I. Special Interest Groups a. Public policy=government actions to meet societys goals and needs BUTAmericans dont all have similar goals, needs, or wants so how does the government decide what actions to take?? The govt listens to citizens, political parties, and special interest groups 1. How are the wants/needs/goals of these groups different? West TeachersWest StudentsParents/Guardians 2. From above, who do you think would most likely to form a coalition? b. Special Interest Groups=people who work together for similar interests or goals Types Economic/Business=interes ted in making/saving money Ex: Labor Unions Chambers of Commerce 3. What are labor unions? 4. What does commerce mean? So a Chamber of Commerce is a group of _______________ -Agricultural=interested in helping farmers and food groups -Professional=interested in helping professional careers Ex: Lawyers, doctors -Non-economic=promote a principle that is in the public interest -Ex: Environmental groups, NAACP 5. Sort these special interest groups into the correct type. Economic/ Business Agricultural ProfessionalNon-economic Interest Group Box: NAACP Lawyers Poor farmers Labor Unions Doctors Chambers of Commerce American Medical Association Green Peace NRA League of Female Voters c. Political Action Committees (PAC)= raise money for candidates & can be set up by businesses or by special interests III. Lobbying II. Lobbying a. How do special interests get what they want? They hire LOBBYISTS -Lobbyists=people paid to lobby or convince legislators to support their issues. What do Lobbyists do? 1. Meet with politicians 2. Send advertisements over the TV and in magazines to get the public on their side 3. Give money (PACs) 4. Give expert advice 8. Why is their advice maybe not expert advice? b. Criticisms of Lobbyists 1. Largest criticism: Lobbyists have too much influence over the legislative process 2. Some legislators have broken the law by taking gifts, or money from lobbyists in exchange for votes 9. What does it mean that they would have too much power? Soin the 1970s people began calling for reform of campaign finance they wanted to prevent lobbyists from giving government officials too much money 10. Why did they want to prevent this? Perception of Lobbyists Political cartoons! Hooray! Analyze these 5 cartoons with your group We will review the answers together Lobbyist Scenarios Fill out the scenarios with your group members. I want complete sentences, please! If we have enough time, we will have volunteers demonstrate what a lobbyist does using these scenarios =)