YKY: FINAL POLITICAL SCIENCE FINAL EXAM STUDY NOTES (PART 3) !!!

Interest Group Techniques- Persuasion and Access

Persuasion

General public
Public officials- not simply elected officials, involves bureaucrats and elected officials

Judicial techniques- it is against the law to “lobby” a federal judge

Amicus Curiae Briefs- (friend of the court)- not a direct party to the case, interested in outcome, write persuasive briefs directed to parties of a case; not required to have legal training; if for free, it’s “pro bono”
Litigation- (lawsuit)- the litigants are the plaintiff and the defendant

Brown v. BOE of Topeka (1954)- ACLU, an outside interest group, wrote an ACB in support of Brown
NAACP actually litigated the case and paid for it

Writ of Certiorari (costs an average of 6-7 million dollars)- a formal petition seeking the court’s review (A writ of certiorari currently means an order by a higher court directing a lower court, tribunal, or public authority to send the record in a given case for review.)

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, [Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992)] is an example of interest group litigating.
In forma pauperis- “as a pauper”; avoid the payment of court fees

Lobbying- it is against the law to be on the floor of the legislature if you don’t have the correct credentials

· Lobbyists are paid representatives of interest groups. It is illegal for them to be on the floor of the legislature also. They are “information disseminators”.

A. Legislative lobbying – involves trying to influence legislative branch when bills are on the floor.

· Revolving door syndrome—people leave govt and go to work in private sector lobbying

K Street

—most major lobbying firms in Washington are located on/around K St.

B. Legislature lobbying—The Federal Register; federal rule making

· Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.

· Three B’s of lobbying:

1. broads

2. bribes

3. booze…the only legal one (so far!)

PACs – Political Action Committees- ONLY DATE BACK TO 1930’s

PACs seek to influence which legislators are elected and how they vote once elected.

PACs are perhaps the single most significant change in American politics since WWII.
A PAC is the political arm of an interest group that is legally entitled to raise $ in name of group; they give $ to organizations that promote their cause, and seek to influence politicians to try to persuade them to vote the “right” way on issues.
According to the chart on page 165, over 350 million $ was donated to PACs in 2005-06.
Dr. Decker said that in 1972, 113 PACs gave $8.5 million and in 2006, about 4,200 PACs gave $378 million!
A leadership PAC is a PAC formed of elected political officials (?)

COPE-Committee on Political Education;

dates back to 1930’s-
created by AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations…AFL-CIO is NOT a labor union; it is an organization made up of labor unions / an organization under which labor unions belong)
until 1970’s it was illegal for business corporations or labor unions to form PACs

Federal Election Campaign Acts of 1971 and 1974 (aspects of both)

It created Federal Election Commission; which enforces federal campaign finance rules and regulations including presidential and congressional elections.
Changes laws to allow business corporations and labor unions to form PACS; created a loophole: multiple memberships are possible. Corporation money has significantly outpaced non-corp money n US
law allows individuals to give up to $5,000/calendar year to a single PAC. Another loophole: you can give money in another person’s name. $115,000 in total political contributions in a 24 month cycle to candidates and PAC
PACs can give up to $10,000 to a candidate’s campaign per election cycle. Election cycle consists of the primary and the general election. They can give $5,000/primary and $5,000/general election. Loophole: “Bundling”- consider the $2,000 limit/candidate; the AMA, for example, may ask 150 doctors to each contribute and to make checks out to the candidate. Effectively then, the AMA would be giving $300,000 to that individual candidate by asking that each doctor give their individual personal limit of $2,000 to a single candidate.

ANOTHER LOOPHOLE: Remember the “cannibalistic campaign cycle”? I believe it refers to PACs giving $ to campaign $ which then gives $ to a # of PACs which in turn gives $ to PACs…and cycles on around; ever increasing.

Let’s not forget that, on average, 80% of PAC $ goes to the incumbent and 20% goes to the challenger.

Political Parties/TIMELINE-We’ve never had more than 2 major parties in the

1789- Ratification of USC

1789 Formation of FEDERALISTS- created to urge the ratification of the USC

1789- Anti-Federalists also formed- they opposed ratification of the USC (w/o a Bill of Rights).

(after ratification?) Anti-Federalists evolved into the Democratic-Republicans, AKA the Jeffersonians (“Jeffersonian Democrat-Republicans”)

1789-1815 Federalists

1820-Rise of Whigs- Whigs are from British Conservatives (R-wing). Whigs last until 1850’s…until the GOP formed.

1820’s- Democratic Party formed (Democrats are the oldest party in the world)

1828- Andrew Jackson, Father of Democrats, elected to Presidency—after losing electoral college vote but winning popular vote in 1824.

1850’s- GOP(Grand Ole Party of the Republic)/Republican Party formed before the Civil War. Abolitionist, based in Wisconsin, became the GOP. Democrats were Southern-based and supported slavery. Abraham Lincoln was the Father of the GOP.

Post Civil War, for ~100years, the South was known as “the Solid South”. Democrats were Southern-based.

1932 was a realigning election. Blacks changed party to Democrats…whites were slow to change to Republican. “Yellow-dog Democrats” were those who would rather vote for a yellow dog than vote for a Republican. FDR

Democrats GOP

Andrew Jackson, 1^st Democratic president Abraham Lincoln, 1^st Republican pres.

Southerner, Hermitage, TN. Northerner, Illinois (born in KY)

Farmers, Laborers Abolitionists

Lower SES (based on educ./income) merchants, big business

Blue-collar workers white-collar workers, bankers

Third Parties- there are two fundamental types in America

doctrinal 3^rd parties (doctrine = belief system/ideology/set of ideas)

Libertarian is an example, so is American Communist Party, American Nazi …etc)

They say they just need to get their message out; doctrinal parties refuse to compromise, they don’t water-down their beliefs. Libertarians are the 3^rd largest political party in the US.

Issue/Splinter party- splits away from 1 of 2 major political parties

· Progressive Party (1912)- AKA Bull Moose Party- split from Republicans. Teddy Roosevelt didn’t like Howard Taft, TR was an environmentalist, TR wanted to bust up monopolies (Sherman Anti-trust Act). TR split vote between himself and Taft. Woodrow Wilson got elected, then re-elected. Progressives became Democrats.

· State’s Rights Party (1948)- AKA Dixiecrats- civil rights issues- Summer 1948 at Democratic National Convention; Northern Democrats supported civil rights, white Southerners left convention, (led by ?)Strom Thurmond from S.C., Harry Truman won unexpectedly apparently; remember the mention of a picture of Truman holding up the front page of a newspaper that said “Dewey Defeats Truman”? Dixiecrats became Republicans.

From the oldest to the newest and also from the smallest to the largest NUMBER OF PEOPLE involved in making decisions:

(alphabetical also)

Caucus

Convention- replaced caucuses by the 1800’s (fundamentally held by state parties, party bosses would decide who would run, told others who to vote for—in “smoke-filled rooms”)

Primary- 20^th century phenomenon; party elections where you choose who you want to run in the general election.

And FINALLY…MY LAST HAND-WRITTEN PAGE OF NOTES TO TYPE-OUT:

Primary- most widely-used form today;

CLOSED (FL)- you have to be a registered member of the party to vote in the primary. Independents can’t vote in primary.

OPEN (GA)- On primary election, you can choose which party’s primary you want to vote in , but you can only vote in one party’s primary. You do NOT register with a party in GA.

DOWNSIAN THEORY- see hand-out!!!

READ

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,

FEDERAL PAPERS

AND THE USC

GOOD LUCK YALL, BEST WISHES…!!!

DID THESE HELP?