US Government and Politics: Revision Exchange Thread

OP

Party Decline or Party Renewal evaluated.pptx61.9KB

Here is something I did a while back. I hope it is helpful to you guys. Please give feedback

Reply 22

Xeasi

2

Thanks for the powerpoint, no real criticisms and i'm finding it useful.

As for the DREAM Act, it still hasn't been passed in that form. However certain aspects of it have been - most notably to do with deportation. I can only do a quick search right now but these two articles/posts should help:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/06/obama-basically-passed-the-dream-act-himself.html
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/jamie-dupree/2012/jun/15/obama-makes-big-change-immigration-policy/

You also have state movements:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_DREAM_Act
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/us/illegal-immigrants-to-pay-in-state-tuition-at-mass-state-colleges.html?_r=1&

"By his count, 12 states have laws allowing illegal immigrants to claim state residency and pay in-state tuition; this month, Maryland became the first to adopt such a law by popular vote. The others are California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin."

Reply 23

OP

Original post by Xeasi

Thanks for the powerpoint, no real criticisms and i'm finding it useful.

As for the DREAM Act, it still hasn't been passed in that form. However certain aspects of it have been - most notably to do with deportation. I can only do a quick search right now but these two articles/posts should help:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/06/obama-basically-passed-the-dream-act-himself.html
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/jamie-dupree/2012/jun/15/obama-makes-big-change-immigration-policy/

You also have state movements:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_DREAM_Act
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/us/illegal-immigrants-to-pay-in-state-tuition-at-mass-state-colleges.html?_r=1&

"By his count, 12 states have laws allowing illegal immigrants to claim state residency and pay in-state tuition; this month, Maryland became the first to adopt such a law by popular vote. The others are California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin."

Thank you for this. It was helpful. Are you also aware of the latest bill in Congress created by the Senate's Gang of Eight? It has passed in the Senate but has halted in the House mainly due to John Bohner and his distrust of the administrations willingness to implement the bill properly due to Obama's use of signing statements and such.

The official name is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Security,_Economic_Opportunity,_and_Immigration_Modernization_Act_of_2013

House Democrats even tried to use a discharge petition to get the bill out of the House Rules Committee but it ultimately failed as it needs a certain number of signatures. But this example can be used in the Legislative process if that comes up. I would advise you just refer to it as 'The Immigration Bill' by the Senate's Gang of Eight.

I also read that the Dream Act effectively failed due to a Republican Filibuster in the Senate.

Are there any other documents you may find useful. Anything on factions would be very helpful to me. Thanks

Reply 24

Has anyone seen any questions which ask just about Impeachment?, is it likely to come up as a stand alone 15 marker or would it be in a wider essay on the Constitution/Congress/Presidency?

Reply 25

OP

All 15 mark questions from 2010 (Unit 4).docx3.8KB

Original post by JProcter

Has anyone seen any questions which ask just about Impeachment?, is it likely to come up as a stand alone 15 marker or would it be in a wider essay on the Constitution/Congress/Presidency?

There are no questions on impeachment alone. If you were describing the functions of Congress you could mention it when making the point about scrutiny or holding the government to account.

I need someone to help me understand how candidates receive so much money through contributions when PACs can only donate $5000. Any help would be appreciated.

Reply 26

FH1

Does anyone have any tips on getting an A*?

Reply 27

PACs can donate as much money as they want,
As long as they dont expressly say that they are supporting a candidate they can spend as much as they want thanks to Citizens Unite 2010.
So if they run tv adverts against a particular candidate and the other candidate doesnt approve the message then they have the money.
Large individuals also hold fund raisers for big candidates, which they give to the national committees which then gives it to the candidate. There was a dinner a few months ago by two Hillary Clinton supporters which was $32,000 a head, for rich democrat supporters,
Also PACs such as get ready for Hillary receives massive amounts of money. Because Clinton herself isnt involved in it directly then it wouldnt count as her official campaign and so they can spend as much money as they want.
In 2012 most of Obama's non-trade union money came from individual donors who donated $250 or less.
In a country the size of America these donations add up.
http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/contriblimits.shtml

