The manner in which political campaigns are financed in the United States is unique. Explain how incumbents and their challengers raise funds for their elections, and the impact this has on public policy
Consider the impact Congressional leaders have on junior members as well as how the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling affects who gets into Congress as well as the policy-making process. Considering Figure 13.1, Increase in Congressional Lobbying and Lobbyists, and the tripling of lobby funding over the last decade, evaluate the effect of campaign finance on the electoral system. Would you reform campaign financing? What, if anything, would you change?
What will be an ideal response?
An ideal response will:
1, Describe the affect of money on congressional elections.
2, Differentiate the U.S. system from others.
3, Provide examples of senior leader control over junior leaders. For example, House Speaker Pelosi leaned on committee chairs to push her agenda, and used the levers of campaign finance—the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and her own leadership PAC, which reportedly gave $40 million to Democratic House candidates in the 2007–2008 election cycle—to influence representatives in her party.
4, Examines unlimited campaign contributions as free speech through Super PACs.
5, Provides compelling argument on the utility of money in elections, presenting alternatives to the current system or justification for the status quo.
6, Offers a conclusion with a restatement of the thesis.
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The Pendleton Act established the
a. merit system. b. spoils system. c. general schedule system. d. Senior Executive Service. e. Selective Service System.
Jim Crow laws
a. required racial segregation in almost every aspect of life in states where they were adopted. b. were passed by the federal government to protect the rights of African Americans. c. were invalidated by states during Reconstruction. d. were adopted by the Texas legislature to force the federal government to enforce civil rights laws. e. were prevalent in most Southern states, but fortunately never had much impact in Texas.