POLITICAL PARTIES AND INTEREST GROUPS: HOW DO THEY INFLUENCE OUR POLITICAL DECISIONS? Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Public Policy
Dec 18, 2015
POLITICAL PARTIES AND INTEREST GROUPS: HOW DO THEY INFLUENCE OUR
POLITICAL DECISIONS?
Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Public Policy
Key Terms
Political Party
Interest Group
Platform
Two-party System
Pluralism
Political Action Committee (PAC)
Lobbying
Public Policy
POLITICAL PARTIES HAVE PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN AMERICAN POLITICS
SINCE THE EARLY YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC.
Political Parties
What Do Political Parties Do in a Democracy?
The primary goal of parties is to get their candidates elected to office.
Parties recruit candidates and support campaigns.
Parties help organize elections and inform voters.
Parties organize the government.
Parties unite diverse interests and make collective action possible. Platforms
Parties serve as a loyal opposition to the political party in power.
The Structure of Political Parties
The Two-Party System
The Constitution makes no mention of parties. None existed
Early 1800s – political system w/ two major parties emerged
First parties came from within President Washington’s administration
Federalists Anti-Federalists
Alexander Hamilton
Favored a strong national gov’t
Support came from commercial & industrial interests in the north
Disappeared after T.J. became president.
Thomas Jefferson
Favored a weak national gov’t & strong state gov’ts
Support came from farmers & rural interests in the south
Single-handedly destroyed the Federalists (not really but sounds cool)
The Two-Party System
Evolution of the Two-Party System
Feds/Anti-Feds Democratic-Republicans Dem-Reps/Nat’l Reps Dems/Whigs Dems/Reps
Republicans & Democrats in the 21st Century
All kinds of Americans support either party. However, there are trends and “more likely”s among the Republicans and Democrats.
Republican Democrat
White
Male
Relatively affluent (financially well-off)
White collar
Highly Religious
Conservative
Member of a minority group
Female
Less affluent
Blue collar
Moderately religious/secular
Liberal
Republicans & Democrats in the 21st Century
Red and Blue America
What Issues Do They Disagree On?
Size of the national gov’t Reps: small nat’l gov’t; more power to states Dems: strong federal gov’t
Taxes Reps: across-the-board tax cuts Dems: tax cuts for poor; tax raises for wealthy to support
programs
Regulation of business Reps: prevents economic growth Dems: protects consumers, workers, & environment
What Issues Do They Disagree On?
Social issues Reps: more likely to oppose issues like legalizing
same-sex marriage, abortion, and gun control laws Dems: more likely to support issues like same-sex
marriage rights, abortion, and gun control laws
Environment Reps: believe environmental regulations hurt
businesses & economy Dems: favor strict environmental regulations
Third Parties
Four main types of third parties in the U.S.: Single-Issue: focus on one issue (taxes, immigration)
Economic Protest: unite opponents of particular economic policies
Ideological: view politics & society through their ideology (Libertarian)
Splinter Groups: offshoots of major parties (Tea Party)
Examples: Socialist Party, Independent Party, Green Party
Are Independents really independent? Not so fast…
AMERICANS JOIN ALL KINDS OF GROUPS THAT REFLECT THEIR INTERESTS, FROM GARDEN CLUBS AND HIKING GROUPS TO
CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS. WHEN SUCH GROUPS SEEK TO INFLUENCE GOVERNMENT, AT ANY
LEVEL , THEY ARE CALLED SPECIAL-INTEREST GROUPS OR SPECIAL INTERESTS.
Interest Groups
Are Interest Groups Good or Bad?
Many Americans distrust special interests. Believe groups seek to achieve goals at expense of
society.
James Madison believed pluralism was the key to “factions” (interest groups)
Interest groups offer a way to participate in the political process.
Play a critical role in the democratic process.
Are Interest Groups Good or Bad?
Thousands of interest groups in the U.S.
Although different, same basic goal All try to persuade elected officials to take actions to
support their interests
What Kinds of Groups Do Americans Join?
Economic Interest Groups Business groups, trade
organizations, professional associations, labor unions Examples: Business
Roundtable, American Medical Association, and United Farm Workers of America
Citizens Groups Claim to promote the public
interest Ex: American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU), Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
What Kinds of Groups Do Americans Join?
Government Groups National Governors Association, National Education
Association (NEA)
Others: foreign policy groups, nationality groups, religious organizations
The Rise of Political Action Committees
Funding organizations
Collect donations and funnel $$ into political campaigns
1980 - $131M2012 - $560M
How Do Interest Groups Influence Policy?
Lobbying An attempt to influence policy by persuading public officials to favor or
oppose action on a specific issue.
Research and Policy Proposals Think tanks: an organization of scholars and policy experts who study
public issues and write articles and books that summarize their research
Litigation Lawsuits Ex: NAACP in Brown v. Board of Ed
Grassroots Mobilization Strong and vocal support from large group of people at local level
What Makes an Interest Group Powerful?
Size & Money
Unity of Purpose
Effective Leadership
Information & expertise
PUBLIC POLICY REFERS TO GOVERNMENT ACTIONS OR PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO ACHIEVE CERTAIN GOALS. CREATING
PUBLIC POLICY IS A MULTISTEP PROCESS.
Public Policy
The Dynamics of Policymaking
Issue Identification
Agenda Setting
Policy Formulation
Adoption Implementation
Evaluation