Chapter 7: Interest Groups and Political Parties

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Chapter 7 Interest Groups and Political Parties

• American Government
• POLS 1101
• Instructor Mr. Mancill

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Interest Groups in American Politics

• Interest group- an association of people who hold
  common views and who work together to influence
  what government does.
• Americans join groups to solve problems.

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Interest Groups in American Politics

• In Federalist Number 10, James Madison offers his
  take on factions.
• Factions- groups of people motivated by a common
  cause.
• Competition among many groups representing many
  interests is good.
• If there are many groups representing many
  interests, then no one group can take over.

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Interest Groups in American Politics

• Pluralist democracy- American society is made up
  of different groups, each looking to secure its
  member's interest.
• Melting pot- characterization of America as the
  coming together of a wide variety of racial,
  ethnic, and religious groups.

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What Interest Groups Do

• Interest groups engage in a broad range of
  activities to protect and advance the well-being
  of their members.
• Groups try to create public support for their
  political goals
• Groups finance political campaigns through PAC's
• Groups lobby
• Lobbying-attempting to influence legislation
  through communication with legislators.

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What Interest Groups Do

• Lobbying
• Lobbyists are a source of information for the
  legislature. Lobbyists provide published
  materials, and testify before congress.
• Lobbyists are sometimes involved in the writing
  of legislation.
• Lobbyists act when they perceive a threat to
  their cause.

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What Interest Groups Do

• Iron Triangle-the combination of interest groups,
  Congress, and the bureacracy who determine the
  outcome of political decisions.

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Types of Interest Groups

• Economic
• Social
• Religious
• Ideological
• Single-Issue
• Public Interest

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Types of Interest Groups

• Economic
• Economic groups are among the most powerful of
  all interest groups.
• Economic groups sometimes join together to better
  enhance their strength.
• Examples include
• National Association of Manufacturers
• Amreican Farm Bureau
• American Bar Association

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Types of Interest Groups

• 2. Social
• Membership is determined by birth, not choice.
• Womens movement, Civil Rights Movement
• Examples
• National Organization for Women (NOW)
• National Association for the Advancement of
  Colored People (NAACP)

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Types of Interest Groups

• 3. Religious
• Separation of church and state and religious
  freedom.
• Members often belong to the Christian Right, a
  conservative group that gets involved in the
  political process.
• Christian Coalition-Pat Robertson

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Types of Interest Groups

• 4. Ideological
• Pursue a broad political agenda.
• Seek to transform society within an ideological
  framework.
• Examples
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
• MoveOn

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Types of Interest Groups

• 5. Single-Issue
• Pursue a narrow political agenda
• Focus on one policy or problem
• Sometimes refuse to compromise
• Examples
• National Rifle Association (NRA)
• National Right to Life Committee (NRLC)

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Types of Interest Groups

• 6. Public Interest
• Represent the public as a whole (collective
  good).
• Focus on product safety and effective government
  regulation of industry.
• Corporate greed, governmental accountability,
  ethics in government.
• Examples
• Common Cause

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Foundation of Democracy

• Classic democratic theory states that we must be
  interested in politics, and be active in the
  political process
• Many people are uninterested or inactive in
  politics. However, interest groups make sure that
  everyone's interest in represented without being
  politically active.

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Political Parties

• Political party- an organization that seeks to
  influence public policy by putting its own
  members into positions of governmental authority.
• What is the distinction between an interest group
  and a political party?
• Interest groups want to influence, while
  political parties want to control government

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What Political Parties Do

• 1. Socialization functions
• People tend to identify with a political party,
  parties help to structure people's perceptions of
  politics.
• Parties educate citizens about politics
• Parties tell voters what is going on, and how it
  affects them.

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Types of Political Parties

• Major Party-A political party that has wide
  support.
• Democractic Party
• Republican Party
• Third (minor) Party- A political party other than
  the two major parties.
• Green Party
• Reform Party
• Libertarian Party

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What Political Parties Do

• 2. Electoral functions
• Must have a position on many issues that will
  attract many voters.
• Voters usually find one candidate that reflects
  their views, leads to a less number of candidates
  on the ballot.
• Setting up procedures for determining who will
  represent a party.

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What Political Parties Do

• 3. Governmental functions
• Parties organize government
• Parties help make government responsible to the
  people.
• We reward a party for doing a good job, and
  punish the party for doing a bad job.

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A Two-Party System

• Two-party system- a system in which only two
  parties have a chance of winning office.
• Why the two party system?
• Electoral vs. Historical

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Electoral

• Plurality election system-candidate wins by just
  getting the most votes, even if is less than a
  majority.
• Proportional representation- offices are awarded
  in proportion to the percentage of votes a party
  receives.
• Encourages the growth of more than two parties
  because a party that places third or fourth can
  still win seats.

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Historical

• Other than the electoral system having an impact,
  other factors contribute to our two-party system.
• Centrist distribution of opinions
• Absence of intense ethnic and religious divisions
  that lead to fragmentation in society