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INTEREST GROUPS

What Are Interest Groups? • An interest group is an organization of likeminded people who influence government.

What groups are Democrat or Republican Democratic Party

Republican Party

Women

Men

Minorities

Whites and Cubans

Midwest and North

South and West

Poorer

Richer

Labor

Business Owners

Catholic

Protestants

Lawyers & Teachers

Doctors

Lower Education

Higher Education

Kinds of Interest Groups • Business Groups – American Petroleum Institute & Chamber of Commerce

• Labor Groups – Major League Baseball Players Association • MLB Players Webpage – United Auto Workers & AFL-CIO

• Agricultural Groups – American Farm Bureau & National Cotton Council • Cotton Council Webpage

Kinds of Interest Groups • Professional Groups – American Medical Association & American Bar Association

• Religious Groups – Christian Coalition & National Catholic Welfare Council

• Single Issue (Cause) Groups – NRA • NRA Web page

What Do Interest Groups Do? • Lobby: process of influencing government. • Who are lobbyists? • Lobby three branches of government on behalf of members. • Organize and mobilize members to influence government: grassroots lobbying • Organize members to contribute to political action committees. • Organize members to work for party.

Political Action Committees • Rise of Political Action Committees – 1974 Federal Election Campaign Act • Allowed for PACs

– Over 5,000 PACs today • COPE: Committee on Political Education of AFLCIO • American Bankers Association – Bank Pac

• Beer Distributers – Six PAC

Who gets most of the PAC campaign money?

The End