...Introduction An electoral candidate can win an election if he has plenty of campaign finances. This seems to be the common wisdom that people believe in when it comes to the electoral success of candidates. However, such a statement is not easily verifiable. In fact, there are several factors involved in the determination of whether or not there is a correlation between the campaign finances used by candidates and the probability of winning due to these funds. It has been the contention of majority that for a candidate to get a seat or win the presidency, it is important that he spend lavishly. If this is the case, then incumbents, who are generally the ones equipped with the biggest campaign funds, have edge over challengers. It is also an assurance to potential challengers that if they manage to put up campaign funds, whether from contributors or from their own pockets, they are already assured of a win in the elections. With the government structure the United States have, generalizing for all sectors of the government, particularly during the electoral races, will be quite complex. Moreover, though it is very easy to make assumptions, such arguments could start crumbling once empirical studies of various experts on the subject of political science come to light. Factors such as policy decisions, party affiliations, popularity, etc. play a role in the acquisition of campaign finances, necessitating the need for thorough analysis of how these factors affect...
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...with the influence of the media fishbowl. Reading number sixty-seven No Place for Amateurs by Dennis Johnson focuses on the effect of political consultants on a candidate’s campaign for election. Discussing negative campaigning, reading sixty-eight Going Dirty by David Mark gives detail on political marketing, 527 groups and the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform of 2002. Reading number sixty-nine Why we vote by David Campbell highlights the different reasons why people vote. Finally, reading number seventy How Barack Obama Won by Chuck Todd and Sheldon Gawiser discusses the landmarks leading up to the 2008 election and the possibility of an alignment of the democrats. In Stormy Weather by Dante Scala the author describes the first stage of the election process as the exhibition season and the second stage as the media fishbowl. Scala describes the exhibition season as “the period that extends from the morning after a general presidential election, until the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire more than three years later” (Scala, p. 491). This is the time where candidates create campaign themes in order to decide which constituencies are receptive of their ideals. “Key tasks include fundraising; the early stages of organization building in various primary states; and seeking the...
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...Marketing *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT Political marketing sits at the nexus of two disciplines, political science and marketing, but is not entirely accepted by either. The present research looks at the origin, development, and evolution of political marketing and examines how the adoption of a political marketing orientation is impacting the practice of political campaigns. The role of political marketing in actually changing voters’ preferences is also examined, showing that grassroots marketing efforts seem to have the greatest effect, especially with undecided voters. Finally, voter segments are derived for the last five presidential elections in the United States (1988-2004) using latent class analysis (LCA). The interpretation and implications of these segments are discussed and several avenues for future research are suggested. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................... vi...
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... Why do political parties in the United States abandon or revisit specific issues? Moreover, what is the driving force behind a party making an issue politically salient? Some examples that could be correlated with these questions could be why the Republican Party has stayed silent on issues that many old-guard Democrats feel is contentious in the current administration, why the sudden recent ideological transformation of conservative party, or why many politicians steer clear from Wall-Street related subjects (even though lashing out against bankers these days is sure to garner some attention, and most likely support from the general public). All of these examples and more will be discussed in order to provide a sufficient answer as to why issues are left behind in the dust or put out prominently on display. There are numerous factors and variables to consider when trying answering such a question, one of which could be racial factors. It’s been largely documented that Latinos have been an increasingly growing electorate, going from 1 percent of voters from the 1950s to over 11% in the twenty-first century (Abramowitz 27). With this information in mind, it would make sense that the Democratic establishment is today trying to initiate immigration reform in the United States Senate, knowing that they’ll have an increasing amount of support from their Latino electorate. It should also be noted that although the Democrats harbor a substantial share of the Latino vote, the...
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...Edexcel AS Politics Edexcel AS Politics ExamBuster 2009 Introduction to Unit 1- People and Politics Understanding the Examination and Exam Technique Choosing your questions In this unit you are presented with four questions. They are of equal value and each question covers one of the four sections of the specification. These are: Democracy and political participation Party policies and ideas Elections Pressure groups There is no significance to the order in which questions appear. Each question is divided into three sections (a), (b) and (c). When choosing which questions to do, the following principles are recommended: It is almost certain that you will be better off choosing your strongest question to do first. You should choose questions on the basis of how well you can answer the section (c) part. The (c) part carries 25 of the 40 marks available for the whole answer. Do not choose a question simply because you can do part (a) especially well. The (a) question is only worth 5 marks. It would be illogical to choose your strongest (a) part if you cannot do well on section (c). If you cannot decide between several (c) parts, i.e. you can do more than one equally well, make your choice on the basis of part (b) which carries 10 marks. But remember, it is the (c) parts that will determine most what your overall mark will be. So, when you first look at the exam paper, look at the (c) sections first. Assessment Objectives Each question is divided into three sections,...
