Agenda, Go over Chapter 8 Quiz Interest Groups Notes Political Party Meetings Reminder: Projects due Tomorrow!!! Test Thursday!

The Nature of Interest Groups Unit 2 – Chapter 9

Role of Interest Groups Interest group: Collection of people who share certain views on public matters and work to shape public policy to their benefit Role: “pressure groups” “special interest” Shape public policy

Parties and Interest Groups How are political parties and interest groups different? 1)Nominating candidates 2)Primary focus 3)interests

Good or Bad? Two Early Views Madison - Feared interest groups would be too powerful Tocqueville – thought number of organizations was good

The Good – The Function of Interest Groups 1. encouraging people to take an interest in public affairs 2. representing members because they have the same attitudes, not because of where they live 3. giving information to the government about specific topics 4. helping people to take part in the political process 5. watching over public agencies and officials to make sure they do what they are supposed to do 6. competing with other interest groups to affect public policy

The Bad Too much influence Hard to tell who or how many people a group represents Many groups do not represent the views of all the people for whom they claim to speak for Use inappropriate tactics

Types of Interest Groups Economic Business groups Example: Chamber of Congress Labor groups Example: AFL-CIO Agricultural groups Example: National Grange, Farm Bureau Professional associations Example: NEA, ABA

Types of Interest Groups Additional Interest Groups Issue-oriented groups Example: NRA, Planned Parenthood Organizations for specific groups Example: AARP, NAACP Religious organizations Example: Christian Coalition, American Jewish Congress

Types of Interest Groups Public-Interest Groups Organizations that have a broad focus and work for the “public good” Examples: Common Cause, the League of Women Voters