1. Political parties, interest groups and public policy
How do political parties and interest groups influence our political decisions?

2. In the summer of 2004, the US was gearing up for presidential elections…
As the race for president heated up, political ads appeared on tvs across the country. Many of these ads featured the leading candidates of the two major parties, Republican George Bush and Democrat John Kerry
Most people watching ads probably assume that they came from the political parties that sponsored the candidates or the candidates themselves but if one had read the credits they might have found otherwise
Interest groups often fund ads to help influence elections

3. Progress for America ad
N.R.A. ad
Progress for America ad

5. Vocabulary for chapter 8 semantics
Political party-an organization that seeks to achieve power by electing its members to public office
Interest group-any organized group whose members share a common goal and try to promote their interests by influencing government policymaking and decision making
Platform-a political party’s statement of objectives and beliefs. Specific proposals are known as planks
Two party system-political system in which 2 parties dominate the electoral process and control government

6. Vocabulary for chapter 8 semantics
Pluralism-the idea that political power should be shared among various groups in society; competition between these groups along with checks and balances prevent any 1 group from gaining too much power
Political action committee-organization that raises and distributes funds to candidates running for office..corporations and labor unions for example form PACs to channel donations from employees to political campaigns

7. Vocabulary for chapter 8 semantics
Lobbying-an organized effort to influence the policy process by persuading officials to favor or oppose action on a specific issue
Public policy- a plan or course of action initiated by government to achieve a goal

8. interest groups
"An interest group is an organized body of individuals who share some goals and who try to influence public policy."                                                -- Jeffrey Berry,                                                   The Interest Group Society

9. Lobbyists…their influence on political decisions
The Influence of Lobbyists: Lobbyists perform useful functions for government by providing information to all three branches of government, educating the public, and preparing legislation. There are those that suggest lobbyists are a "third house" of Congress.

10. Examples for vocabulary
Party platform example:
Republican Party on the Issues
PACs: The input by PACs has been largely negative during elections and seem to concentrate on condemning the opponent of the person they are supporting rather than highlighting the achievement and policies of their own candidate. The National Security PAC spent $8.5 million on a campaign that simply attacked the presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in the 1988 campaign.
In a presidential campaign, PACs contribute to the parties to support the election campaign expenditure of the candidate. The amount a PAC can contribute to a national party is limited to $15,000. Therefore ten PACs could spend a maximum of $150,000 on a national party. However, PACs can contribute a lot more to state and local parties. In some states the amount is restricted but in others it is not.

11. Preview
If you were to register for a political party right now, which would you choose?
Democrat
Republican
Independent (no party affiliation)
Third party (green party, libertarian, etc)
Provide reasons for your choice

12. After completing preview
Designate each corner of the room to represent one of the following: democrat, republican, independent or third party (such as green party)
Students go to corner that best describes their self selected affiliation
Students in each group discuss reasons those chose what they do
One member of each group shares a couple of the reasons given
Distribute student handout: political issues survey

13. Debrief:
Were the results of the survey consistent with your party choice in the Preview?
In this survey all issues were weighted equally. In reality, what specific issues might have more or less weight in a person’s decision to become affiliated with one party over another?
Why do you think people join political parties? What might be some of the advantages and disadvantages of joining one?

14. Complete a spoke diagram: What do political parties do
Complete a spoke diagram: What do political parties do? The main goal is to get candidates elected!
Recruit candidates and support campaigns
Help organize elections and inform people
Organize government (members of the majority party choose one of their members to be speaker of the house or Senate majority leader..which means influence)
Unite diverse interests and make collective action possible (bring diverse people together… at national conventions they create platforms that outline the party’s position on issues)
Serve as a loyal opposition to the political party in power (win positions so it can translate objectives into laws, serve as watchdogs)

15. Most common way is voter registration Identify with a party
Political parties offer various ways for citizens to get involved in politics
Most common way is voter registration
Identify with a party
Donate money
Attend rallies or meetings
Volunteer to work on party committees
Volunteer to work on individual campaigns

