Special Interest Groups Influences in American Politics

What is a special interest group?  Special interest groups are groups that are only interested in one or two particular interests.  Their goal is to influence government officials into promoting and/ or voting for their particular political interests.

What is the difference between a Special Interest and a Political Party?  #1 – The main goal of a political party is have people elected to political positions to represent the interests of the party, while the interest group has no political desires.

And...  #2 – Most political parties have a wide range of political views while interest groups concentrate on only a few issues.

Anything else...  Most interest groups are regionalized and local, while political parties tend to be on a national level.  As media outlets have grown over the years, so has the nationalization of many of these groups.

What is the purpose of a special interest group?  Interest groups help to “bridge the gap” between citizens of an area and the local, state, and federal politicians that represent that area.  In other words, they attempt to convince politicians how to vote.

How do they influence the government?  #1 - Number of supporters in the special interest group.  #2 - Amount of wealth the special interest group has.  How “interested” Americans become in their interests. This is done through organization and media.

How Do You Get Involved in an Interest Group?  Have an interest in what the group is promoting.  Join the group (college campuses are big recruiting grounds for SIG’s)

Some Interest Groups in America Today  NRA – National Rifle Association  WWF – World Wildlife Fund  SADD – Students Against Destructive Decisions  NEA – National Education Association  FAIR – Federation for American Immigration Reform  Americans for Tax Reform

Who are these people?   Google – political interest groups  More popular groups include the NRA, WWF, GLAAD, PETA, MADD, SADD