Presidential Elections Money - Essay Example

Presidential Elections Money American presidential elections have been described a major spending season for different presidential candidates. The 2012 presidential elections set record as the most expensive presidential election throughout American history. Political action committees (PACs) were the main channel through which election money got into the mainstream economy. For instance, American Crossroad spent over $ 100 million in favor of Mitt Romney. In addition, thousands of other independent donors spent millions of dollars on their favorite presidential candidates. Large sums of money spent by different presidential candidates have a significant impact on American social-political ecosystem. More so, the lucrative expenditure has a significant impact on non-profit political organizations. This essay focuses on the impact of lucrative election on non-profit political organizations within the country. American Civil Liberties Union, League of Women Voters and People for the American Way are the main political organizations in the country. League of Women Voters was founded in 1920 in Illinois. The league focused on women voting rights, which had not been included in the country’s constitution. The group is a non-partisan political organization and neither supports nor opposes government official at either level of the government. However, the organization takes stand on various controversial issues particularly those that affect women’s rights during an election. On the other hand, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to defend individual rights and liberties as stipulated in the country’s constitution (Mooney). ACLU works through litigation, lobbying and civic education. It was established in 1920 as a non-partisan political wing to defend anti-war protestors. Since then, ACLU has expanded its scope to incorporate freedom of expression for artists and striking workers. In 1930, ACLU collaborated with National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to protect American minorities against racism. Lastly, People for the American Way (PFAW), is a progressive advocacy group that focuses on tax code. PFAW was established by Norman Lear (television producer) in 1981 specifically in response to discordant rhetoric of increasingly influential televangelists such as Jerry Falwell. PFAW has its headquarters in Washington and it monitors Right Wing activities through political lobbying and volunteer mobilization. The three groups have been most vibrant during a presidential election season. Non-profit political organizations have a mission to educate voters and to ensure that elections are conducted on a neutral environment. Thus, the different political organization focuses on different needs of the society. League of women voters (LWV) focuses on voter’s education through seminar and the media. In past elections, LWV has been active in encouraging registration among women voters. The league has also a major sponsor of presidential debates. However, its board of trustees voted unanimously for the league to pull out of the presidential debate following the 1988 sponsorship (Stevens 161). Other activities of the group during previous presidential elections include promotion of human rights. Fundamentally, the groups educate American voters on their rights and offer them an opportunity to make independent decision. In recent presidential elections, political aspirants and their supporters have been spending large sums of money to boost their chances of winning the elections. Due to the large sums of money spent by PACs, the groups have lost their reputation and influence among American voters. It is obvious that the groups have become less active in the recent past as the super PACs continuously take their position in the country’s politics. The PACs spend their monies on advertisements meant to support or defend the policies of their selected presidential aspirants. On the other hand, the ads can target an opposing candidate with the view of making them loose their popularity. Initially the groups used to focus on issues of international interests by participating in American presidential elections. However, following the stiff competition presented by the super PACs, the groups have restructured their interests in order to remain relevant to the community. LWV made considerable achievements in the early years and the mid-century years compared to its modern day activities. In addition, most of its campaign focused on global issues such as racism, women’s rights, World War II and the Vietnam War. For example in 1939, Roosevelt authorized the detention of Japanese immigrants following the bombing of the pearl harbor by the Japanese imperial army. ACLU led a protest against the decision, which was against the views of Roosevelt’s supporters. The group compared the action taken by the government to Nazism. Unlike in past elections, the groups are less active on global issue. In the last election for example, the group focused its activities on current problems affecting the US as a country such the rights of Muslim American, the group also focused on Guantanamo bay detainees. Similarly, other groups have narrowed their policies to compete favorably with the rampant super PACs. The groups have also been forced to go into advertisement as a way of maintaining their relevance (Mooney web). Although the groups use the ads to promote their policies on human rights and voter’s education, the ads have turned out to be partisan, hence tarnishing the image of the group. In May 2011, the league of women voters televised an ad that depicted a young girl wearing a facemask. Although the add was meant to promote clean environment it was viewed as partisan since the democrat’s policies are inclined towards sustainable economy as compared to the republicans. As the supper, PACs continue to dominate American politics non-profit political organizations are slowly losing their non-partisan stand (Rokeach 123). This is because it has become difficult for them to maintain their influence on the society through a non-partisan approach. The groups influence elections thorough advocacy. However due to the large sums of money controlled by the PACs, it has been difficult for the political organization to conduct legal processes of equal caliber. PACs also erode the pillars of campaign financing system concerning who is drawing the cheque. This is because their activities limit a candidate’s financial contribution. This has continuously weakened the judicial muscles of such non-profit political organizations. In past elections, the league of women voters had been active in advocating for equality among voters. However its activity are been diminished by the impacts of the PACs. The super PACs are influential to the public due to their effective use of media for communication. As technology development continues to take charge in our lives, voters are becoming so attached to them due to their influence on the media. This has made the groups to turn to the media in order to rally their campaigns. Attack ads from the groups are also becoming common in the US elections. This contradicts their mandate in a presidential election. Attack ads indicate their level of involvement in the media, which defies their inherent image. The League of Women Voters has been active in releasing ads on the media. In the last election, the group released ads to advocate for cleaner environment. Their views on renewable energy seemed to coincide with the democrats views on renewable energy. Conclusion Super PACs have invaded US presidential election by injecting large sums of money through advertisement, in order to support their candidates. This has had a ripple effect on non-profit political organizations, which usually took a centre stage in such elections. Activities of the super PACs have forced the group to take partisan approach in order to maintain their influence. Moreover, the groups have started to produce attack ads in order to match the impacts of the PACs. The groups are also losing their influence on American voters as depicted by their diminishing activities of the league of women voters. The other groups have also lost their influence to the society. Works Cited Mooney, Brian. Super PACs fueling GOP attack ads. The Boston Globe. 2012. Web 25, November 2012 Rokeach, Milton. The nature of human values. New York: Free Press, 2003. Print. Stevens, Jennifer. Chapter 9 Feminizing Portland, Oregon: A History of the League of Women Voters in the Postwar Era. 1950-1975. Breaking the Wave: Women, Their Organizations and Feminism, 1945-1985. Routledge. pp. 155–72. Read More