POL 101: U.S Government 7A

Interest Groups - An organization that tries to influence what the government does to advance Their agenda - Try to influence the behavior of elected officials, such as members of Congress, Presidents, And judges The Founders and Interest groups - Sometimes referred to interest groups as factions - Were worried about the potential problems associated with fractions - James Madison particularly despised factions calling them selfish and only concerned for Their own interests Interest Groups - Public Interest Groups - Attempt to gain beneficial legislation for the public good, not just their own members - Private Interest Groups - Attempts to gain benefits for just the members of their organization, or the Organization that they represent. - Not necessarily concerned about the public good so much as advancing their own Agenda - Some corporations have their own house lobbyists, but there also exist independent Lobbying firms for hire Interest Groups Today - The number of interest groups has rapidly grown since the mid 20 th century

- Over $3 billion dollars a year spent on lobbying Lobbying - Many former Congressmen and women become lobbyists after they retire from political Office - Lobbyists make a lot of money Strategies of Interest Groups - Inside game - Directly contacting public officials for meetings to attempt to influence them - Often takes place behind closed doors - Outside game - Interest groups attempting to mobilize support at the local level to shape public Opinion and mobilize people to help. - They hope to gain public support, which in turn will put pressure on elected officials To please their constituency - Often called grassroots lobbying The Outside Game - Often use the following strategies - Petitions - Paid/Free Media - Marches - Rallies - Letter writing campaigns

Government regulations on lobbying - Lobbyists cannot ask for direct payback from a government official - Lobbyist must be actively registered with the government - Report how much they spend trying to influence policy - Must report what policies they are trying to influence every six months