Interest Groups Interest Groups at Work

Lobbyist and Lobbying Lobbying involves special interest groups influencing the decisions and actions of public officials. – Occurs at all levels of government – Estimated 30,000 lobbyist dealing with Congress alone Lobbyist are professionals: – Must register with Clerk of House & Secretary of State – Must report regularly on their income & activities.

Lobbyist in Action Members of Congress may not accept gifts from lobbyist. Former Senators and top Executive branch officials must now wait two years before becoming lobbyists. Former House members must wait one year. Former Senator Chris Dodd

Lobbying Congress Concentrate on influencing congressional committees Testify before committees with useful info on topics – Even draft legislation for committees Goal is to move bills they support out of committee and approved by Congress Need to provide accurate info to maintain reputation.

Lobbying the Executive Branch Executive branch makes daily decisions on how to implement public policy. They want the President to appoint officials sympathetic to their views To have agencies adopt regulations that favor their interest. Try to get Judges sympathetic to their views appointed to the courts.

Grass-Roots Lobbyist Grass-roots lobbying encourages people to pressure elected officials to support certain policies Common tactics: – Writing letters – Phoning officials – Staging demonstrations – Protests IGs publish rankings of members of Congress on their issues AARP – effective grass-roots lobbying group

Digital Lobbying Groups such as liberal MoveOn.org have turned to the Internet as a tool for grass-roots lobbying. Internet used for: – To make appeals – Petitions – Fundraising – organizing

Shaping Public Opinion Interest groups try to gain support for their goals – Encourage news media to report on their activities – Often use celebrities

Propaganda Propaganda is a method of persuading people to adopt a particular belief, whether the belief is true or not. Propaganda starts with a conclusion and then gathers data to support it. Common tactic is to attach positive or negative labels to people, depending on the group. Encourage people to jump on the “bandwagon”

Influencing Elections Getting candidates elected to office is good way to influence policy. IGs use Political Action Committees (PACs) to contribute money to candidates who share same beliefs Conduct campaigns by providing consultants, volunteers, and information.

In what ways do interest groups attempt to influence government and public opinion? The direct approach involves face-to-face efforts to lobby Congress, the executive branch, and the courts. The indirect approach involves building public support through grass-roots measures, shaping public opinion, using propaganda, and influencing the outcome of elections.