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  FoF – Focus on the Family

 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

 Supply the public with information  Build a positive image for the group Accomplishment of tasks Positive press coverage Politicians vote in desired manner  Promote a particular public policy

 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….  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