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...Throughout the past year of presidential campaigning, one of the top issues for both candidates has been that of whether or not there should be a prescription-drug benefit added to Medicare. Both George W. Bush and Al Gore have proposed a plan to expand Medicare to include full prescription-drug coverage for senior citizens receiving Medicare, at the expense of taxpayers. It is obvious why this issue has been such a priority for both candidates. Senior citizens vote at a much higher rate than other age groups. Both candidates know the importance of these senior citizen votes and believe that the proposal of adding a prescription-drug benefit is something that will appeal to a vast number of senior citizens. Both candidates have portrayed the issue as being very critical and as a serious problem that needs to be addressed. The question, however, is whether or not such drug coverage is a worthwhile project to undertake. Is the problem indeed serious enough to call for the type of reform that the candidates are proposing? Medicare is already a very costly program to keep up, and adding prescription-drug coverage would increase these costs even more. In order to fund this project, there will need to be a tax hike. Should taxpayers subsidize this prescription-drug benefit? Is there a good reason why this redistribution should take place? What are the benefits and costs of this proposal? These and other questions will be addressed in this paper as we examine the following topics:...
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...Comm 301 May 8, 2014 A Pentadic Analysis of Hillary Clinton Interview The artifact we are analyzing for our study is a live television interview that Hillary Clinton was giving to San Francisco’s KTVU-TV in late February of 2008. This interview was broadcasted via television and is also available on YouTube and other video media sources. The interview was being hosted by a man named Ross McGowan of KTVU-TV to senator Hillary Clinton, and that within itself makes it a significant artifact. The live interview about healthcare that Hillary Clinton was giving had to be cut short when the New York senator began having a coughing fit. Prior to the cough attack, the interview was directed but not limited to the subject of health care. Senator Clinton was speaking of issues such as the pulling troops from the Iraq war, California’s mortgage crisis, Americas current health care system, and the idea of a universal health care system. In the end of the interview Clinton fails to answer the question regarding her husbands role in her campaign by coughing for the remainder of the interview abruptly ending it. Whether or not the actions by Clinton were intended, speculation of this interview arose. In 2000, Hillary Clinton became the first women to be elected a seat in the United States Senate. At first glance, Clinton’s aggrandizement to such a respectable political position seemed like a victory for herself and the ongoing women’s movement effort. However, the continual reminder of...
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...implementation has been put on hold by the Supreme Court for a year a now. Republic Act 10354, which would provide information on and access to reproductive health services, is under status quo ante order “until further orders” by the Supreme Court (SC). The law – probably the most polarizing national issue today – was passed on December 18, 2012, after 13 years in Congress. Anti-RH advocates immediately questioned the constitutionality of the law before the SC. The high court is expected to decide on the case in April, with insiders predicting the law could be headed for defeat in the Supreme Court. House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr has said that declaring the RH law as unconstitutional would be "a veto against the will of majority of our people." As decision time nears, frustrated reproductive health supporters are taking the fight to the social media world. The #Yes2RH campaign was initiated by Likhaan Center for Women's Health, in cooperation with several other pro-RH organization.It will run from March 28 until April 8. Likhaan calls on other RH advocates to support the campaign, and hopefully influence the upcoming SC decision. Using the hashtag #Yes2RH, they've started a campaign that asks citizens to upload selfies on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Here is the format: Name, Designation 1, Designation 2 (optional) Location #Yes2RH A few celebrities and citizens have already uploaded their...
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...Resources Director: A. What types of organization activities and behaviors would you curtail and why? (Buckingham) The types of organizational activities and behaviors I would restrict in order to shift a company from knowledge, skill and ability-focused to talents and strengths-focused would be: • Spend a considerable amount of time finding the right candidates in the beginning. If the appropriate time is dedicated to finding the right candidate, it will save time and money for the company trying to invest in an employee with the wrong talents or strengths. • Recruit based on talents and strengths. Focus on performance by establishing outcomes. Rather than trying to fit each employee into a certain pattern, emphasize on the amount of positive outcomes and less on policies, procedures, and capabilities. • Training should be focused on educating employees about their strengths and discovering new ways to build on these strengths. The company’s time and money should be invested in educating their employees for the benefit of the organization. • Development should be focused on growing employee’s strengths and not necessarily promoting outside their areas of strength. Avoid promoting employees that take them out of their strengths based role, there are other ways of incentivizing a job well done. B. What steps/activities would you undertake to assess the current employee base and why?...
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...employers. For further information visit our qualifications websites at www.edexcel.com or www.btec.co.uk for our BTEC qualifications. Alternatively, you can get in touch with us using the details on our contact us page at www.edexcel.com/contactus. If you have any subject specific questions about this specification that require the help of a subject specialist, you can speak directly to the subject team at Pearson. Their contact details can be found on this link: www.edexcel.com/teachingservices. You can also use our online Ask the Expert service at www.edexcel.com/ask. You will need an Edexcel username and password to access this service. Pearson: helping people progress, everywhere Our aim is to help everyone progress in their lives through education. We believe in every kind of learning, for all kinds of people, wherever they are in the world. We’ve been involved in education for over 150 years, and by working across 70 countries, in 100 languages, we have built an international reputation for our commitment to high standards and raising achievement through innovation in education. Find out more about how we can help you and your students at: www.pearson.com/uk Summer 2013 Publications Code US036082 All the material in this publication is copyright © Pearson Education Ltd 2013 6GP02_01 1301 No. 1 (a) With reference to the source, outline two features of the UK constitution. AO1 Knowledge and understanding Key knowledge and understanding The...
