72
votes
What is the point in yard signs in presidential elections?
It firms up the base. If you are willing to put up a sign then you have "picked a side" and you are less likely to forget to vote.
It helps canvassers. If you have a sign up, then canvassers ...
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52
votes
Accepted
Ban on all campaign finance?
While one can imagine an ideal world in which the political landscape is dominated by a "pull" paradigm (voters actively go out to find the information on the candidates), in the real world it's ...
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51
votes
Accepted
Why are Democrats mostly focused on increasing healthcare spending, rarely mentioning any proposals for decreasing the costs of healthcare services?
This is a bit of a phony question on several levels.
To answer, they absolutely HAVE emphasized the healthcare cost savings.
First of all, you claim that they focus on "increased healthcare spending,...
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48
votes
Why are Democrats mostly focused on increasing healthcare spending, rarely mentioning any proposals for decreasing the costs of healthcare services?
Your question seems to be equivalent to: why don't Democrats start acting like (small-government) Republicans when it comes to healthcare? Because that's not their idea of healthcare, or rather it's ...
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47
votes
Accepted
How do campaign rallies gain candidates votes?
Campaign rallies generate media attention. The media attention can gain votes for the candidate.
Another issue is that campaigns don't necessarily need to gain supporters from the rallies. If the ...
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46
votes
Why do politicians create more advertising badmouthing their opponents, rather than promoting themselves?
The United States system promotes a sharply divided two-party system. That's called Duverger's Law and like any such "laws" it is no ironclad automatism, merely a clearly observable trend.
...
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41
votes
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What happens if it is proved that "vote leave" campaign broke campaigning laws?
Nothing (Legally)
Regardless of the circumstances of the referendum, the (legal) basis for Brexit is the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017. I will add it in its full form so we can ...
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41
votes
Why would the Lincoln Project campaign *against* Sen. Susan Collins?
The article you linked to provides a pretty good explanation, directly from Reed Galen, a strategist for the group:
He said that for the most part, Republican dissent has been weak and that GOP ...
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36
votes
Accepted
What does the POTUS do, exactly?
Hiring and firing top employees in federal government
Right, subject to the approval of the Senate, the President appoints the cabinet.
So, yes, the President has limited direct contact with ...
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31
votes
Accepted
What's the explanation behind Obama's joke about Bernie Sanders?
The joke is referencing Sanders fundraising strategy.
His campaign targeted small donors, and managed to raise an unprecedented amount from online contributions. 27$ is a reference to the average ...
- 9,601
28
votes
Are there examples of politicians resigning after failing to fulfill an electoral promise?
That is so rare in reality as to be comparable to a fairy tale.
However, one of these incredibly rare examples would be a recent Japanese Prime Minister:
On 2 June 2010, Hatoyama announced his ...
- 5,002
26
votes
What does the POTUS do, exactly?
Direct things POTUS can do
Among things you didn't mention:
Legislate from executive seat.
Signing statements, and especially executive orders. So far, SCOTUS didn't slap that down as violation of ...
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25
votes
How do campaign rallies gain candidates votes?
Successful rallies achieve two key things:
They reinforce existing supporters. At a rally the candidate has a platform where they can 'preach their good word' to their followers, and bask in the ...
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21
votes
Accepted
Is it typical for candidates to change their looks based on voter profiles?
Q Is it something usual for the candidates to change their looks based on voters profile?
That has to be called not unusual.
This is an ancient practice. Not everyone does this, but it is a well ...
- 5,002
20
votes
Accepted
Does the Trump tower meeting differ from standard opposition research?
Yes, the Trump Tower meeting is vastly different than normal opposition research.
1. The meeting might be a direct violation of campaign finance law
Not everyone agrees, but there is an argument to be ...
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20
votes
Accepted
What, if any, are the political advantages of paying bail fees of people accused of rioting in Minneapolis?
I think that the missing context is the nature and consequences of the cash bond system in the United States. That might not be a winning issue with the American public in general but that certainly ...
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20
votes
Why do politicians create more advertising badmouthing their opponents, rather than promoting themselves?
Most people, most of the time, think that things are pretty good, or at least tolerable, the way they are. As the US Declaration of Independence puts it "...all experience hath shewn, that ...
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19
votes
What is Donald Trump's plan surrounding the US-Mexico border wall?
Has Donald Trump laid out a plan for this wall or ever talked about it with more detail to clarify what his ultimate plan and goal may be to build a wall?
Trump is generally light on details. ...
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19
votes
Why are Democrats mostly focused on increasing healthcare spending, rarely mentioning any proposals for decreasing the costs of healthcare services?
The central tenet of the question is that the healthcare policies of Sanders and Warren are "mostly focused on increased government funding". This is a misrepresentation of both candidates' plans to ...
- 23.7k
19
votes
What is the point in yard signs in presidential elections?
I'm sure you've heard the term 'political momentum'. That is really a misnomer: what people mean by 'momentum' is a kind of growing social pressure for the campaign and candidate that pushes the ...
- 65k
18
votes
What type of corruption did Trump campaign against?
Trump primarily appealed to his audience by stating what it wanted to hear. He said he'd 'drain the swamp' of all the lobbyists who had hurt the country’s working class. To the best of my knowledge, ...
- 30.5k
17
votes
Ban on all campaign finance?
By strict interpretations of this rule, you end up as an effective one-party state very quickly.
What counts as "campaigning" is the big question. Firstly, a lot of places have ballot signature ...
- 22k
17
votes
Accepted
Are there examples of politicians resigning after failing to fulfill an electoral promise?
It happened in Canada in 1996, when cabinet minister Sheila Copps (Environment and Deputy PM) resigned over the failure of her party's government to 'scrap' the then-reviled Goods and Services Tax (...
- 286
16
votes
What is the evidence for the Trump/Russia investigation?
I'm not even sure if the FBI was officially investigating the issue or not.
Yes, the FBI was officially (and likely is) investigating the issue. James Comey confirmed that during a hearing before the ...
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16
votes
What is the significance of the people standing behind the speaker?
Like you said, it's not a technique used only by politicians. It's something you see at many speaking events (at least in the United States).
union rallies
student protests
press conferences
Women's ...
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16
votes
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What is the significance of the people standing behind the speaker?
As a resident of a college town in Iowa, of presidential primary caucus fame, I have attended more than my fair share of political rallies. From my perspective as an audience member, there are a few ...
- 276
16
votes
Who pays for the President's campaign trips?
The way it often works is that a President doesn't travel explicitly for campaign purposes.
The trip is often billed as official business. In other words, the trip would supposedly occur regardless of ...
- 10.4k
16
votes
Accepted
Why would being "almost the end of the second quarter for fundraising" be a reason for US presidential candidates not being "out there quite as much"?
The most efficient way to deploy a candidate to boost donations is to target high dollar donors. A retail campaign stop is great for attracting votes but it isn't going to raise a lot of money for ...
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15
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Why are big tech companies Bernie Sanders' top donors?
The donations you cite are made to the DNC, not to a Bernie SuperPac. He doesn't have one. They are for the purpose of obtaining special favors from the DNC:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
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