Politics , Parties, And Elections In America 13
Parties also face stiff competition from organized groups in terms of funding campaigns. Election costs are constantly and dramatically rising and the parties cannot fund (and are often forbidden by law from funding) all or even major shares of the costs of campaigns. Increasingly, Interest groups, through political action committees (PACs), have come to play a larger role in funding candidates. Even the national government and the states are now competitors of the parties for a role in campaign finance. Since 1976, presidential campaigns have been funded primarily with taxpayer money and an increasing number of states have public funding programs designed to limit the role of the parties and PACs in elections.
The mass media, especially television, are also competitors with the parties for political influence. To a large degree, political reality for most Americans is what they see on the network news programs anchored by Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, or Peter Jennings. Americans get their news mainly from television. Television, therefore, has come to play a major role in politics and especially in presidential nomination contests.
By the 1970 the bulk of the national convention delegates were chosen in presidential primaries-mass elections that by 1996 attracted 24.5 million voters. In the sequence of presidential primaries that run from February to June of presidential election years, it is essential that a candidate establish the image of a winner, that is, momentum. Being interpreted as the winner of an early primary is necessary to gain media coverage, achieve standing in the polls, and raise funds for the next in a long series of primaries. But as Austin Ranney has pointed out, "doing best in the early primaries is not simply a matter of getting more votes than the other candidates; it is getting substantially more votes than expected."15 And it is the news media-especially television commentators-who decide what is expected . For example, in the 1972 New Hampshire primary, Democratic Senator Edmund Muskie (Maine) came in first with 46 percent of the voters compared to Senator George McGovern's (South Dakota) second place finish with 37 percent. But the media had previously announced that Muskie was expected to receive at least 50 percent of the vote in his neighboring state of New Hampshire. Therefore, McGovern, who had done better than expected, was declared the winner by the media. Muskie lost momentum and McGovern's campaign received a tremendous boost that carried him to the presidential nomination. Similarly, the media declared Jimmy Carter the winner of the 1976 Democratic primary in New Hampshire when he placed first in a multicandidate field with only 28 percent of the vote. With this "win," he was on his way to the nomination.
Parties also face stiff competition from organized groups in terms of funding campaigns. Election costs are constantly and dramatically rising and the parties cannot fund (and are often forbidden by law from funding) all or even major shares of the costs of campaigns. Increasingly, Interest groups, through political action committees (PACs), have come to play a larger role in funding candidates. Even the national government and the states are now competitors of the parties for a role in campaign finance. Since 1976, presidential campaigns have been funded primarily with taxpayer money and an increasing number of states have public funding programs designed to limit the role of the parties and PACs in elections.
The mass media, especially television, are also competitors with the parties for political influence. To a large degree, political reality for most Americans is what they see on the network news programs anchored by Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, or Peter Jennings. Americans get their news mainly from television. Television, therefore, has come to play a major role in politics and especially in presidential nomination contests.
By the 1970 the bulk of the national convention delegates were chosen in presidential primaries-mass elections that by 1996 attracted 24.5 million voters. In the sequence of presidential primaries that run from February to June of presidential election years, it is essential that a candidate establish the image of a winner, that is, momentum. Being interpreted as the winner of an early primary is necessary to gain media coverage, achieve standing in the polls, and raise funds for the next in a long series of primaries. But as Austin Ranney has pointed out, "doing best in the early primaries is not simply a matter of getting more votes than the other candidates; it is getting substantially more votes than expected."15 And it is the news media-especially television commentators-who decide what is expected . For example, in the 1972 New Hampshire primary, Democratic Senator Edmund Muskie (Maine) came in first with 46 percent of the voters compared to Senator George McGovern's (South Dakota) second place finish with 37 percent. But the media had previously announced that Muskie was expected to receive at least 50 percent of the vote in his neighboring state of New Hampshire. Therefore, McGovern, who had done better than expected, was declared the winner by the media. Muskie lost momentum and McGovern's campaign received a tremendous boost that carried him to the presidential nomination. Similarly, the media declared Jimmy Carter the winner of the 1976 Democratic primary in New Hampshire when he placed first in a multicandidate field with only 28 percent of the vote. With this "win," he was on his way to the nomination.
