GAHS Social Studies Department Interest Groups GAHS Social Studies Department

The Role of Interest Groups Interest groups are _______ organizations whose members: private share common views work together to shape public policy Public policies: all the many _____ a government _______ goals pursues

Political Parties v. Interest Groups Responsible for the nominating process Hope to influence the nominations Want to win elections and control gov’t Influence policies created by gov’t Concerned with a wide range of public affairs Focus on issues their members are concerned about

Why Interest Groups Can Be Valuable They raise ___________ of issues that concern the people at large awareness They provide specialized ___________ to gov’t agencies and legislators information

participation They are vehicles of political ____________ They keep ____ on gov’t agencies and officials tabs

Complete the Fill in the Blank activity

Criticisms of Interest Groups Some groups have an influence far out of proportion to their _____ or ___________ size importance how many It can be difficult to tell who or _________ people are served by a group

Groups do not always represent the _______ of the people they claim to speak for views In rare cases, groups use tactics such as ______, _______, and so on. bribery threats

* * Review Questions 1. What is the role of interest groups? a. Raising the interest rate b. Organizing party conventions c. Influencing public policy d. All of the above * How do interest groups benefit society? a. They keep tabs on public agencies b. They may not represent the views of all of their members c. Some use underhanded tactics d. Some have undue influence *

Types of Interest Groups 1. Business—to protect and promote _________ interests economic Examples:

2. Labor Unions—press for gov’t policies that will benefit members (workers who share the same type of _____ or work in the same _________) job industries Examples:

Why is membership in labor unions on the decline?

3. Agricultural—serve the economic interests of _______ farmers Examples:

4. Professional—composed of occupations that require _________ and __________ training extensive specialized Examples:

NEA mailed this ad to it’s members in 2014

5. Caused-related—promote a ______ or _____ (e.g., rights, environment, etc.) cause idea Examples:

6. Religious—promote the values of a particular _______ faith Examples:

* * Review Questions What type of an interest group is the National Bar Association? a. Religious b. Professional c. Agricultural d. Labor Union * What type of an interest group is the Wilderness Society? a. Agricultural b. Cause-related c. Professional d. Public-interest *

Complete the Fill in the Blank activity

Interest Groups Use Propaganda a technique of persuasion —to change __________ behavior biased it’s _______—disregards information that does not _______ its conclusion support

exaggerated ____________ or false statements relies on ____________ or inflammatory labels name-calling

Interest Groups Use Lobbyists Lobbying—activities by which groups ________ elected officials and _________ the legislative process pressure influence 12,000 There are over _______ lobbyists operating in Washington, DC* *Reuters 2009

Lobbyists use several techniques: officeholders send information to ____________— reports, articles, etc. testify _______ before congressional committees

“grass-roots” rally ___________ pressure—emails, letters, or phone calls from the public contributions make campaign ____________

Did a conservative or liberal interest group create this report card? rate __________ candidates * Did a conservative or liberal interest group create this report card?

Political Action Committees (PACs) create Interest Groups ________ Political Action Committees raise PACs ______ and _________ money to candidates who will further their goals distribute

Should there be a limit on how much corporations can contribute to candidates and elections?

The End