Politics, Public Issues and the Media Chapters 8, 9 and 10

Chapter 8  Political Parties and interest groups: How do they influence our political decisions?  xmk (Obama) xmk  jo (Romney) jo  T1U (Interest Group) T1U

Political Party  An organization that seeks to achieve power by electing its members to public office.  Main goal is to get their candidates elected to office.

More Political Party Responsibilities:  Recruit candidates and support their campaigns.  Help organize elections and inform voters.  Organize the government – Committee chairpersons and Speaker of the House (head of the House of Representatives) comes from the majority party

More responsibilities:  Unite diverse interests and make collective action possible. Create platforms that outline the party’s position on important issues.  Serve as a loyal opposition to the political party in power. The party not in power act as critics of the majority party’s proposals. Looking for any corruption or abuses of power.

Citizens and Party Involvement:  Most common way for citizens to get involved in politics is through voter registration. Register to vote as a member of one of the political parties.  Citizens can also donate money to a political party or its candidates and attend party rallies.  Some citizens volunteer to work on party committees or individual campaigns.

Two-Party System  A political system in which two parties dominate the electoral process and control the government.  Constitution makes no mention of parties.  First parties formed – Federalists – favored a strong national government vs. Democratic- Republicans – favored a much weaker national- government and strong state governments. 

Republicans  Republicans hold more conservative (traditional) views.  Tend to be white, male and relatively affluent.  Support limiting the size of the national government giving more power to the states  Favor lower taxes  Oppose strong government regulation of business  Oppose gun control laws and abortion

Democrats  Democrats hold more liberal (Open-minded) views.  More likely to be a member of a minority group, female and less affluent.  Support a strong federal government.  Favor tax cuts for the poor and high taxes for the affluent.  Support the right to choose (on abortion)  Support gun control laws

Third Parties  Formed by people who are frustrated with the political system.  Allow people to express their opinion in constructive ways.  Have enjoyed some political success – but not in a presidency.  auaSY auaSY

Interest Groups  Any organized group whose members share a common goal and try to promote their interests by influencing government policymaking and decision making.  Examples: National Rifle Association, The World Wildlife Fund, National Education Association, etc.  vZD8 vZD8

Functions of Interest Groups  Offer Americans a way to participate in the political process.  They speak out on issues of concern to their members and the public.  Present specialized information to government officials.  Monitor government actions to ensure that the rights and interests of their members are protected.  Keep people informed. 

Funding for Interest Groups  All interest groups need both money and people.  Many get their money from dues, membership fees and direct mail fundraising campaigns.

Political Action Committees  Interest groups try to influence government by contributing money to political parties and candidates during election campaigns.  Political Action Committees are sponsored by corporations, trade associations, unions or other interest groups.  PACs are allowed to collect donations and put that money into political campaigns.  uU uU

Lobbying – one way to influence government policy  Lobbying – interest groups try to influence the policy process by persuading public officials to favor or oppose action on a specific issues. Lobbyists speak to members of Congress, testify before congressional committees, etc.  Lobbyists provide useful information that helps officials create policies that serve the public interest.

Other Ways Interest Groups Influence Policy  Some interests groups carry out research and write policy proposals that support their goals.  Interest groups may also try litigation, or the bringing of lawsuits, to influence policy.  Or through grassroots mobilization – means rallying strong and vocal support from a large group of people at the local level. Public demonstrations – or writing letters or s with messages urging a particular course of action.

Public Policy A plan or course of action initiated by government to achieve a stated goal. The processes starts with identifying important public issues. Then they become part of the public agenda. Next officials address the issue through a policy. The policy is then adopted and implemented so that officials and others can evaluate its results.