تواجه الاحزاب منافسة متصلّبة أيضا من المجموعات المنظّمة من ناحية تمويل الحملات. تكلفة الانتخابات ترتفع بشكل مستمر و مثير ولاتستطيع الاحزاب تمويل (وتحرّم في أغلب الأحيان بسبب القانون من تمويل) أو حتي مساهمات رئيسية من تكاليف الحملات. على نحو متزايد، مجموعات ذات إلمصالح الخاصة، خلال لجان الحركة السياسية (PACs)، ، جاءت للعب بدور أكبر في تمويل المرشّحين. حتى الحكومة الوطنية والولايات يعتبرون الآن منافسين للاحزاب لدور في الحملة المالية. منذ 1976 ، مولت الحملات الرئاسية اساسيا بمال دافعي الضرائب وعدد متزايد من الولايات لهم برامج التمويل العامّة صمّمت لتحديد دور الاحزاب ولجان الحركة السياسية PACs في الإنتخابات.
الإعلام الجماهيري، خصوصا التلفزيون، يعتبرون أيضا منافسين مع الاحزاب للتأثير السياسي. إلى درجة كبيرة، الواقع السياسي لاغلب الأمريكان ما يشاهدونه على برامج شبكة الأخبار المرسوه من قبل دان راذير، توم بروكاو، أو بيتر جيننجز Jennings. يحصل الأمريكان على أخبارهم بشكل رئيسي من التلفزيون. التلفزيون، لذا، جاء للعب دور رئيسي في السياسة وخصوصا في منافسات الترشيح للرئاسة.
بحلول سنة 1970 معظم مندوبي مؤتمر الوطني تم اختيارهم في إنتخابات الرئاسية الاوليه - انتخابات حاشدة التي بحلول سنة 1996 جذبت 24.5 مليون ناخب. في سلسلة الرئاسية الاوليه التي تجري من فبراير/شباط إلى يونيو/حزيران من سنوات الإنتخابات الرئاسية، من الضروري بأن يؤسس المرشّح صورة الفائز، ويعتبر ذلك، زخما. كونها تفسر كفائز في الانتخابات المبكّرة التي تعتبر ضرورية لكسب التغطية الإعلامية، ينجز موقفا في الإنتخابات، ويجمع الأموال لمدة طويلة من سلسلة الاولية القادمة . ولكن كما اشار اوستن راني ، " بعمل أفضل في اولويات المبكرة لا تعتبر ببساطة مسألة للحصول على اصوات اأكثر من المرشّحين الآخرين؛ ولكن الحصول علي اصوات أكثر بكثير من المتوقع "15 وتكون أجهزة إعلام الأخبار -خصوصا معلّقي التلفزيون- الذين يقرّر ما يمكن توقعه . على سبيل المثال، في انتخابات سنة 1972 نيوهامشير أوليه ، السّيناتور الديمقراطي إدموند موسكي (مين) جاء بالمرتبة الأولى بـ46 بالمائة من الاصوات مقارنة مع السّيناتور جورج مكاغفرن McGovern (داكوتا الجنوبية) أنهي بمركز الثاني بـ 37 بالمائة. لكن أجهزة الإعلام أعلنت مسبقا بأنّ موسكي يتوقع أن يحصل على الأقل 50 بالمائة من الاصوات في ولايته المجاورة لنيوهامشير. لذا، مكاغفرن McGovern، الذي كان ادائه أفضل من المتوقع، أعلن بأنه الفائز من خلال اجهزة الإعلام. فقد موسكي زخما وحملة مكاغفرن حصلت علي دعما هائلا التي حملته إلى الترشيح للرئاسة. بنفس الطريقة، أعلنت أجهزة الإعلام جيمي كارتر فائزا في إنتخابات أوليه لسنة 1976 الديمقراطية في نيوهامشير عندما نصب أول ميدان متعدّد الترشيح مع فقط بنسبة 28 بالمائة من الاصوات . بهذا " الفوز، " كان في طريقة الي الترشح.
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