Here's a list of the Individual limits, don't forget people will always find a loophole to give the big money donations,
Organisations on the face of it may look limited but if a few organisations give a lot of different people money then it quickly builds up.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 28

OP

Original post by JProcter

PACs can donate as much money as they want,
As long as they dont expressly say that they are supporting a candidate they can spend as much as they want thanks to Citizens Unite 2010.
So if they run tv adverts against a particular candidate and the other candidate doesnt approve the message then they have the money.
Large individuals also hold fund raisers for big candidates, which they give to the national committees which then gives it to the candidate. There was a dinner a few months ago by two Hillary Clinton supporters which was $32,000 a head, for rich democrat supporters,
Also PACs such as get ready for Hillary receives massive amounts of money. Because Clinton herself isnt involved in it directly then it wouldnt count as her official campaign and so they can spend as much money as they want.
In 2012 most of Obama's non-trade union money came from individual donors who donated $250 or less.
In a country the size of America these donations add up.
http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/contriblimits.shtml

Here's a list of the Individual limits, don't forget people will always find a loophole to give the big money donations,
Organisations on the face of it may look limited but if a few organisations give a lot of different people money then it quickly builds up.

So what you're saying is that PACs don't donate directly to candidates? Can you confirm that donating directly is useless as there is an annual limit? I wasn't actually sure. So when I read things like a pressure group donated $800 thousand to a Candidate or his campaign it really means that the group actually spent money on ads or campaigning on behalf of a candidate rather then actually donating to them?

Thanks

Reply 29

Yeh, theres limits to how much they can directly give the candidate thanks to the FEC,
But as long as there not inexplicably linked to the candidates campaign, eg Same people working on both, they can spend as much money as they want.

Reply 30

Donating directly isnt totally useless as if many people donate then you get a lot of money to play with aside from pac funds, so if 1 million people donate $100 dollars each thats 100 million dollars to spend.
Don't forget though, money isnt the only thing a candidate gets from pacs, these groups go out and get people to vote and fund over things and often endorse more than one candidate to office.
Our teacher said he might not bother teaching campaign finance to us because not a lot of centres do nationally apparently, I've read quite a bit about it while looking at Pressure groups because I find it really interesting, have you studied it?

Reply 31

OP

Original post by JProcter

Yeh, theres limits to how much they can directly give the candidate thanks to the FEC,
But as long as there not inexplicably linked to the candidates campaign, eg Same people working on both, they can spend as much money as they want.

Thank you very much. Feel confident about talking about this now. Just keep posting if you ever need any help. I wanna keep this thread busy.

Original post by JProcter

Donating directly isnt totally useless as if many people donate then you get a lot of money to play with aside from pac funds, so if 1 million people donate $100 dollars each thats 100 million dollars to spend.
Don't forget though, money isnt the only thing a candidate gets from pacs, these groups go out and get people to vote and fund over things and often endorse more than one candidate to office.
Our teacher said he might not bother teaching campaign finance to us because not a lot of centres do nationally apparently, I've read quite a bit about it while looking at Pressure groups because I find it really interesting, have you studied it?

Yeah I can understand that, my main confusion was just that it wouldn't be in the interest of a rich person who wanted more influence. I have studied it. Let my just check my knowledge.

It started following the the Watergate Scandal under Nixon when many critics pointed out that money has become too important in electoral campaigns. Therefore, in 1972 Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) which introduced a variety of limites, most notably donation limits to political parties or candidates. However in Buckley v Valeo in 1974 the Supreme court ruled that an individual is entitled to spend his money how he wishes. So despite candidate and party contribution limits remaining, individual candidates were able to spend as much of their own money as they wanted on their own campaign.