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...chairperson C. State and Local Organization 1. election, caucuses 2. wards Prereading and Vocabulary 2 1. should cut back on expensive government programs Sample definition: Conservatives believe in cutting costs and government programs. 2. came to vote Sample definition: The electorate is the group of people who are allowed to vote. 3. voted at the polling place, elementary school Sample definition: A precinct is a small area from which all the residents report to vote at one location. 4. wards 5. bipartisan 6. nominate 7. Liberals 8. resign CHAPTER 5 Section 1 Reading Comprehension 3 1. Answers for rankings will vary. Historical basis: The two-party system is rooted in the beginnings of the U.S., when the ratification of the Constitution gave rise to the first two parties. Tradition: Most Americans accept the idea of a two-party system simply because there has always been one. Electoral system: Since only one winner per office comes out of each election, voters have only two viable choices—the candidate of the party holding office or the candidate with the best chance of replacing the current officeholder. Voters tend to think of a vote for a minor party candidate as a wasted vote. Republicans and Democrats work together in a bipartisan way to write election laws to make it hard for a minor party or independent candidate to win elective office. Ideological consensus: Compared with other countries, the U.S. has been free of longstanding...
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...Writing 140: Section #64330 Rory Lukins November 15th, 2013 Assignment #4 The Tea Party’s Illegitimate Reactions to Perceived Failures of Society Signs that read “revolt against socialism”, arguments racing across the floors of Congress, and meddling in the electoral process to protest against the Democratic agenda are just a small number of the Tea Party’s activities. The Tea Party is a movement spurred on by CNBC’s Rick Santelli whose angry rant rouse the fervor of many a conservative. (Skocpol & Williamson, 1) In particular, he argued against the economic stimulus package introduced by the Obama administration in 2009. Shortly after, the official commencement of the Tea Party movement began with a rally of the fiscal conservative. It started out as a grassroots movement and later evolved into a widespread local and national organization. With generous funding from conservative billionaires and large political organization committees, the Tea Party grew exponentially from state to state. Tea Partiers called for a cut in taxes and public spending as well as deregulation of business operations to lower the national deficit. These individuals started their protest by conventional rallies with signs denouncing Obama’s policies. This later escalated, however, into endorsing candidates into the GOP and reforming the Republican Party. The Tea Party’s activities have contributed towards the recent government shutdown causing scorn amongst many in American society. A legitimate...
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...Opposition by American Conservatives, extremists and presidential candidates The resistance and opposition of CCSS by American Conservatives include indoctrination, data mining, and legal opinion for State rights. Further, their rationales differ in trying to protect education as a state run exclusive right because of historical legacies and funding. In the article “Common Core Education Standards: Why they’re contested left and right;” Amanda Paulson describes the adverse reaction in which politicians and the general public have in regards to current education reform as a whole. The backlash is coming from both sides of the political spectrum. Among Republicans, supporting Common Core (aka “Obamacore”) has become particularly toxic,...
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...English Should be the Official Language of the United States This is America and we primarily speak English, so English should be the official language of the United States. The movement to pass federal laws designating English as the Official Language of the United States has jumped to the forefront of political debate once again. As most debates have two distinct sides, so does this one. English only movements have surfaced many times in our country’s past but mainly at the local or State level (Brice, 2013). The argument has become more relevant recently due to well-funded lobbyist and immigration reform disputes. As with many controversial concerns in the political arena, this topic has become problematic. Activist are attempting to persuade political candidates, law makers, educators, social groups, individuals and the media by polluting the process with conjecture rather than critical analysis based in rational attestable information. In the interest of objectivity, we will use professional research and omit personal opinion while presenting arguments in support of this movement. We will equitably represent opposing views which demonstrate that there are legitimate concerns as to why the United States should not have English as the official language. To counter manipulative tactics and confusing statements, it is important to define the major terms associated with this topic: Official- A person who has a position of authority in a company, organization...
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...Reading Section Directions: These sample questions in the Reading section measure your ability to understand academic passages in English. You will read one passage and answer questions about it. In a real test, you would have 20 minutes to read the passage and answer the questions. Candidates with disabilities may request a time extension. Meteorite Impact and Dinosaur Extinction There is increasing evidence that the impacts of meteorites have had important effects on Earth, particularly in the field of biological evolution. Such impacts continue to pose a natural hazard to life on Earth. Twice in the twentieth century, large meteorite objects are known to have collided with Earth. 5 If an impact is large enough, it can disturb the environment of the entire Earth and cause an ecological catastrophe. The best-documented such impact took place 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period of geological history. This break in Earth’s history is marked by a mass extinction, when as many as half the species on the planet became extinct. While there are a dozen or more mass extinctions in the geological record, the Cretaceous mass extinction has always intrigued paleontologists because it marks the end of the age of the dinosaurs. For tens of millions of years, those great creatures had flourished. Then, suddenly, they disappeared. The body that impacted Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period was a meteorite with a mass of more than a trillion tons and a diameter of...
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