1. Interest Groups

2. Interest Group
A private organization that tries to persuade public officials to respond to the shared attitudes of its members
Their goal is to influence public policy
Public policy is all the things government tries to do in order to achieve certain goals

3. Interest Groups are Everywhere
World
World Trade Organization (WTO)
National
National Rifle Association (NRA)
State
Michigan Education Association (MEA)
Local
Plymouth-Canton Education Association (PCEA)
Interest groups work for an idea and against competing ideas

4. Types of Interest Groups
Economic Groups
Business Groups (Chamber of Commerce of the United States)
Labor Groups (AFL-CIO [American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations)
Agricultural Groups (National Farmers Union)
Professional Groups (American Bar Association)

5. Types of Interest Groups
Groups for Causes
ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)
League of Women Voters
National Women’s Christian Temperance Movement
Promotes welfare for other groups
AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)
VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars)
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
Religious Organizations
Christian Coalition
National Council of Churches

6. Types of Interest Groups
ATR (Americans for Tax Reform)
ATR asks every candidate for elected office on the state and federal level to make a written commitment to their constituents to "oppose and vote against tax increases.”
“The Pledge” (13 min)

7. Goals of Interest Groups
In the end, interest groups want to affect change
Hire Lobbyists
Form Political Action Committees (PACs)
Go door-to-door
Ask you to sign petitions
Hold demonstrations
Ask for money
Run commercials
Hold weekly, monthly, or yearly meetings
Mail things to your house
Visit Congressmen
Letter writing campaigns
To Congressmen
To newspapers
To constituents

8. Lobbyists Someone who is employed to persuade legislators to vote for
legislation that favors the lobbyist's
employer

9. PACs
A political action committee (PAC) is any organization in the United States that campaigns for or against political candidates, ballot initiatives or legislation.
At the federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, according to the Federal Election Campaign Act.
Limit of $5,000 to a candidate per political cycle
List of PACs

10. Super PACs
Super PACs, officially known as "independent-expenditure only committees," may not make contributions to candidate campaigns or parties, but may engage in unlimited political spending independently of the campaigns. Also unlike traditional PACs, they can raise funds from corporations, unions and other groups, and from individuals, without legal limits.
Restore Our Future (Mitt Romney)
Priorities USA (Barack Obama)

11. Media’s Role Stump Speeches Sound Bites
Watchdog – can expose lies or corruption/illegal activities
Gatekeeper – what subjects become national issues
Scorekeeper – decide who is winning and who is losing
Political Agenda – sets how candidates are judged
Candidate Centered – the focus is on the candidate, not the party

12. What issue do they support? President Barack Obama
Major
Endorsements
Name
What issue do they support?
How are they political?
Meaning: How do they get what they want?
President Barack Obama
Interest Groups #1 #2 #3
Governor Mitt Romney

13. What Shapes Public Opinion?
Chapter 8

14. Measuring Public Opinion
Family & School
Polls
Gallup Poll
Margin of error
Random Sample
In person, by phone, by internet vote

15. Polls Who? Who is responsible for the poll?
What? What is the audience?
How? How was the sample chosen?
Why? Why is the poll being conducted?
When? When was the data collected?

16. Mass Media Sources Print (newspapers, magazines) TV Radio Internet
Blogs
12,000 in 2000
141 million by 2010

17. Mass Media Depth + Time = Accuracy Purpose
Reporting the news vs. Making the news

18. What is the job of the media?
Make news?
Report news?
Make money?
Keep our attention?