becoming a President
Caucuses and Primaries are how delegates, the people who directly nominate their party's candidate for presidency, are chosen. The caucus system, held only in a few states is set up as a pyramid. First, voters come together in their neighborhood-level precincts to vote for the delegate that is pledged to the candidate they prefer. Then the delegates are whittled down by a process that takes a considerable amount of time. They are voted on at a county level, then the county delegates are voted on again by their congressional district and lastly, those who won in the congressional districts move onto the state level where that states delegates are finalized and sent to the national convention. Most states however, have the primary system of choosing delegates. This takes a considerably less amount of time as one primary is held in which all of the delegates for the convention are chosen by a popular vote.
All three candidates visited the major cities in Iowa before their caucuses began to promote themselves and mobilize the masses into participating in the election. Streep wins the majority of the delegates in Iowa.
The candidates also campaigned heavily in New Hampshire in order to secure their delegates there and gain the momentum they needed to propel themselves through the rest of the primaries. After winning the most support in New Hampshire, Streep drops out of the running as she finds the campaigning to be very time-consuming and to interrupt a large production that she is currently working on. Hepburn now takes the lead and continues to do well in gaining delegate support. |
Monroe and Lively campaign heavily in Iowa before the caucuses are held and Monroe takes the lead in gaining delegates. Johansson, after missing the campaigning in Iowa tries to make up for the late start by spending extra time in New Hampshire and other early primary states. The media though, has already focused it's sights on Monroe after her victory in Iowa and she continues to excel in the nomination game. After a few more low results in other primaries, Johansson takes herself out of the running as she realizes her error is fatal to her campaign.
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The National Convention is the major rallying point for a political party. All the important people of a political party come together to make speeches, rework/announce their platform for the next four years, and most importantly, officially announce their nomination for the presidency. The convention is important because it is like the pep rally before the big game. The first day consists of speeches from various politicians, supporters, and honorable guests. The second day, the platforms are announced. On the final day, the Presidential Nominee is chosen and their Vice Presidential choice is made.
Key Points on the Platform include:
Increases on the spending for humanitarian work for those in impoverished areas of our country. Education Reforms including better pay, training, and benefits for teachers and a pre-school option for children beginning at the age of 2 up until kindergarten. Stricter laws on environmentally unfriendly corporations and more ecological protections. Decreases in military and guidelines for a more peaceful society as well as a more peaceful country. A protected right to privacy. On the third day, Mrs. Audrey Hepburn is chosen as the official nominee for President of the United States by the Chanelitarian Party. She endorses Ms. Rachel McAdams as her vice president. Ms. McAdams shares Mrs. Hepburn's sense of civic responsibility to better our country. She is also chosen for her ability to pull in the vote of younger citizens. |
Key Points on the Platform include:
Decreases on the scope of our current government. Less regulation and control of big companies. Less censorship of media. No limitations on television, music, or the film industries. Downsizing and eliminating unnecessary affirmative action programs. Less spending of tax money to welfare, medicare, medicaid, and other welfare systems. Tax cuts for all classes. Cut the spending on government programs that can be downsized in order to produce a surplus and pay off the deficit. On the third day, Ms. Marilyn Monroe is chosen as the official nominee for President of the United States by the Hollywoodist Party. She endorses Ms. Britney Spears as her vice president. Ms. Monroe chose Ms. Spears as her Vice President to pull in the young vote as well as to pull in the Southern vote. As Ms. Monroe was born and raised in California, she chose the native Mississippi star for her ability to attract the vote of southern states. |
As media now plays such a large role in American Politics, money is a major player. Commercials, websites, advertisements everywhere you can imagine, all of these take insurmountable sums of money. Candidates get their money from all over the place. They can donate as much of their own money as they would like, thanks to Buckley v. Valeo (1976). Money also comes from those who want something from the government. These interest groups, companies, or individuals can create a political action committee (PAC) that is closely monitered by the Federal Election Commission to only spend $5,000 per candidate. Individuals can donate up to $2,000. 527 groups are groups that are not bound by any limits. They can donate any sum they want to as long as they are not making explicit endorsements of candidates. All of these are ways candidates can receive money, but anyone can see money records for campaigns which is much more open and honest than in the past. For candidates that agree to certain limitations and restrictions, there are special funds given from the government. These funds are conditional though, and they limit overall expenditures therefore, not all candidates choose to take them.
Hepburn-McAdams candidacy decided not to take the FEC Funds.
They spent a total of $740 million on their campaign. $56 million was spent on advertisements. About 41% of their funds are used to run their day to day campaign organizations and to pay for travel expenditures. They took the time to travel to each state, making sure not to leave any out. They did this to encourage voters that each vote counted and mobilize them. Nearly $300 million came from various individuals and PACs. Some of the top contributions were made by 527 Groups: The Environment and Us; Education NOW; Help Us, Help Others. Individuals: Al Gore, Oprah, Melinda Gates Mrs. Hepburn and Ms. McAdams have used nearly $12 million of their own money in this campaign. |
Monroe-Spears candidacy decided not to take the FEC Funds either.
They spent a total of $904 million on their campaign. $107 million was spent on advertisements. About 48% of their funds are used to run their day to day campaign organizations and to pay for travel expenditures. They focused on the states where they knew they could pull votes from and skipped over many of the others. Nearly $600 million came from various individuals and PACs. Some of the top contributions were made by 527 Groups: Small Government=Small Problems, Freedom of ALL Speech, Affirmative Actions Helps None Individuals: Bruce Downey (CEO Barr Pharmaceuticals), Ryan Lance (Chairman and CEO ConocoPhillips Oil and Energy) Ms. Monroe and Ms. Spears have used nearly $38 million of their own money in this campaign. |
The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Debates are a way to allow the public to hear and see their options for their next president. It also gives the Candidates an opportunity to share their policies and gain the support of the citizens.
The Chanelitarian Candidates used the debates to explain their positions on the issues first and foremost. This approach informed the people of the policies they hoped to enact while in office. They explained them well and in detail and the majority of the population understood where they stand. Polls afterwards showed that the people felt the candidates were professional and capable of fulfilling their promises.
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The Hollywoodist Candidates used the debates to establish their personalities. They proved that they were experienced onstage and that they knew how to entertain and audience. What they did not do well in the process was explaining their platform. People afterwards said they felt as if they knew they candidates on a personal level, but they did not have any idea about the sustenance of the issues and where the candidates stood.
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With Chanelitarian Hepburn-McAdams being Blue and Hollywoodist Monroe-Spears being Red:
Hepburn-McAdams took 332 of the 538 leaving Monroe-Spears with 206.
It seemed to be true in this election that staying professional and knowing your policies take you the farthest. America proved in this election that although it is reassuring to know that your president is a real, personable person, it may be more important that they are capable of enacting the policies that got them their support in the first place. Citizens from states all across America have spoken, and your new Presidential team is that of the Chanelitarian Party:
It seemed to be true in this election that staying professional and knowing your policies take you the farthest. America proved in this election that although it is reassuring to know that your president is a real, personable person, it may be more important that they are capable of enacting the policies that got them their support in the first place. Citizens from states all across America have spoken, and your new Presidential team is that of the Chanelitarian Party: