Interest GroupsOctober 14th/17th

Warm Up1. Finish up Political Party posters

2. If done, continue working on Realignment (map) activity

3. Pick up papers from folders!!

Current Event #5 & Significance of Third Party - Has anyone seen Utah’s polls?

(http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-election-forecast/utah/)

- Why is this significant?- What about all the third party candidates?

http://2016.presidential-candidates.org/?other=other

What is an Interest Group?× A group of individuals with common

interests and seek to influence the government in some way (“Special Interests”)

× James Madison called them “factions”... he didn’t like them!

How do Interest Groups Begin?

× Usually begins as a social movement× Examples: abolitionists, civil rights,

women’s rights, animal rights, etc.

Political Parties Interest Groups

BOTH are made up of people who unite for some political purpose!

● Nominate Candidates

● Elections● Controlling Govt● Interested in the

“who” of govt● Accountable to

the public● Focus on voters

and their candidate

● Influence policies of govt

● Interested in the “what” of govt

● Private Organizations

● Focus on issues and what directly affects the interest of their members

Types of Interest Groups...× Economic× Ideological/Single Issue× Public Interest× Foreign Policy× Government Itself**Not all interest groups are mutually exclusive, some overlap into different types!

Economic interest Groups× Businesses - large corporations to individual

owners× McDonald’s, Coke, AT&T, Microsoft,

Amazon× Trade and Other Associations - businesses

with similar interest join together× Chambers of Commerce

Labor Interest Groups

Labor - workers associations or unions× Represent workers’ interests× Membership is low in the US compared to other

industrialized countries× Examples: Fraternal Order of Police,

International Longshore, etc...

Professional Associations

× Professionals form of a union × Can be national or state or local× American Bar Association, National

Education Association, AMA

Ideological/Single Issue

× Ideological: set pattern of beliefs× Conservative, liberal, libertarian

× ACLU, Christian Coalition, Moral Majority

× Single Issue (more specific)× Very adamant about position (right or

left) and unwilling to compromise× NRA, Pro-Life, Pro-Choice

Public Interest Groups

× “For the public good”× Focus on public policies that benefit all

or most Americans× Examples: AARP (focused on elderly

rights)

Foreign Policy Interest Groups

× To promote or oppose certain foreign policies

× Council on Foreign Relations, American-Israel Political Action Committee, National Association of Arab Americans

Government Interest Groups

× Government employees want to be organized and heard

× National Governors Association, National Education Association

Interest Group Search + Activity

- Work in groups (of 2 or 3) and complete the interest group search

- Then work (on your own) and create an interest group bumper sticker!

- If you happen to finish this all extremely quickly, continue working on realignment activity

How do Interest Groups Work?October 18th/20th (A Day)/21st (for B Day)

Some articles to look at...- CNN Student News- Hillary Campaign Slogans Wikileaks- NY Times Election Prediction

Interest Groups have 3 Goals

1. Supply the public with information an organization thinks the people need

2. Try to build a positive image for a group3. To promote a particular public policy

Propaganda × Is a technique of persuasion aimed at

influencing individual or group behavior× Interest Groups use propaganda to create the

public attitude they want× Mass media encouraged the use of propaganda× http://www.p2016.org/igads/igadsgeneral.html

INterest Group Ads!

For Trump:- NRA: Kristi’s Story,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICmL50-0APA , Your Voice, American Dream, 2016 Committee, Dead Broke, More of the Same, Newest NRA Ad

For Hillary:- His Words, Respect for

Women, Trumpublicans, Watching, Enough, Smart

Oh and Johnson too…- The Honorable Choice,

Imagine

Other Tactics of Interest Groups

× Interest Groups use litigation as a tactic to pursue the interests of their members× Bring a lawsuit to pursue interests× Example: Brown vs. Board of Education and the

NAACP× Interest Groups use lobbying as a tactic to pursue the

interests of their members, but individuals, too, can lobby

What do Lobbyists Do?× Use a variety of techniques to try to persuade

legislators to share an interest in a group’s point of view/cause

× Provide two types of information× Political (who supports what)× Substantive (impact of proposed

legislation)

What are Lobbyists?× Employees of an association that try to influence

policy decisions and positions in the government× Revolving Door - moving from a government

job to a lobbying job (common-good contacts already made)

× A former govt worker cannot directly lobby their former agency or office

Iron Triangles× Revolving Doors produce networks of people

involved with certain issues× These networks are called IRON

TRIANGLES× Mutually supporting relationships among

interest groups, congressional committees, and govt agencies

Campaign Finance

What are Pacs?

× Political Action Committee is the political part of an interest group

× Can legally raise money for candidates or political parties from members, stockholders, or employees (of interest group)

The Growth of Pacs

× 1970s - number of PACs increased× About 4,000 today

PAC Limits× Federal Elections Campaign Act (1971) limits

PACs to $5000 per election or $10,000 per election cycle (primary and general election)

× “Bundling” helps PACs get around the limits× Form of political fundraising; one person/small group

convince friends, coworkers, and other donors to write checks to a candidate for public office

More about Campaign MoneyHard Money

- Money raised and spent to elect candidates for Congress and White House

- Given directly to candidates

- LIMITS on these amounts

Soft Money - no limits!

- Funds given to party organization → candidate recruitment, voter registration, get-out-the-vote drives

- Money from wealthy people, PACs, party national organizations

More about PAcs and Money- Until 2002, there were no limits to Soft Money funds- **Important: although no PAC can give more than

$5,000 to any one federal candidate in an election or $10,000 in an election cycle…- There is no overall limit on PAC giving to candidates- Ex. Each PAC can give up to $5000 per election

to as many candidates as it chooses

Let’s look at Fast Food PACs- http://www.eater.com/2016/9/26/13028698/fast-food-trump-clinton-donations - http://www.eater.com/2016/2/8/10904984/restaurant-PACS-political-donations

PAC Activity and/OR Realignment

- Continue to work on Realignment Activity- Next class we will talk about our findings and turn it

in- If completed, grab a PAC Scavenger Hunt from front

desk and begin to work through the questions