PowerPoint #7 “Interest Groups and Public Opinion” Government Unit 2

Contains Two Crash Course Videos Episode #42 – Interest Groups Episode #43 – Interest Groups Formation

Essential Questions: How can Special Interest Groups influence policy in the United States? How does Public Opinion influence who is elected in the United States?

Special Interest Groups

Interest Groups Definition – group of people with common goals who organize to influence government. Interest groups support candidates who favor their ideas They do not nominate candidates Usually focus on one or a few issues

Purpose and Political Power Purpose – to bridge the gap between government and the people Communicate wants, policy goals, etc. Political Power Strength in numbers Financial resources or expertise of members

Complete the Worksheet that goes with this video Episode #42 – Interest Groups https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOvBA7oIIgc&t=432s

Types of Interest Groups: 1. Business-Related NAM (National Association of Manufacturers) Lower individual & corporate taxes Limit government regulation of business United States Chamber of Commerce Works for smaller businesses Business Roundtable Works for the largest & most powerful corporations

Types of Interest Groups 2. Labor Related AFL-CIO -American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations UAW - United Auto Workers UMW - United Mine Workers COPE - Committee on Political Education Directs major goals such as fund-raising, voter registration drives, and support for political candidates.

Types of Interest Groups: 3. Agricultural American Farm Bureau Federation Helps the larger & more successful farmers NFU (National Farmers’ Union) Smaller farmers Supports laws protecting migrant farm workers Higher price supports for crops & livestock

Types of Interest Groups: 4. Professional Associations ABA (American Bar Association) To serve equally our members, our profession; serve the public by defending liberty and delivering justice as the national representative of the legal profession AMA (American Medical Association) to advance the interests of physicians and their patients, promote the art and science of medicine for the betterment of the public health CTA (California Teachers’ Association) protect and promote the well-being of its members; improve the conditions of teaching and learning

Types of Interest Groups: 5. Environmental Sierra Club Explore, enjoy, and protect the planet National Wildlife Federation Mission is to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future

Affecting Public Policy Lobbyists Representatives of Interest Groups that make direct contact with Congressional members Provide Information Useful information in order to persuade the lawmaker Restriction on gifts…no more than $100 Misrepresentation of facts may result in a loss of access to Congressional members Draft Bills 50% of legislation comes from lobbyist assistance in writing public policy

Getting Support Media Dramatic & biased advertising Letter Writing Thousands of letters to demonstrate “universal” support for an issue Limitations Different groups compete for power and influence. No single group can control all Smaller groups (narrower aims) tend to be the most powerful.

PACS (Political Action Committees) Organizations that are designed to collect money in support of a political candidate. Result of laws preventing large donations from individual corporations or labor unions. FECA (Federal Election Campaign Act (1971) PAC must register with the government at least 6 months before an election. Strict accounting rules

Complete the Worksheet that goes with this video Episode #43 – Interest Groups Formation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGo9Asfwric

Public Opinion

How Public Opinion is Individually Influenced Many are the same as political socialization factors – family, age, race, income, occupation, geography, peer groups, etc. Schools learning independent of parents, exposure to different viewpoints, develops critical thinking, questioning beliefs, etc. Historic Events major impact on the views of people – reacting to past successes and failures Opinion Leaders someone who has an unusually strong influence on the views of others

Mass Media In the past: The Media did not tell public what to think, but rather what to think about. Currently: Most of the media slants one way or the other. It is very opinionated and hard to find a neutral media source

Mass Media Newspapers – earliest form of mass media 1st in Boston (1704) 45% of adults read a newspaper daily Why do you think newspaper subscriptions are declining? Magazines – distributed nationally in the 1900’s expanding exposure Time, Newsweek, and US News & World Report = 10 million copies a week.

Radio Starting in the 1920’s, radio brought news and entertainment to the public Radio has survived as a news source due to convenience in cars, at work, etc. Talk Radio is popular – known as having very strong, biased views

Television TV – became popular in the 1940’s today in 98% of households principal source of news for 80% of the population Is TV news bias or unbiased?

Measuring Public Opinion Polls – attempting to collect information on public opinions by asking questions. Most effective indicators of public opinion besides elections Factors that can skew results Wording of questions (is it fair, neutral?) Wording will strongly affect the answers to the questions Method of conducting the poll how was it administered? Internet? Phone? etc.

Read and analyze the questions used in two polls about the economy Read and analyze the questions used in two polls about the economy. How did the way the questions were framed skew the results? Explain

Essential Questions: How can Special Interest Groups influence policy in the United States? How does Public Opinion influence who is elected in the United States?