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CH 9. Interest Groups. Interest Groups. Interest Groups - Private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy. Also called: special interests or pressure groups Chiefly concerned with controlling or influencing the policies of government (focus on issues).
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CH 9 Interest Groups
Interest Groups • Interest Groups- Private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy. • Also called: special interests or pressure groups • Chiefly concerned with controlling or influencing the policies of government (focus on issues)
Interest Groups at Work • The Direct Approach • Lobbying- the process by which organized interests attempt to affect the decisions and actions of public officials. 13,000 Lobbyists in D.C. 542 in KS
Lobbying • Lobbying Congress: • Lobbyists maintain close relationships with members of Congress • Present expert testimony to elected officials
Lobbying • Lobbying the Executive Branch: • Try to influence how the broad polices passed by Congress are carried out in the day to day world. • Try to influence who the President appoints
Lobbying • Lobbying and the Courts: • Interest groups can use lawsuits and landmark cases to influence the running of government • EX: Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education • Can submit Amicuscuriae (“friend of the court”) briefs to the courts on cases they are not a part of.
The Indirect Approach • Grass-roots Lobbying • Grass-roots pressures- the effort to bring pressure on elected officials by mobilizing voters in their own districts and states using mail, phones, visits, or the web.
The Indirect Approach • Shaping Public Opinion • Ad campaigns (TV, print media, and internet) showing their members or policy aims in a good light • Use well regarded public figures or celebrities to support their causes • Get their positions in the news
The Indirect Approach • Propaganda • Use of propaganda to excite the people. • Propaganda- technique of persuasion used to create a popular belief in people based on emotions.
The Indirect Approach • Electioneering • Encouraging interest group members to vote for certain candidates in the next election • Ranking candidates
The Indirect Approach • Electioneering • Create Political Action Committees (PAC’s, Super PAC’s, 527’s, 501(c)’s, etc.) to donate money to get candidates elected
Is lobbying Good or Bad? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVfAWbitBTs
Types of Interest Groups Public Interest
Types of Interest Groups Single- Issue Group
Types of Interest Groups Economic Interest
Types of Interest Groups Ideological Group
Types of Interest Groups Professional Group