chapter seven: interest groups and political parties

Chapter Seven: Chapter Seven:

Interest Groups and Interest Groups and Political PartiesPolitical Parties

Learning OutcomesLO 1 Describe the basic characteristics of interest groups, and explain

why Americans join them.

LO 2 List the major types of interest groups, especially those with economic motivations.

LO 3 Discuss direct and indirect interest group techniques, and describe the main ways in which lobbyists are regulated.

LO 4 Cite some of the major activities of U.S. political parties, and discuss how they are organized.

LO 5 Explain how the history of U.S. political parties has led to the two major parties that exist today.

LO 6 Give reasons why the two-party system has endured in America, and evaluate the impact of third parties and independents on U.S. politics.

Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning 2

A Nation of JoinersInterest Groups and Social MovementsReasons to Join—or Not Join

Three reasons to joinSolidary incentivesMaterial incentivesPurposive incentives

Those who do not join


Types of Interest GroupsEconomic Interest Groups

BusinessAgriculturalLabor


Decline in Union Membership, 1948 to Present


Types of Interest GroupsEconomic Interest Groups

Public employee unionsThe political environment faced by laborInterest groups of professionalsUnorganized poor


Types of Interest GroupsEnvironmental Groups

Today’s environmental groupsGlobal warming

Greenhouse gases


Types of Interest GroupsPublic-Interest Groups

The consumer movementOther public-interest groups


Types of Interest GroupsAdditional Types of Interest Groups

Ideological GroupsIdentity Groups

Foreign Interest Groups


Interest Group StrategiesDirect Techniques

Lobbying techniquesThe ratings gameCampaign assistance


Georgia governor Nathan Deal (on the left) meets with a lobbyist during a session of the state’s legislature. Why would he willingly be photographed with lobbyists?

These women are leaders of a new lobbying firm called Chamber Hill Strategies. Do lobbyists spend their time supporting political candidates? Why or why not?


Interest Group StrategiesIndirect Techniques

Generating public pressureUsing constituents as lobbyists


Interest Group StrategiesRegulating Lobbyists

Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act 1946The Lobbying Disclosure ActRecent legislationHonest Leadership and Open Government

Act


Governor Scott Walker Confronts Protesters in Wisconsin


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Governor Scott Walker Confronts Protesters in Wisconsin

Taking a closer look:1. These demonstrators represent which type

of interest group?

2. Why do the Democratic senators appear to be sympathetic to the protestors?

3. What other tactics might be successful for this interest group?


Political Parties in the United StatesFunctions of Political Parties in the United

StatesRecruiting candidatesOrganizing and running electionsPresenting alternative policies to the electorateAccepting responsibility for running the governmentActing as the organized opposition to the party iin

power


Political Parties in the United StatesParty Organization

The national party organizationConvention delegatesThe national committeeThe state party organization


Political Parties in the United StatesParty Organization

Local party machinery: The grassrootsPatronage

The party-in-government


A History of Political Parties in the United StatesThe Formative Years: Federalists and

Anti-FederalistsFederalists and RepublicansOne-Party Interlude

Democrats and Whigs


A History of Political Parties in the United StatesThe Civil War CrisisThe Post-Civil War Period

Cultural politicsThe triumph of Republicans

The Progressive Interlude


A History of Political Parties in the United StatesThe New Deal EraAn Era of Divided Government

The parties in balanceRed state, blue state


A History of Political Parties in the United StatesThe Parties Today

Wave elections sweep out the RepublicansDemocrats in troubleRepublican overreachThe 2012 elections



Governor Susana Martinez (R., N.M.) addresses the Republican National Convention in 2012. Why do political parties often choose governors as presidential candidates?

U.S. senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) attends Lifetime Television’s 2012 “Every Woman Counts” campaign at Hofstra University. Why are an ever-greater number of women serving in Congress?

The 2012 Presidential Election Results by State


Why Has the Two-Party System Endured?The Historical Foundations of the Two-

Party SystemPolitical Socialization and Practical

Considerations


Why Has the Two-Party System Endured?The Winner-Take-All Electoral System

Presidential votingElectoral College

Popular election of governors and the president

Proportional representation


Why Has the Two-Party System Endured?State and Federal Laws Favoring the Two

PartiesThe Role of Minor Parties in U.S. Politics

Ideological third partiesSplinter partiesThe impact of minor parties


Gary Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico, ran as the Libertarian Party presidential candidate in 2012. How much support do minor parties usually receive?


Why Has the Two-Party System Endured?The Rise of the Independents

Party identificationStraight-ticket voting


Party Identification from 1944 to the Present


Tea Party Express: Party or Movement?


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Tea Party Express: Party or Movement?

Taking a closer look:1. What distinguishes a political party from an

interest group?

2. In recent months, does the Tea Party movement appear to be growing or declining?

3. Which demographic groups are underrepresented in this movement?


chapter seven: interest groups and political parties

Documents

groups copyright

groups economic

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lobbyists copyright

groups additional types