Interest Groups: The Fourth Branch Of Government

Interest groups can be both bad and good for democracy. The interest groups are able to lobby to congress to help out different organizations. They basically work on a “you do a favor for me and I’ll do a favor for you later” basis. This gives the lobbyist an influence over congress. They can be bad for the democracy because too much influence and power can be a bad thing. The issue they are lobbying for may not be a good cause.

Interest groups have played a large role in shaping and influencing our government and it

Many communities exist in our world. Some of them are large and others are small. Each group has its own circle of influence and impact on the world. One community that impacts groups is congressional leaders. These individuals are people just like ever other common person. The only difference is there role in our government which at times make them seen more important or more influential than others. Although this large groups of people carries a large scale of influence their influences and time as congressional leader should be limited.

legislation from being passed. In addition, politicians from both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are supported by interest groups. In fact, the major parties are so heavily influenced and affected by factions that they play a key role in whether or not legislation is passed or rejected. This dilemma has never been more relevant than it is today. As lobbying has grown in recent years, concern has mounted over the consequences of interest group politics. Interest groups are said to threaten the integrity of congressional elections. Problematically, the structure of the American government has not, by itself, prevented some interests from gaining a great advantage at the expense of others. Those with large resources have always

Dilankumar Patel Professor Sharifian GOVT-2306-73004 25th March 2017 Impact of Interest Group and Lobbyist on Lawmaking An interest group is any governmental sorted out interest that looks for shaping public policies. It plays an important role in American politics and they are necessary groups in the governmental system. Interest groups works to give data to policy makers that can prompt those legislators receiving the position of being supported by interest groups. Interest group hires onto people such as analysts, researchers, scientist and staffs whose works gets assembled into a report that serve to impact legislators as well as on-screen characters that indirectly influence policymaking, for example, the media and public opinion.

Interest groups are playing a very crucial role in all democratic governance. However, Lobby or interest groups should be limited on how they influence the law making processes in the State of Texas. Some of the areas they influence are very critical and should have limit as to which they can influence their legislation. groups are very different from each other in terms of their recourses, size, tactics, age, ideological focus, geographical coverage and sophistication. So assuming that they represent a large group would be a big mistake. No matter how much they are limited, interest groups do not act in the best interests of the democracy. They only serve what their members feels is right. According to one of the links, lobbyists are seen as salespeople whose aim is to solely influence the law makers.

In Chapter 11, “Political Parties, Party Systems, and Interests Groups” authors Dickovick and Eastwood talked about the important political concepts and types of political parties. The chapter begins with comparing two political opposites between the U.S and the Soviet Union. It expands on saying that the United States is run by two main political parties, but also smaller interest groups. The United States is based solely on out democratic system in, which the people elect their representatives to run certain positions. The United States economy is also supported by a capitalist system. On the other hand, it says that the Soviet Union is run by a mostly communist economy where the government benefits first. They are run by a single party totalitarian

In my opinion, I think that interest groups have both a positive and negative role in the American political system. Interest groups, as defined in the textbook, are “any non-party organization that engages in political activity”. That is to say, the group does not have to be associated to any political party to be considered an interest group; people who like to go bird watching could be considered an interest group if they go after the Republican party to promote bird rights. The positive side of interest groups is that they aid in the Democratic process by giving those without a voice a chance to speak up about issues that pertain to them. For example, the interest group that caters to Florida’s LGBT Community can give a Transgender person

A method of participating in the electoral process that interest group make use of is publicly endorsing a candidate, and through the interest group’s political action committee, donating money to the candidate. The purpose of political action groups (PACs) is to collect and disperse money to political campaigns. Interest groups most commonly donate their funds to incumbent, people who currently hold office, because it is more likely that the incumbent will win as opposed to the challenger. An activity that interest groups also participate in is lobbying to shape public opinion. Lobbying is the process of sending a spokesperson of an interest group to a government official to communicate information regarding the interest groups opinion to

Public interest lobbies form a linkage element between citizens and governmental elites. In lobbying they articulate what they perceive to be the issue positions of certain sectors of society. Public interest groups also play an important role in facilitating the political participation of their members and related attentive publics. By helping to bring new issues to the table, interest groups influence the shape of political agendas.

As such they can band together to create the “wave” that brings about the change they are seeking. By working together to represent the collective views of the interest group, they can influence the government to create improvement(s) in the lives of the group members. This process of influencing the government is often referred to as lobbying. Interest groups will often hire a representative, or lobbyist, to lobby for the group. Each lobbyist is supposed to do their best to represent the interests of their interest group. This will eventually lead to a conflict of interests between lobbyists and interest groups. This leads to the issue facing democracy: how can everyone be equally represented and receive the change(s) they desire. The truth is, that is impossible. Not everyone can get what they want, for not everyone agrees on what should change and how. There are many conflicting views and opinions across lobbies and Americans as a

One of the common roles that interest groups play in America is through representation, which ultimately stems from the reason why these groups were created in the first place. Interest groups are groups of individuals that come together to influence public policy decisions. The most effective way interest groups can influence policy making and bring issues to a larger audience is by focusing on maintaining and expanding their membership. Citizens are able to find representation in an interest group, regardless of their geographical location; as well as aligning themselves with the group which best suits them.

he goal of this paper is to demonstrate how political parties and interest groups are able to get citizens to participate in politics and political party participants or interest group members. This is a comparison and contrast paper. The following will be a comparison between political parties and interest groups. Three points will be mentioned. The first point will be the purpose, the second will be the role they play and finally three strategies parties and interest groups use to get people to participate.

Interest groups have long since been known to utilize the research available that benefits their specific cause consequently advancing an agenda unique to them. The National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ) and the National Association for Health and Fitness (NAHF) are two such organizations. While both groups share a common interest for the welfare of Americans as a core value that each is deeply rooted in, they do not share the ideas as to whom specifically should benefit from aid or how said individuals would receive such assistance. These groups will need to overcome differences in order to effectively combat specific topics that are known for causing a dramatic effect on American society. One specific topic of increasing controversy

Overally, lobbying and interest groups are in the best interest of democracy. A recent study by lawmakers of Wisconsin, found that lobbying has a significant effect on legislative outcomes. Lobbying has a negative connotation for many Texans but it is essential to elected and appointed lawmakers who depend on the information, coalition building and public support of groups for their decisions.