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| Chapter 8 1. Political Parties- groups of like-minded people who organize in attempt to take control of govt, mainly to control policies Interest Groups- private associations or organizations, made up of people with common interests, formed with the intent to influence public policy They are alike in that they are both organizations trying to get some type of policy output Different: IG: exclusive (sole purpose), PP: inclusive (broader group) IG attempts to influence policy makers, no matter who is in power, PP want to control govt to get their policies passed 2. Founding Fathers warned against factions. Jefferson regularly glorified the small farmer and reached out to urban interest. He formed an alliance w/Burr against Adams. This caused the 2 party system to develop just 8 yrs after the adoption of the Constitution 3. 2 Major Parties have dominated elections for national office throughout American history. 3rd parties regularly arise, but don�t survive b/c they�re usually based around a specific idea/group of ideas that a major party will adopt. They�re not having any electoral success, but they get what they want in the end anyway. b/c of our plurality system, ppl think their vote is wasted if they choose the 3rd party 4. Electoral Realignment- occurs when the pattern of group support for political parties shifts in a significant and lasting way We have had 6 in the United States 5. The Civil War Realignment produced the most competitive electoral era in American history (the Third Party System) 6. Political Party Advantages: - tend to organize political life - create communication among officials, create some continuity (not everyone for themselves) - fashion a party record worth defending, fashion a policy agenda (establish agenda, look for solutions, to get elected) - synthesize societal demand (same thing)- they must define their agenda based on what public wants - winnow the field of candidates- if no political parties, anyone could run for one office, would be too complicated. decreases the chance of someone winning w/small # of votes Disadvantages: - parties don�t always provide all their services of which they are capable (b/c they are formed to win, control govt) - sometimes they get too much control, like an elected dictatorship - some voters think choices are too limited (why is it a choice between two stark opposites?) - they recruit party hacks, recruited celebrities, good @ winning elections (Arnold S) - parties may choose to suppress issues rather than address them (ignoring important issues) - they take credit for good times, and escape blame for bad ones. even worse, they concentrate on blocking the governing party�s attempts to solve a problem (esp near elections) 7. Parties have never been as strong in the U.S. as they are in other industrialized countries. 8.. Patronage- Jobs, Contracts, or Favors in exchange for their political support (18th century) Patronage was gradually eliminated by regular expansions of civil service protection. 9. Political Parties in U.S. decline: - Reformers have been able to pass laws to weaken political parties - Regional Splits - Democrats= �tent party� competing interests within the party (ex: labor unions vs environmentalists) more than republicans - In 1900s adherents to the 2 parties began dropping to be replaced by �independents� - Communications Revolution- mail, advertising, ability of going directly to the ppl - Reapportionment Revolution- each district should have = # of voters 10. �Loyal Opposition� refers to the party not in office/power, the �out party.� 11. Purpose of forming interest groups: fill in for fading of the political parties. A group is more easily heard than the voice of an individual, so ppl need to join together. Types of Interest Groups: 1. Economic- push policy favorable to the business community 2. Agricultural 3. Labor Groups 4. Professional Assc. (white collar orgs) 5. Environmental 6. Public interest groups- policies that affect consumers (esp in protection areas) generally cover areas not covered by the others. aka: �consumer groups� 12. IGs: why people join? What makes it powerful? 13. Incentives to join interest groups: 1. solidary--social reasons--people want to be around people w/same ideas 2. material--tangible benefits--free stuff (advertising, by joining with other co.�s, etc.) 3. purposive--committed to the group�s purpose--join b/c they believe 14. Free-Rider Problem- barrier to collective action that arises when people can enjoy the benefits of group activity w/out contributing their limited share of the costs. Groups find themselves struggling to attract members and contributions. Most people who fully support an organization�s goals nevertheless fail to help. The group�s achievements may fall short. Overcoming Free-Rider Problem: Coercion- coercive measures (violence) taken to get ppl to contribute/participate Selective Benefits- services/discounts only available to members Public Goods- goods that you can enjoy without contributing to the cost of attainment 15. Benefits of membership, Characteristics of IG members? (? book page 262-263) 16. Lobbying- attempts to influence the decisions of public officials. Grassroots Lobbying- attempts to influence officials indirectly through their constituents (voters) Technological advances have promoted- Astroturf Lobbying 17. Interest groups are controlled mainly by wealthier and better-educated citizens because they have more money to contribute, and more time to spend on the projects. 18. Some activities that a typical lobbyist would engage in to influence govt. are: draft bills for friendly legislators to introduce, testify before congressional committees, meet with elected officials & present their cases, provide public officials with information 19. How interest groups use electoral politics to gain influence? 20. Iron Triangle- congressional committee, bureaucratic agency, and allied interest groups combine to dominate policy making in some specified area. Issue Network- loose constellation of larger numbers of committees, agencies, and interest groups active in a particular policy area 21. Political Action Committees (PACs)- specialized organizations for raising and spending campaign funds. Many are connected to interest groups or assc.s. (a way for groups to influence who gets elected in the first place) Federal Election Committee regulates PACs at the Federal level. 22. Impacts of Interest Groups: Positive: - groups challenge each other, govt, officials (supplements checks and balances, prevents tyranny of the majority) - groups/orgs give individuals/ordinary citizens access to their representatives - provide information/alternative perspectives to people who may not have seen them - sometimes they act as watchdogs, just like the media does (report cards) Negative: - imbalance of power of interest groups (whoever has most resources, has most power) - participation = not equal among citizens (wealthy and educated participate more) - groups have an upper-class bias |