However it was clearly seen that campaigns were still becoming more expensive and groups continued to find loopholes in the system. So in 2002 John McCain and Russ Feingold sponsored the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act which introduced new regulations, especially in areas such as advertising during campaigns. Whilst the Stand by Your Ad provision had some impact, the new 527 groups effectively undermined much of the act by abusing loopholes allowing them to run aggressive attack ads. This was clearlly seen in the 2004 primary season when John Kerry was continuously attacked by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

2010 was the biggest hitter to campaigning finance reform. In FEC v Citizens United it was ruled that Corporations have the same free speach rights as individuals and could effectively fund ad campaigns which directly advocated the election or defeat of a candidates. Another court case, FEC v Speechnow.org, led to the introduction of the now very powerful Superpacs. Both these cases effectively undermined the 2002 act and money has grown significantly in elections. Groups such as Priorities USA, Restore Our Future and American Crossroads have spent so much money, much of which has been donated by just around 100 or the richest people, including the Koch Brothers and Casino Owner Sheldon Adleson.

This year it was further weakened in the case McCutcheon v FEC in which the Supreme court struck down aggregate limits on donations. So now instead of only being able to donate to a few candidates, you can donate to as many as you want. But there are still donation limits.

Am I okay with this topic? Some of what I wrote I am uncomfortable with lol

Reply 32

OP

Original post by victorazubuike

Have your teachers given any predictions for what they believe might come up? - My teacher in regards to the 3C paper is adamant that there will be a question on race in the form of a 45 marker. While my 4C teacher also believes there will be a Supreme Court 45marker. Any other predictions?

My teacher has also Predicted a race question. I hope a Supreme court question doesn't come up as I have left out that topic almost completely.

I do predict, Judging from politics review, that a question on the Partisan presidency is going to come up. It makes sense considering the current political climate.

For C3 I think a question on split ticket voting may come up or something that it would be good to include in. Also for pressure groups there have been questions on how they influence the Senate and Judiciary but none for the Executive yet. So I'm guessing that it may come up.

Reply 33

faultinourstars

Original post by eagleclawsan

My teacher has also Predicted a race question. I hope a Supreme court question doesn't come up as I have left out that topic almost completely.

I do predict, Judging from politics review, that a question on the Partisan presidency is going to come up. It makes sense considering the current political climate.

For C3 I think a question on split ticket voting may come up or something that it would be good to include in. Also for pressure groups there have been questions on how they influence the Senate and Judiciary but none for the Executive yet. So I'm guessing that it may come up.

Hi, so there was an article about the partisan presidency in the latest issue of politics review? I will have to ask my teacher to track down a copy. So nervous for this exam!

Reply 34

Original post by eagleclawsan

My teacher has also Predicted a race question. I hope a Supreme court question doesn't come up as I have left out that topic almost completely.

I do predict, Judging from politics review, that a question on the Partisan presidency is going to come up. It makes sense considering the current political climate.

For C3 I think a question on split ticket voting may come up or something that it would be good to include in. Also for pressure groups there have been questions on how they influence the Senate and Judiciary but none for the Executive yet. So I'm guessing that it may come up.

If your uncomfortable with it then try to avoid it, they generally wont ask in that much detail, it looks like we're not gonna be taught about Campaign finance after all, I have an interest in it so I go looking for the really hard stuff,
I'm really relaxed about politics, as long as I have some good up to date examples i'm pretty happy :smile:

I'm so obsessed with 2016 and we're not even gonna be asked about it,
What did you think about Ben Sasse's win in the Republican Primary in Nebraska as well?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 35

FH1

Has anybody thought of any predictions for the race topic in 3C?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 36

mxjc278

Original post by FH1

Has anybody thought of any predictions for the race topic in 3C?

Posted from TSR Mobile

I'd imagine it would be along the lines of 'To what extent has racial equality been achieved in the US' or something like that.

Hopefully it won't target just 1 section of society, I think I've seen a question before where it was just limited to African-Americans.

Just a guess though, anyone got any actual educated guesses?

Reply 37

OP

What do I NEED to know about federalism?

Reply 38