16. Structure of political parties
Committees manage affairs of the party at each level
National committee is made up of delegates from each state
State and local are like national each state has a committee and there are various county committees
Sometimes there are committees at the precinct level or the local voting district

17. Evolution of parties
When Constitution was written no political parties existed
The first parties formed around President Washington and Alexander Hamilton (Federalists who favored strong national government) and Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republicans who favored strong state governments)

18. Democrats
More likely to be a member of a minority group, female, and less affluent
Democrats hold more liberal views
Democrats support a strong federal government and look to it to solve a wide variety of problems
Democrats favor tax cuts for the poor
They are more willing to raise taxes for affluent Americans in order to support programs that they see as beneficial to society
Generally support government regulation of business as a way to protect consumers, workers, or the environment
Support abortion rights and gun control laws while opposing school prayer
Democrats favor regular increases in the minimum wage to support poor families

19. Republicans More likely to be white, male, and relatively affluent
Republicans hold more conservative views
Favor limiting the size of the national government and giving more power to states to solve problems at a local level
Favor broad based tax cuts to encourage economic growth to allow people to keep what they earn

20. What function do third parties serve in American politics?
People frustrated with the political system have formed third parties to express their different opinions in constructive ways
There are 4 main types of third parties in US
Single issue parties-focus on 1 issue
Economic protest parties-unite people for certain economic polices
Ideological parties-view politics through one ideology (libertarian or socialist)
Splinter parties-offshoots of major parties (progressives)

21. What function do third parties serve in American politics?
Third parties have advocated reforms that have eventually been adopted by the major parties. In the 90s the Green Party helped raise awareness of environmental issues
Some green positions today can be found in the platforms of the two main parties
Third parties face an uphill battle given the strength of the two party system
Smaller parties find it hard to raise money and get media coverage they need to challenge the major parties

22. Independent parties
In recent yrs a growing number of Americans have declared themselves to be political independents
They aren’t aligned with any political party
The rise of independent voters represents a turn away from the more liberal or conservative views toward a centrist or a middle of the road position
Many people who embrace the independent lable still tend to lean to one or the other of the major parties at election time
They still vote democrat or republican..some call it voting your conscience
Truly independent voters make up about 10% of the voting population

23. Create: A symbol or illustration to represent independent voters.
Write one sentence describing independents

24. Interest groups
Americans join all kinds of groups that reflect their interests
When those groups seek to influence government at any level they’re called special interest groups
It refers to a particular goal or set of goals that unites members such as the NRA

25. Are interest groups good or bad for democracy?
Many Americans believe that interest groups seek to achieve their goals at the expense of society as a whole
James Madison believed that these groups pose a threat to democratic government if their power goes unchecked
Madison believed that pluralism was the answer because it means that political power is shared among a variety of groups and that in turn creates competition and a system of checks and balances to prevent any 1 group from gaining to much power

26. Interest groups today
Interest groups now offer Americans a way to participate in the political process
They speak out on issues of concern to not only their members but to the public at large
They present factual info to government officials
They also serve as watchdogs to ensure rights and interests of their members are protected
They help keep people informed
They play a critical role in the democratic process allowing people to get involved and speak out

27. Why do people join interest groups?
Information, benefits
Training may be offered that helps members qualify for higher paying jobs
Example: AARP provides info on federal health insurance benefits and prescription drug programs

28. Interest groups
Are organized and financed in many ways: dues, membership fees, direct mail fundraising campaigns and government grants
An interest groups is made powerful through size, money, unity of purpose, commitment, leadership, information and expertise

29. Making public policy: 6 steps
Issue id: officials or the public identify important issues or problems
Agenda setting: key issues become part of the public agenda
Policy formulation: policymakers consider options and formulate policies to address the issues
Adoption: officials debate and revise policies before they adopt them
Implementation: government agencies implement and enforce the policies
Evaluation: officials and interest groups evaluate policy results and consider any necessary changes