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The Importance Of Interest Groups

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Many people hold a prejudice towards interest groups. They think interest groups are what is wrong with politics, and that interest groups are the ones who lie to the public, grease politician’s pockets, and interfere with sound politics. However, interest groups play a key part in shaping society within America. In fact, they are one of the most vital aspects of a successful democracy because they politicize and inform voters, help form public opinion, and are a form of participation that citizens can get involved with rather easily. Interest groups can legally form because of the freedoms given to us in the First Amendment of the Constitution. The First Amendment states that we have the freedom of assembly and the freedom of speech, along …show more content…

Interest groups such as Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR), the Texas Medical Association (TMA), and Christian Right groups have made significant and very noticeable differences in the lives of Texans. The Texans for Lawsuit Reform is a business interest group that changed the way people do business in Texas. The group was formed by businessmen who felt that they were often involved in unnecessary lawsuits, so they teamed up with the Texas Medical Association to try to stop as many people from filing the frivolous lawsuits. They then gave money to politicians to help them pass laws that would make it harder to sue in Texas. Because of the Texas for Lawsuit Reform, the Republican party now controls the Texas …show more content…

They gain this status by gaining support from individuals, getting people involved, and maybe most importantly, collect dues and donations from citizens. The money the interest groups raise is one of the main reasons that they are so powerful. They are able to pay for campaigns, studies, and polling, and this gives them a great boost over individual lobbyists or other less successful interest groups. Money is the driving factor behind their power, which also shows some of the weaknesses behind Texas politics and the flaws behind interest groups. Texas politicians get paid nearly nothing from the government, which means they have to be self-funded or find funding elsewhere. This can be hard because they have to support themselves and also spend money on campaigns, which can be very costly. Unfortunately, this means the money given by interest groups can have a very big influence on their votes, and that can make politics unfair for those who may not have as many resources or

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One example of an interest group is AARP. AARP is a United States interest group with membership. It was founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, Ph.D. And Leonard Davis. AARP has vast membership so it is able to generate its own income without being dependent on government grants or private donors. I read on Tuesday night on Facebook how disappointed they were in the Senate 's vote to proceed on the new healthcare bill and how they would inform 38 million members how their Senators voted so they could hold them accountable.

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These groups are two way candidates and politicians can gain donations for their candidacy. Lately, these two group have caused some controversy in the government, but it is very certain that 501c4s are the most controversial when comparing it to Super Pacs. In the same way, Super Pacs and 501c4s have similar operations. They

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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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While choosing electing official with common values and philosophies is a great way to get representation on social issues, interest groups are also helpful in keeping an open line of communication with elected officials on what is most important to the affected group. Interest groups use tactics to protect policies by focusing on the unknown consequences and keeping close relationships with government officials whose values are similar (Baumgartner, Jeffery, & Hojnacki (2009). One interest group who has knowledgeable lobbyists to affect public policy is the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA is a single issue group who advocates their position by using both the direct and indirect approach to rally support on issues in Congress.

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Thus, with all the money spent on lobbying; are lobbyists very successful at changing federal

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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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2429 Words | 10 Pages

An influential group that is gaining support of strict conservative ideas is the Texas Tea Party that aims for lower tax rate, less government intervention, and is gaining followers which could have an influence on the Republican Party. However, this group must be weary of the potential support they could gain or lose by adopting the Tea Party’s requests. Texas has a

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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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Texas Lobbyists Lobbyists play an important role in the legislative process in Texas, as they represent the interests of various organizations and industries to influence legislation. They are professionals who work to promote or oppose legislation and policies on behalf of their clients. They use their expertise and experience to educate elected officials and policymakers on the impact of proposed laws on their client's interests. Lobbyists in Texas are required to register with the Texas Ethics Commission and file reports on their activities, including the amount of money they spend on lobbying efforts. This helps to ensure transparency in the lobbying process and prevent undue influence by special interests.

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A democracy is a government in the hands of men not corporations. In a 2010 Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. F.E.C permitted corporations and unions to make political expenditures from their treasuries directly and through other organizations, as long as the spending is done independently of any candidate. With this court ruling, big business and wealthy individuals have gained an unfair advantage over the political system by utilizing their vast income to influence elections, and other matters of the government. Therefore campaign finance should be reformed because the wealthy individuals and organizations have unlimited control over mainstream media, they are granted access to the government, and foreign countries can secretly influence our government in their favor. Campaign spending is out of control.

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Revamping the Texas Government System at the Judicial Level Is Texas government at the state level operating as an antiquated 19th century institution and should it be revamped to address the needs and wants of the 21st century population? This is a question that has long plagued the government and people of Texas, especially at the judiciary level. The Texas Judicial system is “responsible for securing liberty and equality under the law” (Champagne and Harpham 277) for the people of Texas. However, the outdated ways in which the Texas Judicial system operates is not beneficial to its people, this is notably evident in the way judges are elected, the judicial politics that follow and the confusing court systems.

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Although Texas government is democratic, the rich and educated make most of the decisions according to Texas politics, 6th Edition. Government-refers to the institutions in which decision are being made that resolve conflicts or allocate benefits and privileges. Institution refers to an ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society. Another report by the National Bureau of Census shows that Texas is in the top 10% of citizens below poverty line. With such wealth inequality in Texas, is no wonder minorities tend to be less involved.

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In today decision I would have to say that Texas will remain a Republican Party. The President of the United States is a Republican. My decision would have to be that the Texas Party will stay the same way since the nineteenth seventies till the remaining of the President Donald Trump term. Texas has a lot of factors that helps makes decisions such as age, income, Education, Ethnicity, Religion, and Gender. The biggest factor would be Ethnicity, and why Is because in the 1950’s between 50% and 60% of black voters identified as Democrats.

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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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