of examples of what they say are lax screening procedures by the presidential campaigns that permitted donors using false names or stolen credit cards to make contributions. - Matthew Mosk, Washington Post, 25/10/08

  11. www.moneyandpolitics.net

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