Verified Document

Campaigns And Super PACs Essay

Related Topics:

.....political ads changed over the last 60 years? Please use examples from the 1960's, 1980's and 2000's to support your answer.In the beginning when TV was first used in the United States by the public, political ads were scarce. In the 1940's and even through into the 1960's presidential candidates reached out to meet voters, shaking hands and holding town-hall debates. (Suggett) It was a commitment to vie for presidency. However, as time passed and the mid 1960's brought some changes, political candidates aimed to ramp things up.

There was a need to address the masses in a more convenient form and so Lyndon B. Johnson aired the "Daisy Girl" commercial, effectively becoming the most controversial political ad of the time, and one of the most memorable. (Fowler, et al.) From there, change came to political ads in the form of negative ads such as the 1980 presidential campaign where Carter and Reagan broadcasted commercials aimed at proving their opponent was unfit for the job. The 2000's continued this trend, however, marketing and commercials increased, both in quality and quantity. Memorable strategies included Gore's criticism of Bush's planned tax cuts and Bush's claim Gore administration would...

(Baker)
2. Has the US Supreme court case of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission (2010) changed the landscape of interest group influence or is it largely the same as it was before?

The Citizens United ruling was released early in 2010 (January), and removed the union and corporate ban on producing financing electioneering and independent expenditures (Dunbar). It allowed unions and corporations to spend an unrestricted sum on ads as well as other political tools, making it easier to defeat individual candidates based on money and exposure. The decision was a 5-4 and while it made it easier to pay for the public sway of candidates, it still did not affect company and labor contributions, keeping such activity illegal. (Dowling and Miller)

Although contributions are illegal, that does not keep wealthy people from donating to super PACs and then these super PACs spend on political campaigns. Super PACs must report donations. However, there is less restriction for nonprofits and business leagues that can accept donations without disclosing too much information. (Smith and Powell) If it is not their primary activity, these groups can influence political outcomes more so than ever before.

3.…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Campaign Finance Reform
Words: 1021 Length: 4 Document Type: Research Paper

Campaign Finance Reform With our national election cycle reaching its quadrennial fervor, filled with frenzied campaigning and feverish advertising blitzes, American citizens are once again charged with the enormous task of deciding upon their next leadership class. What began with our forefather's modest experiment in democratic governance, built upon a foundation of informed citizenry selecting candidates who best represented shared values on the relevant issues of the day, has since become

Campaign Finance Spending You Decide Campaign Finance
Words: 663 Length: 2 Document Type: Research Paper

Campaign Finance Spending You decide Campaign finance spending reform For many years, campaign finance reform was an important 'talking point' amongst populist Democratic and Republican senators alike, cumulating in the McCain-Feingold Act. The Act placed spending limits upon 'soft money' (money not directly given to a candidate or party) as well as banned corporations from financing advertisements designed to influence voting about particular issues before an election (Gitell 2003). The Act was intended

Campaign for the U.S. Presidency When Barack
Words: 756 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Campaign for the U.S. Presidency When Barack Obama was elected to the presidency in 2008, it was a remarkable historical event; never before had an African-American achieved the highest office in the United States. And Obama was facing a daunting task; he was expected to bring the country out of the severe recession, create new jobs, to help the middle class regain its footing, stimulate the economy, and shore up the

Campaign Finance Reform
Words: 2053 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

American Anti-Corruption Act: The Tipping Point for American Citizens The American Anti-Corruption Act: A tipping point for American citizens In the wake of increasing concerns about the undue influence of money and special interest groups in American politics, the anti-corruption advocacy group Represent.Us created a grassroots campaign in support of a law called the American Anti-Corruption Act. The Act is "a nine-point plan to crack down on lobbyists, strengthen the flimsy law intended

Federal Campaign Contribution Laws for Presidential and Vice Presidential...
Words: 915 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

Federal Campaign Contributions Over the last several years, this issue of campaign finance has been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because the influences of the affluent and special interests in the field of politics have become more perverse. However, the issue of the involvement of special interests in elections has been a major challenge (with the founding fathers warning about how this is a threat to democracy). ("The Presidential

2012 Presidential Campaigns, the Use of Television
Words: 2428 Length: 8 Document Type: Essay

2012 presidential campaigns, the use of television advertising was characterized by unprecedented advertising volumes. The political advertising in the 2012 presidential campaign contributed greatly to the win of Obama into office due to high consistency levels and coherence (Tedesco & Dunn, p. 80). The increase was attributed to outside groups like PACs who were able to raise and spend dollars in advertising for the current post-Citizens United regulatory regime.

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now