The Good, The Bad, the Purpose

 A private organization that tries to persuade government to pursue favored policies.  Protected by the 1 st Amendment  “Lobbies”  IGs lobby at the national and the state levels  Opposing IGs compete for attention Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life

 NRA - National Rifle Association  NAACP – National Association for the Advancement of Colored People  ACLU – American Civil Liberties Union  NARAL – National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League  NRLC - National Right to Life Committee

 Raise awareness of public issues  Represent the views of their members  Provide useful information to politicians  Provide a means for citizens to participate in the political process  Checks and Balances Power of political officials Influence of other interest groups

 Some become too powerful  Some are “fronts” for radical political philosophies  Some do not represent the interests of their members  Many use money as political “bribes” Campaign contributions

1. Supply the public with information 2. Build a positive image for the group Groups Accomplishments Positive press coverage Politicians vote in desired manner 3. Promote a particular public policy  Trailer for movie “Thank You for Smoking”  om/watch?v=iBELC_v xqhI om/watch?v=iBELC_v xqhI

 Try to shape public opinion about a particular topic  Does not use objective logic  Begins with a conclusion Only provide supporting evidence  Simple, yet interesting delivery of information  Lobbyists master this “craft”  Trailer for movie “Thank You for Smoking”  m/watch?v=iBELC_vxqh I m/watch?v=iBELC_vxqh I

WHAT….HOW (TACTICS)….  Pressuring politicians to vote a certain way on issues  Used to be done in the “lobby” of the Capital Building  Lobbyist – a person hired by an interest group to convince members of Congress to support or oppose a particular issue  Testify before Congress  One-on-one meetings  Political contributions To re-election campaigns  “Rate” members of Congress Publish ratings

 Political Parties GOAL – to win elections and control government  Focus mostly on getting their candidate elected Made up of people who unite for some political purpose Nominate candidates for public office Concerned with everything that concerns voters Accountable to voters  TACTICS: Advertising, Conventions Debates, Rallies/Speeches

 Interest groups GOAL – to influence government policy  Focus on their issue  Don’t care which party, only that their cause is advanced Made up of people who unite for some political purpose Do not nominate candidates for public office Concerned only about issues that affect their members Interest groups are private organizations accountable to their members TACTICS: Advertise, Lobbying (see tactics under lobbying)