POL-344-001 CRITICAL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, FALL 2011

THE SECOND, ONE-WEEK CRASH COURSE IN ANALYZING ELECTIONS

Questions for Wayne chapters 2, 4, 5, 6

Wednesday, November 9

2.1 (Josh) To what do you attribute exponential increases in the cost running presidential campaigns over the years? Is there any one factor or a combination of many different ones that have caused this?

2.2 (Alyssa) Table 2.1 (pg 33) lists the costs of presidential general elections of the major parties. Seven of the winners spent less money then the opposing party. How may one explain this as most of the time, the presidency is won by the candidate who spends the most? What may have affected these outcomes?

2.3 (Jacob) Campaign spending and finance is a huge part of any modern presidential election. Do you think that money plays too big a role in the election of the president? Do the type of contributions made (ie small or large in size) matter?

2.4 (Kyle) Looking beyond the chapter on campaign finance, Wayne clearly puts an emphasis on the importance of finances in presidential elections. While this is nothing unheard of, does the chart on page 51 suggest that accusing a candidate of "buying" an election is nothing more than political posturing?

2.5 (Maryam) What are your thoughts on the nonconformity within campaign finance? For example, how do you feel about the recent Supreme Court decision regarding corporate donations to PACs and Super PACs?

2.6 (Annie) Wayne notes that some American believe increasing individual contribution limits violates the rights of less wealthy people under the 5th amendment's equal protection clause.  Do you see any truth to this argument?

2.7 (Jake) In Chapter 2, Wayne claims that the Federal Election Campaign Act, which set forth
information and regulations about campaign finance, has compiled data about campaign finance for the general public. He argues that it has generated greater media scrutiny, more public awareness, and activity among citizen watchdog groups. Is this a valid argument, that it has generated more public awareness? In an age that has seen disappointed, disengaged, and frustrated voters, does the general public actually pay more attention to campaign finance, now that there is significant data and federal legislation regarding campaign finance?

4.1 (Chris) One significant change to the 2012 selection rules is that Republicans now award delegates proportionately (rather than winner-take-all) starting in March (see chart on p. 120 for a summary). Is this a good idea, or put another way were there advantages to the winner-take-all system employed in the last few GOP nomination races?

4.2 (Jake) Wayne states that often candidates seek to influence party rules, and the rules themselves change quite frequently. This is a direct result of certain rules significantly assisting some candidates and hindering others. Does the constant changing of rules corrupt the nomination process, and taint the notion to have any rules regulating party nomination? Or, does it reflect the fluidity and ever-changing environment of contemporary politics?

5.1 (Aaron) Wayne lays out the necessities for campaigning for the nomination of a party.  With his necessities in mind, how would you start out your campaign for the nomination?  Where would it go from there?  Explain your reasons.

5.2 (Chris) Iowa and New Hampshire seem destined to maintain their place at the front of the presidential primary/caucus season. But, if you had to design this system all over again, keeping most of the delegate selection rules in place, how would you alter the TIMING and LOCATIONS of the key primaries and caucuses? In other words, if it makes little sense to have Iowa and New Hampshire play such key roles and so relatively early in the process, what WOULD make sense in terms of when and where primaries are held?

5.3 (Mario) Hypothetically speaking; if you are a candidate for The Office of The President of The United States of America, and you only have to choose between advertising on TV or on the internet, which do you choose? (Assuming that your opponent will choose the opposite)

6.1 (Nick) Chapter 6 talks about the importance of the 'non-competitive' phase of the nomination campaign to healing the image of the candidate. How will the lengthy and extremely competitive Republican nomination phase affect the candidates? Will the eventual winner be able to both repair their image and keep media attention, given the length of the nomination phase before a primary has even been held?

6.2 (Chris) What risks do nominees face as they reposition and reprioritize? Considering those risks, why do this at all?

6.3 (Chris) Considering Table 6.3 (pp. 197-8), what factors seem likely to increase, or decrease, the convention ‘bounce’ in the polls that a nominee may receive?