Schedule

1
Schedule

• Thursday Political Parties
• Today Interest Groups
• Tomorrow Test Media, Interest Groups,
  Political Parties
• Due Friday Clinton v. New York City (1997)
• United States v. Nixon (1974)

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The iron triangle
3
Interest GroupsasLinkage Institutions
4
Interest Groups as Factions

• Madison (Federalist 10) his description of
  factions defines the interest groups found today
• Madisons broad language The latent causes of
  faction are sown in the nature of man..
  predicted the potential for multiple factions on
  many topics
• Definition People who share common goals,
  interact with each other, and organize to affect
  the public agenda.

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Types of Interest Groups

• Economic primary purpose is to promote the
  economic interest of their members
• National Assoc. of Manufacturers
• AFL-CIO (unions)
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
• National Farmers Union
• Tobacco Institute
• American Medical Assoc.
• National Assoc. of Trial Lawyers
• American Petroleum Institute

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Types of Interest Groups

• Public Interest Groups narrowly focused
  groups, often on a single issue
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• American Assoc. of Retired Persons (AARP)
• The Brady Campaign.
• National Assoc. for the Advancement of
  Colored
• People (NAACP)
• National Rifle Assoc. (NRA)
• National Abortion Rights League (NARAL)
• National Right to Life Committee
• Christian Coalition

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Types of Interest Groups

• Environmental Groups formed to protect many
  parts of the environment
• Greenpeace
• Sierra Club
• Environmental Defense Fund
• National Audubon Society
• The Nature Conservancy
• League of Conservation Voters

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Types of Interest Groups

• Public Interest/Good Government search for
  public policy that is in the interest of the
  general public
• Common Cause
• Public Citizen
• National Right to Work
• MADD

9
Interest Groups as linkage institutions

• Strategies to influence the public agenda
• Information education of public,
• Congress, White House, etc.
• Mass media appeal
• Mass mailings
• Electioneering activities
• campaigning, issue ads, etc.
• Political Action Committees (PACs)

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Interest Groups as linkage institutions

• Lobbying
• Congress draft legislation, testify,
• astroturf pressure, polls,
• use constituents a
• grassroots
• Executive Branch information, testify,
• assist with rules for
• regulatory agencies
• Courts amicus curiae briefs,
• nominations

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Interest Groups as linkage institutions

• Other Activities
• Grassroots direct mail, internet, radio
• talk shows
• Protest rally, parade, breaking the
• law
• Election endorsements, rating
• candidates,
  contributions thru
• PACs, issue ads, 527
• committees, getting out
  the
• vote (GOTV)

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Interest Groups Influence

• Positive Advantage for democracy because it
  allows individual citizens to influence
  government in ways that are beyond their ballot
  links them to the public agenda
• Negative The poorer citizens those in
  minorities are poorly represented, there is too
  much money involved in the process (elitist), and
  there is too much opportunity for influence of
  the public agenda to be purchased

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