What is the definition of soft money quizlet?

Upgrade to remove ads

Only SGD 41.99/year

• Flashcards

• Learn

• Test

• Match

• Flashcards

• Learn

• Test

• Match

The 2014 report by Tokaji and Strause describes something called, the "new" soft money.

Terms in this set (4)

What was the "old" soft money and in what way does the "new" soft money resemble it? (hint: start by defining both)

i. Nonfederal Funds ("soft money"): Funds that are not subject to the limitations or prohibitions of the Act.
ii. Old soft money: the national parties sought to undo contribution limits that were dedicated to generic party activities (seeking out the vote, building the party, etc.), as opposed to supporting a candidate. Under FECA, it was established that unlimited amounts of money can be contributed to a political party for the purpose of generic party activities. This money is known as soft money. This resulted in billions flowing to political parties.
iii. McCain-Feingold Act (BCRA of 2002) banned soft money AND electioneering communications (on behalf of corporations and unions). The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA or McCain-Feingold Act) was primarily designed to address two perceived problems:
• Increased flow of soft money through political parties, used to influence federal election campaigns. So this act banned soft money.
• Proliferation of issue ads, designed to influence federal elections while evading the longstanding restrictions on contributions and expenditures. So this act prohibited corporate and union electioneering communications.
iv. New soft money: unlimited amount of money flowing to PACs (and other outside groups) in the form of independent expenditures (outside spending). There has been a dramatic increase in contributions in the form of independent expenditures.
v. However, the ban on corporate-funded electioneering was struck down in Citizens United and the ban on soft money was eliminated in McCutcheon v. FEC.

How is the "new" soft money affecting political campaigns?

According to Tokaji and Strause , outside spending (new soft money) has altered the political landscape. Key findings:
i. There are four basic types of outside groups in contemporary congressional elections (one of which are PACs)
ii. Outside groups engaged in independent spending do much of the dirty work in congressional campaigns, running negative ads, while at the same time making it more difficult for candidates to maintain message discipline
iii. Members of Congress see independent spending as a threat for those who refuse to toe the line of outside groups.
iv. There is a high degree of cooperation between outside groups and congressional campaigns, generally through publicly transmitted signals, even as campaign professionals and outside organizations tread carefully to avoid coordination as defined by federal law.

In what way does the hydraulics analogy used by Issacharoff and Karlan help understand the "new" soft money?

ii. Most of the legal-academic debate about campaign finance begins with Buckley and its progeny and focuses on whether or not and to what extent additional regulation comports with the First Amendment.
iii. But they ignore the central lesson of the post-Watergate experience: political money is a moving target. By political money we mean the money that individuals and groups wish to spend persuading voters, candidates, or public officials to support their interests.
iv. Their account is hydraulic in two senses:
• Political money, like water, has to go somewhere.
• Political money, like water, is part of a broader ecosystem. Understanding why it flows where it does and what functions it serves when it gets there requires thinking about the system as a whole.
v. This article takes a sharply different tack, heeding Deep Throat's advice to follow the money:
• Where will political money go if the reformers succeed? Once the dust settles, the current proposals may increase rather than dampen the role of money in politics. Or they may further undermine the capacity of candidates and political parties to shape the electoral agenda. Far from making politics more accountable to democratic control, they may make it less so.
• How does political money work its way through the system? The calls for reform all stem from the assertion that money corrupts the electoral process. The problem is that political money actually corrupts voters and that money is not necessarily central to corruption.

What are 501(c)4 organizations and how do they relate to disclosure issues raised by the "new" soft money.

i. 501(c)(4): social welfare organizations. They can engage in political advocacy but that cannot be its primary purpose, has to be less than 50% of its activities. However, they do not have to disclose the names of its donors. So what is the price of anonymity? You can remain anonymous and engage indirectly in independent expenditures, but for a lot of money.
ii. Dark Money: Money that is flowing into 501(c)(4)'s, which are then spending up to 49.99% in political advocacy, all without having to disclose its donors.
iii. Super PACs: have to disclose everything. But when they disclose who gives them money, they write the name of the charitable organization 501(c)(4). So you can see where they get the money from but not where the trail of money began.

Students also viewed

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

9 terms

corto_2

Test Bank Chapter 6

53 terms

madelinesegall

GOVT chapter 7 study guide

46 terms

jakemcmichael1

Chapter 11 Test

40 terms

Virginiamsmith

Sets found in the same folder

Buckley v. Valeo

24 terms

nanyhernandez099

Money in Politics intro

7 terms

nanyhernandez099

History of Money in politics

6 terms

nanyhernandez099

Question one

5 terms

nanyhernandez099

Other sets by this creator

GRE Data Analysis

108 terms

nanyhernandez099

GRE Word Groupings

69 terms

nanyhernandez099

GRE Vocab MASTER

518 terms

nanyhernandez099

ERD Workshop

10 terms

nanyhernandez099

Other Quizlet sets

Chapter 16 Economics Test Questions

14 terms

kitkatkaci

2nd Period End of Semester US History Review

15 terms

sarahxgrace

Economics Test 2 *MINKEL*

23 terms

joligutierrez

AP Gov Test 2 Semester 2 pt.2

32 terms

Robert_McCormick99

Whats the definition of soft money?

How is soft money used quizlet?

What is hard money quizlet?

What is soft money Apush?