EYES on the PRIZE.FOCUS: Special Interests Give Millions to Politicians to Buy Access and Influence TEACHING OBJECTIVES To help students understand the role of money in politics, specifically who gives how much to whom--and what donors expect in return for their contributions. Discussion Questions: * Many Americans believe that giving money to candidates and political parties falls under the constitutional protection given to freedom of speech. Do you agree? * In September, Hillary Rodham Rodham is an English surname which may refer to a number of persons or places. People Family of Hillary Rodham Clinton
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of State, agreed to stop running ads funded by soft money. Do you think presidential candidates should do the same? CLASSROOM STRATEGIES Before Reading: Write this question on the board: Why do people donate huge amounts of money to political candidates? Critical Thinking/Writing: Lead students through each of the groups listed, stopping to note the main interest of each. Do students know what a "special interest" is? Tell them that the term has taken on a pejorative pejorative Medtalk Bad…real bad connotation con·no·ta·tion n. 1. The act or process of connoting. 2. a. An idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing: because many people assume it refers to groups that essentially bribe BRIBE, crim. law. The gift or promise, which is accepted, of some advantage, as the inducement for some illegal act or omission; or of some illegal emolument, as a consideration, for preferring one person to another, in the performance of a legal act. candidates to buy influence over legislation. But are special interests always bad? Break students up into five or more "special interest" groups. Their job is to identify a local or state problem, project, or issue in the news. (Examples: school construction, pollution, crime, homelessness.) Next tell interest-group members they can meet the presidential candidates to pitch their issue. They have just a few minutes of candidates' time. They must write talking points they would use in trying to persuade the candidates about the need for legislation or government funding to ease the burdens on their special interest. Debate: Students can debate two questions: (1) Are large campaign donations the equivalent of bribery bribery Crime of giving a benefit (e.g., money) in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust (e.g., an official or witness). Accepting a bribe also constitutes a crime. ? (2) Should political campaigns be financed exclusively with government money to remove special-interest influence? Web Watch: For online information on how much money the parties have received, check Federal Election Commission reports at www.fec.gov/. Look for "Campaign Finance Reports and Data," "National Party Transfers to States," and [NO CONTINUATION ON ORIGINAL TEXT] The candidates are spending more than ever before to get elected. But where do they get all that money? And what do the donors want in return? Money makes the world go round. And nowhere is that truer than in presidential politics, where the road to the White House is paved pave tr.v. paved, pav·ing, paves 1. To cover with a pavement. 2. To cover uniformly, as if with pavement. 3. To be or compose the pavement of. with dollar bills. Al Gore Noun 1. Al Gore - Vice President of the United States under Bill Clinton (born in 1948) Albert Gore Jr., Gore and George W. Bush are raising and spending record amounts this year to get elected to the highest office in the land. In addition to the $68 million each candidate has received in public campaign funds, millions more are being spent in so-called soft money by the political parties and special-interest groups to run television ads that favor Gore or Bush. Unlike contributions made directly to the candidates' campaigns, which the law limits to $1,000 per candidate per person, there are no limits on soft money. Corporations, wealthy individuals, unions, and other special-interest groups can give as much soft money as they want to the political parties. This year, for the first time, the parties are actually outspending the candidates themselves on television ads, the biggest expense in the campaign. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , soft money has become just as important as hard money in electing the President. Why do people want to make such large donations? The biggest contributors hope to gain influence and access. They want to have influence on the issues they care about, and the best way to do that is to have access to the leaders who are in a position to help them. Critics of the system feel it's a legalized form of bribery that gives too much clout to the rich and powerful, but others say it's a form of free speech that allows any citizen or group to participate in the political process. So who's getting all this free speech? Here's a list of the top soft-money donors to each party, organized by industry or interest, and a look at the key political issues they are most concerned with. REPUBLICANS TOP CONTRIBUTORS AMOUNT Securities and Investment $13.8 million Telecommunications $ 9.1 million Oil and Gas $ 6.6 million Insurance $ 6.5 million Computer/Electronics $ 6.5 million SECURITIES AND INVESTMENT The financial industry loves Bush's proposal to allow people to invest some of their Social Security retirement money in the stock market, but it also backs Gore because the Clinton-Gore administration has presided over a booming economy. OIL AND GAS Bush and his running mate running mate n. 1. The candidate or nominee for the lesser of two closely associated political offices. 2. A companion. 3. A horse used to set the pace in a race for another horse. , Dick Cheney, are both former oilmen who support the industry's push to expand drilling rights, including at a wildlife refuge wildlife refuge, haven or sanctuary for animals; an area of land or of land and water set aside and maintained, usually by government or private organization, for the preservation and protection of one or more species of wildlife. in Alaska. INSURANCE Insurance companies feel threatened by the prospect of increased government regulation, especially in the health-care field. COMPUTERS/ ELECTRONICS The computer industry is courting both parties for its legislative wish list, including an extension of the ban on new Internet See Web 2.0 and Internet2. taxes. DEMOCRATS TOP DISTRIBUTORS AMOUNT Labor Unions $15.8 million Securities & Investment $10.4 million Lawyers $ 9.8 million Telecommunications $ 8.7 million Entertainment/Media $ 7.1 million ENTERTAINMENT/MEDIA Both candidates have criticized the entertainment industry for putting too much sex and violence in their products, but Hollywood remains one of the Democrats' biggest boosters. TELECOMMUNICATIONS Telephone and cable companies want to influence legislation that will help them expand high-speed Internet See broadband. service and compete for local and long-distance phone customers. LABOR UNIONS labor union: see union, labor. The Clinton administration's push for free trade has angered many unions, who feel U.S. workers will lose their jobs because of cheaper labor costs in other countries. But the traditionally Democratic unions are still supporting Gore, who is considered friendlier toward labor than Bush. LAWYERS Lawyers don't like Bush's support of tort tort, in law, the violation of some duty clearly set by law, not by a specific agreement between two parties, as in breach of contract. When such a duty is breached, the injured party has the right to institute suit for compensatory damages. reform, which would make it harder to file personal-injury lawsuits and limit the amount of money juries could award in those cases. |
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