WEEK SHEET
Week 4: 10/17
Announcements:
1. Practicing Democracy Assignment: This assignment (because the instructions are long) will be handed out in
class as well as available on line separate from this sheet. It is due on Nov. 7.but I am giving this to you now so you
can prepare what you want to do.
2. Midterm: The midterm will be in two parts. You will need a scan-tron and a Blue Book.
Part One: The first part will be a about 45 multiple choice questions which will be available online
beginning Weds evening. The quiz is open book, open note, but you are expected to work on your
own and not discuss the exam or questions with anyone else. Please answer on a scantron. and bring your
answers to class. If you miss class you must email them to me by class time to receive full credit.
Part Two: The second part will consist of some in-class writing the last 60 minutes of class on Oct.17 tth.
You will be asked to write on two of the “To Think About” questions from Week Sheets 1 -3. None of the
questions at the end of this sheet will be included on this exam. Please bring a Blue Book to class for this.
Reading:
Text: Read Chpt. 8 in ADR.
Lecture: Lecture on Special Interest Groups
Review all past material for midterm
To Do:
1. Special Interest Group Scavenger Hunt
This exercise will give you a sense of how special interest groups keep their constituents informed on what our
elected officials are up to. It will also give you some sense the degree to which the parties differ when it comes right
down to policy on civil liberties, the environment, and taxes.
1. Go to the ACLU website: http://www.aclu.org and click on “About the ACLU” on the top bar explain
in a sentence or two what the stated goal of ACLU is.
2. Go back to the home page and click on “legislative update” (on the top bar). Then on the new page,
scroll to the bottom and click on “congressional score card” on the bottom bar. Scroll on down until you
see the FIRST bill (law proposal) that the ACLU is following. Explain in a sentence what the bill would
do, the ACLU’s position on it, and the bill’s fate.
3. Pick one other bill that the ACLU is tracking and explain in a sentence or two what the bill proposes and
why the ACLU is either supporting or opposing it.
4. Go back to the top of the page and click on View Full House Scorecard. Notice that there are 10
bills that the ACLU has tracked. If you scroll down the page you can see how the 8 representatives
from Arizona voted. Read at the bottom of the scorecard what the red X’s and green checks mean and then
write how many Republican votes in FAVOR of the ACLU position and how Democratic votes went
AGAINST the ACLU position
5. Go back to where you can select “View Full Senate Scorecard”. Scroll through the Senate and explain
in a sentence or two how the voting divides between region and party: Which party and what regions of
the country seem to be the LEAST supportive of the ACLU.
6. Say goodbye to the ACLU and go visit the California League of Conservation Voters at
http://ecovote.org. Click on About Us in your own words what the CLCV’s mission is.
7. From the CLCV homepage click on the “2007 California Environmental Score Card” link and then
click on “snapshot of the numbers” and tell me what percent of the time in 2007 the Democratic State
Assembly members voted with the CLCV position and what percent of the time the Republican state
Assembly members voted with the CLCV. Also tell me what percent of the time in 2007 the Governor
supported the CLCV backed legislation. (You need to go to the full report card if you want to see what
specific bills the CLCV was measuring, but this is not required. Again, the differences between the
parties is pretty clear.
8. Enough with liberal groups. Go to http://www.atr.org the Americans for Tax Reform site. You can see
here some differences between Republicans and Democrats on taxes. (This is a group that lobbies for
lower taxes.) At the very, very top of their home page (above their name ) click on Congressional Ratings
then on the PDF 2007 Senate Ratings. Scroll down and find McCain (AZ), Clinton (NY) and Obama (IL)
and Biden (DL) , and tell me what percent of the time each voted FOR the ATR position. Also tell me
which party has by far the most plus’s for lowering taxes
2. Visiting a Couple of Special Interest Group Sites on Your Own:
Visit ONE of the sites below and spend a little time in seeing what they are about, especially in terms of their
political action. Then write a 150 to 200 word comment on each about the site noting some of the legislation they
are especially interested in, their ideology and their tactics.
(Simply Google the name to find the site.)
AARP
EMILY’S LIST
NCAAP
ColorofChange.org
Green for all
Moveon.org
Also Visit ONE of the following sites and do the same thing and do the same thing you did above:
National Rifle Association: http://www.nra.org/home.aspx
The Christian Coalition of America: http://www.cc.org
The National Right to Life: http://www.nric.org
Focus on the Family http://www.focusaction.org (Click on “Contact your Lawmakers” to see
stuff. You can also go to http://www.focusonthefamily.com
Conservative Political Action Conference http:// http://www.cpac.org/
Pat Buchanan http://www.buchanan.org/(conservative anti – McCain (scroll down to see a very
unflattering picture of McCain (if it is still there) - quite mean spirited.)
Citizen Link http://www.citizenlink.org/(Conservative Christian group.)
political
3. Special Interest Group Reflection. Respond to any ONE of the questions below (a –d).
a. Madison in Federalist #10 worried about tyranny of the majority; however now with our special interest
politics, what we really have is tyranny of the minority. To what extent and for what reasons do you agree
or disagree with the following statement.?
b. If you were to write a law requiring networks to require free air time for candidates, what would it look
like? (Who would get on, what races, how much time, when, how often, what kind of ads would be allowed?)
c. Think of a cause you are interested in. Tell me what it is and what, if you had the time, energy and
motivation, could you do to get legislation passed regarding it. Consider the resources you would need and
what would be most available. To what extent would you be more successful utilizing the inside game or
the outside game and why?
d. Did the Supreme Court get it right in Buckley v. Valeo?
4. Complete the Multiple Choice Questions available online starting Wednesday evening.
To Think About:
1. Reflecting on what you have learned about the special interest process, how well do you think pluralism in
America serves the public good. You may chose to argue that the U.S. is not truly a pluralist system.
2. Describe the various ways that interest groups use both the “inside” and “outside” game to meet their aims.
3. In what ways do special interest groups in America play both a positive and negative role in enhancing democracy?
4. Describe and explain 3 to 5 key factors that typically influence how successful a special interest group is
likely to be.
5. Summarize and assess our current laws regulating campaign finance; to what extent do you think they have they
struck the proper balance between protecting free speech and maintaining a fair and open electoral system?