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Evaluate The Effectiveness Of Special Interest Groups

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Special interest groups are a great way for individuals to have their voice heard for specific policies they would like passed. The collective speaks louder than the individual. However, money does play too crucial a role in enabling certain groups to have more say than others. Those with money can lobby longer and more effectively which allows them to over represent the general population. This is still balanced by the fact that being an effective special interest group takes a lot of effort and money. The class game we played revolving around special interest groups shows that there can be a lot at stake for such groups and failure can end up being a huge waste of time and money if things do not go in their favor. This doesn't apply to big
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Lee H. Hamilton, a former congressman in the House of Representatives, wrote, The Case for Congress, to share some of the criticisms he has heard over the years and to explain the effects of such opinions. Hamilton speaks of three main criticisms: “Congress is run by lobbyists and special interests”, “Congress almost seems to promote total gridlock”, and “There’s too much money in Politics” (Hamilton 2004). For each of these criticisms, Hamilton explains these thoughts and his opinion on the matter. The strongest point of Hamilton’s argument was in defending the lobbyists in Congress. Hamilton (2004) said the public opinion of lobbyists is that “Congress is manipulated by powerful wheel-dealers who put pressure on legislators and buy votes through extensive campaigns and other favors” (p. 83).

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An interest group is a group of people that tries to take action on a political issue or concern. The goal of an interest group is to recruit politicians as endorsements and persuade the government to take action on their respective issue. There are interest groups for mostly every issue or concern for the country. For example, the National Rifle Association and Brady Campaign are both interest groups that are concerned with gun control and gun violence. Both groups have stated their interests in influencing the American government to apply stricter gun laws and reduce the amount of shootings and deaths by firearms by a drastic margin.

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The term “Big Business” was first coined in the 1800’s, used as an insult against companies that controlled the market, like monopolies. Monopolies are bad because they allow one company/organization/individual to produce a product and sell it for whatever price they want because the product has their name on it. Certain businessmen, like the richest political and business tycoons, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Ford, Morgan, etc. were able to capitalize on the 5 biggest industries which were oil, steel, railroads, automobiles, and textiles. These men were entrepreneurs that took America into the Gilded Age and created some of the biggest companies of the era, most of which are still around today and dominate the industries. Rockefeller

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I agree with Allen that lobbying is an imperfect necessity. Americans cannot say that do not support the actions of lobbyists, when lobbyists play a major role in guiding Congress and have a great influence on the passing and wording of legislation. I also think that it is extremely important to recognize how the evolution of lobbying, from a corrupt system to an organized system composed to well-educated and dedicated persuaders, has affected the opportunities granted to Americans. The side of the lobbying argument which Allen does not acknowledge is how the actions and persuasion of lobbyists has produced legislation which does not only represent the interests of the corporations and institutions the lobbyists represent, but also the interests and future interests of American citizens. The United States’ first major industry, as Allen acknowledges, is the railroad, which also began America’s first largely organized lobbying effort.

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Interest groups are essential to the legislative process because they represent the interests of specific groups of people and provide a means for those people to have their voices heard in government. By working to influence policymakers, interest groups help to ensure that the needs and concerns of their members are taken into account when laws are

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547 Words | 3 Pages

A political interest group also called an advocacy group, lobbying group, pressure group, or special interest group is determined to persuade or prevent changes in public policy. They have shared ideas and try to influence change in policy. The American political system no longer operates with the American people in mind. Instead, lobbyists and special interest groups govern America, according to their own agendas, not the wishes of the people. Lobbyists and special interest groups buy up support from elected officials in order to push their agendas through.

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Samuel Sierzega 10/7/2015 BUSN 118 Lobbyists: Kings of the Hill The United States ' political system has been abused by years of corruption. This corruption is not hidden by cover ups or even conspiracy theories composed by nuts wearing tin foil hats, it is in plain sight. Corporations, lobbyists and congress have been engaging in a vicious cycle of corruption. Congress has abused their power of public servants by accepting this legal bribery. An amendment to the constitution needs to be added so money can be taken out of politics to provide fair elections to elect congressmen that stand for the people, and not special interest groups.

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Today, we still find significant concerns for how vast and powerful interest groups and their associated PACs have become over the past few decades, and their far reaching ability they have to affect even the highest court in the

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Special interest groups serve only to corrupt American politics; with interest groups, it is the will of whichever sponsor spends the most money that is done, not the will

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Personally, I believe that if more of the higher class and wealthy were involved in the interest groups, the groups could obtain more followers/group members and get more policies passed - policies that Americans want. Celebrities, such as Chris Rock, and even our current president, Barack Obama, have faced racial profiling throughout their lifetime; even during their moments of fame. These very well-known people could easily be involved in the Iron Triangle process of eliminating racial profiling due to their previous experiences. It’s safe to say that fame doesn’t stop people from seeing you as your color, and I wouldn’t be surprised if celebrities and presidents alike would fight for the freedom from racial suppression and

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Because interest groups are protected by the First Amendment, they cannot be outlawed. However, their activities--particularly lobbying and making financial contributions--can be regulated. The 1973 Lobby Regulation Act, amended in 1983, is much more effective than two earlier attempts at regulating interest groups, one in 1907 and the other in 1957. In spite of its more stringent provisions, the total number of persons lobbying is much higher than the fifteen hundred groups and persons who annually register. The rise of bureaucracy requires interest groups to influence key points in government.

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It would be impossible to access Josef Pieper’s contribution to the anthropological and ontological foundations of human hope without basing the assessment on his book Hope . This essay will firstly address the influence of the theologian St Thomas and the philosopher Aristotle on Piepers thinking and writing. We will also see why Pieper was influenced by Thomas Aquinas. This essay will be based mainly on Pieper’s small book on Hope.

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Interest groups in the United States have the primary task of influencing government policy, and do so in two significant ways: supporting the election of candidates who hold similar views on policy, and lobbying bureaucrats and elected officials. For the most part, interest groups require funding in order to effectively support the election of candidates, and certainly in order to effectively lobby. The concern that has been raised about interest groups is valid; people are concerned that the well funded interest groups, particularly those funded by private corporations and wealthy individuals, will lobby for legislation that serves a select few. The question, therefore, is whether to impose more restrictions on interest groups than those which currently exist. While it is true that millions of dollars are spent by interest groups on lobbying policy making officials, the majority of this money is spent on hiring lobbyists, producing data, and paying staff, and not on persuading congressmen with elaborate gifts.

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Interest groups in Texas are relatively powerful actors in the political process. Organized interest groups and their representatives, also known as “the lobby” participates in the policymaking and political processes in Texas. Interest groups provide critical channels for Texans to communicate their political preferences and attempt to influence government actors and their fellow

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Interest groups encompass different citizen groups in a society. These interest groups include representation of the grassroots level such as labor union and farmer groups, representation of business corporations, and representation of the common citizen concerned with government reform (Janda et al,

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