3. Interest Groups Private organizations (not govt owned) Goal is to persuade the public & officials Get them to respond to their shared interests Use of Propaganda and Lobbyists

4. Interest Groups Private organizations (not govt owned) - try to persuade the public & officials to respond to their shared interests Create effect of getting citizenry & Govt to respond Falls under 1 st Amendment concepts of: Freedom of Assembly, Petition, Association aka: Pressure Groups & Special Interests Variety of labels: Leagues, Clubs, Federations, Unions, Committees, Associations Interest in influencing establishment /application of Public Policy

6. Interest Groups interested in Influence

7. Differences from Political Parties I.G. do not nominate people for public office … they are interested in supporting candidates that are “like-minded” to them on a specific issue - no matter party affiliation I. G. not interested in range of political issues / policies – just their own … thus, they do NOT have to compromise I. G. leadership is NOT voted on Willingness to use Litigation (court cases) as “Trump Card”

8. Involvement is actually growing!

9. Valuable functions of Interest Groups Raise awareness of potential problems/situations (Public Policy) - Desiring a definitive response to issues - NAACP (Discrimination) … NOW (Women’s Rights) Provide specialized, detailed information to public & to govt - research, petitions, surveys, etc… Vehicles for political participation (rallies, petitions, etc…) - Grassroots Organizing Pooling of resources that can be focused on specified issue - Fundraising Campaigns & Events - Sponsoring Ad Campaigns

11. Setting the Precedent …

12. Free Speech Corporations have right to Free Speech

13. The Future of Campaigning …

19. Economic based Interest Groups Business – Attempt to persuade government to produce legislation that stimulate business activity or protect business interests… tariffs (taxes on imported products) Examples = Nat Assoc of Manufacturers; Business Roundtable; Chamber of Commerce

20. Labor Groups Organizations of workers who share the same type of job – press for government policies that benefit workers (wages, safety standards, benefits, retirement packages, etc…) Examples = AFL-CIO, Teamsters, Fraternal Order of Police, United Auto Workers (UAW), United Mine Workers (UMW)

21. Agricultural Groups Associations that work to influence the government to develop policies (subsidies, trade pacts, programs, etc…) that assist farmers to more effectively produce their commodities Examples = National Grange, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Union, National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc, California & Florida Citrus Growers

22. Hmmm … interesting???

23. Criticisms of Interest Groups Influence over & above voters (often issues are not elected) - does this run counter to idea of Majority Rules/Minority Rights? Typically, the highly-organized & well-funded groups - have the most influence over government officials How “transparent” are these organizations? … who exactly are they representing & how much $ is being pushed in campaigns? Questionable tactics: - Propaganda … is media influence (advertising) over done? - Lobbyists … are these ex-govt officials or are these “experts”? - PAC $ … is it being used to “buy” representation/voice in govt?