The 1974 FECA Reforms

1) R •
W hat was the rationale for the 1974 reforms to the Federal Election Campa! gn e,orm Act (FECA)?
. .
d
2) Read and highligh t the handout "How Presidential Public Financing Works" an answer the questions
b elow:

• d
List THREE specific facts regard ing how the Primary Election Matching Fun operated in 2012
• ·
• List THREE specific facts regardin g how the General Election Full Public Fin ancmg Program
operate d in 2012.
.
the foll · question
3) Explain the differenc e between hard-money and soft-money by answering owing s: .
• What is hard-money and how did the 1974 reforms regulate it?
e"?
• What is soft-money and how did the 1974 reforms create a "soft-money loophol

The Buckle y v. Valeo Decision

Complications 1" r d th
On the handout "Constitutional Issues: Public Funding, Issue Ads and Other ea e
Advent of Issue Ads."
Introduction and sections entitled "The 1976 FECA Law" and "The
4 FECA reforms. Be sure t0
1) Expl~in how the ruling in Buckle y v. Valeo undermi ned the purpose of the 197
explain how the case linked campaig n finance to the U.S. Constitu tion.

Explain how the ruling in Buckle y v. Valeo drew a distinction between issue
ads and campaign ads.
2)
3) Explain the connect ion between soft money and issue ads.
soft-money-issue ad
4) By the ~000 presiden tial election , explain why many people believed that the
limitation s on corporat e political expendi tures and contributions
connect ion had rendere d the 1974 FECA
meaning less.

BCRA to the Rescue

Complications," read the
On the handout "Constitutional Issues: Public Funding, Issue Ads and Other
section entitled "McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campai gn Reform Act (BCRA) ".
shortcom ings of the 1974 campaign
1) Explain the 3 most importa nt ways that BCRA attempte d to address the
finance reforms.
was unconstitutional? (You
2) On what basis did Represe ntative Mitch McConnell (R-KY) claim that BCRA
FEC.) Explain how McConnell's claim
may have to do some addition al searchin g on the case McConnell v.
was related to the Suprem e Court ruling in Buckle y v. Valeo.
In McCon nell v. FEC, the following interest groups joined Senator Mitch
McConnell (R-KY) in an unlikely
3)
coalition against the FEC's enforce ment of BRCA:
America n Civ~I Liberties U~ion
• The Californ ia Democr atic Party, the Nationa l Rifle Associa tion (NRA), the
Ron Paul (R-TX), the American Federation
(ACLU), the Nationa l Right to Life Commit tee, Congres sman
an National Committ ee (RNC).
of Labor-C ongress of Industria l Organiz ation (AFL-Cf O), the Republic
the OPP?~ition to
• Why does the saying, "Politic s makes strange bedfellows" accurate ly describ~
the unlikely coalrtron of
McCain -Feingo ld? (In other words, explain how McCain- Feingold created
oppositi on groups listed above.)
legislation in Decemb er
4) Explain the Suprem e Court ruling on the constitu tionality of the McCain- Feingold
2003. Should McCon nell v. FEC be viewed as victory for campaig n finance reform?

The Pendu lum Swings

On the handout "Constitutional Issues: Public Funding, Issue Ads and
Other Complications," read the
section entitled "A Big Step Backwards: Wisconsin Right-to-Life".
BCRA.
1) Explain how Wiscon sin Right to Life v. FEC challeng ed a key provisio n in
Should the decision be
2) Explain the S upreme Court's decision in Wiscon sin Right to Life v. FEC.
viewed as a victory fo r campaig n finance reform ?
Page 3
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