Dec. 2, 2015
Discuss realignment
 Interest groups Discussion
 Vocabulary
 Vocabulary Quiz Friday, Dec.
4
 Assessment Dec. 8

Realignment

A dramatic change in the
political system that lasts for
decades.
Realignment Criteria

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A critical presidential election in
which the electorate changes its
voting pattern
The electorate is torn on a major
issue
A political party weak enough for a
new party to take control or to
reflect a significant change in voter
characteristics
GOVERNMENT
INTEREST GROUPS
What is an Interest Group?


A group of individuals with
common interests and seek to
influence the government in
some way (“Special Interests”)
James Madison called them
“factions” Did not like them, but
felt they were inevitable to
society.
How does an Interest Group begin?
 USUALLY begins as a social
movement
 Examples-abolitionists, civil
rights, women’s rights,
animal rights, etc.
Political Parties –vs- Interest
Groups
|
Political Parties
• Nominate Candidates
• Elections
• Controlling Govt.
Interest Groups
• Influence policies of
govt.
• Interested in the
”what” of govt.
Both are made up of people who
unite for some political purpose
• Interested in the “who” of
govt.
• Accountable to the public
• Focus on voters and their
candidate
• Private Organizations
• Focus on issues and
what directly affects
the interest of their
members
Types of Interest Groups





Economic
Ideological/Single Issue
Public Interest
Foreign Policy
Government Itself
Not all interest groups are mutually
exclusive-some overlap into different
types

Group work
Economic Interest Groups




Businesses - large
corporations to individual
owners
McD’s, Coke, AT&T, Microsoft,
Amazon
Trade & Other Associationsbusinesses with similar interest
join together.
Chambers of Commerce

Labor - workers
associations or unions
•Represent workers’
interests
•Membership is low in the US
compared to other
industrialized countries
•Examples-- Fraternal Order
of Police, International
Longshore, etc…

Professional AssociationsProfessionals form of a
union.
•Can be national or state or
local
•American Bar Association,
National Education Association,
AMA
IDEOLOGICAL/SINGLE ISSUE
Ideological – set pattern of
beliefs (conservative, liberal,
libertarian…)
 ACLU, Christian Coalition,
Moral Majority

Single Issue (more specific)
 Very adamant about position
(right or left) and unwilling to
compromise
 NRA, Pro-Life, Pro-Choice

PUBLIC Interest Groups


“for the public good”
Focus on public policies that
benefit all or most Americans
FOREIGN POLICY Interest Groups


To promote or oppose certain
foreign policies
Council on Foreign Relations,
American-Israel Political Action
Committee, National Association
of Arab Americans
GOVERNMENT Interest Groups
Government employees want
to be organized and heard
 National Governors
Association, National
Education Association

You will be able to …


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Describe the role of interest
groups in influencing public
policy
Compare and Contrast political
parties and interest groups
Describe the different types of
interest groups
Explain how interest groups work
How do Interest Groups
Work?
Interest Groups have three
goals
Supply the public with
information an organization
thinks the people need
 Try to build a positive image
for a group
 To promote a particular
public policy

Propaganda
Is a technique of persuasion
aimed at influencing
individual or group behavior
 Interest Groups use
propaganda to create the
public attitude they want
 Mass media encouraged the
use of propaganda

What do Lobbyists do?


Use a variety of techniques to try
to persuade legislators to share
an interest in a group’s points of
view.
Provide two types of
information: Political (who
supports what) and Substantive
(impact of proposed legislation)
What are Lobbyists?


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Employees of an association that
try to influence policy decisions
and positions in the government
Revolving Door-moving from a
government job to a lobbying job
(common-good contacts already
made)
A former gov’t worker cannot
directly lobby their former
agency or office

Revolving Doors produce
networks of people involved
with certain issues. These
networks are called IRON
TRIANGLES.
•Mutually supporting
relationships among interest
groups, congressional
committees, and gov’t agencies
What are PACs?
Political Action Committee is
the political part of an
interest group
 Can legally raise money for
candidates or political parties
from members, stockholders,
or employees (of interest
group)

The Growth of PACs
1970s number of PACs
increased
 About 4,000 today

PAC LIMITS

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
Federal Elections Campaign Act
(1971) limits PACs to $5000 per
election or $10,000 per election cycle
(primary and general election)
“Bundling” helps PACs get around
the limits
SOFT MONEY-PACs have no limits to
contributions made to a political
party for party-building purposes