Interest Groups :: Political Special Interest Groups

Interest GroupsInterest Group is defined as an organized body of individuals who establishto influence reality policy. This system is designed so that interest groupswould be an instrument of public influence on politics to create changes, butwould not threaten the disposal much. Whether this is still the case or notis an important question that we must find out. Interest groups play galore(postnominal) different roles in the Ameri stooge governmental system, such as representation, go badicipation, education, and program monitoring. Representation is thefunction that we see most often and the function we automatically think of whenwe think of interest groups. Participation is some other role that interest groupsplay in our government, which is when they facilitate and encourage theparticipation of their members in the political process. Interest groups alsoeducate, by trying to inform twain public officials and the public at large aboutmatters of importance to them. Lobby gro ups also keep track of how programs areworking in the field and try to persuade government to take action when problemsbecome evident when they monitor programs. The traditional interest groups havebeen organized around some form of economical cause, be it corporate interests,associates, or unions. The number of business oriented lobbies has grown sincethe 1960s and continues to grow. Public-interest groups have also grownenormously since the 1960s. Liberal groups started the trend, but traditionalistgroups are now just as common, although some groups are better representedthrough interest groups than others are. There are many ways that the groupscan influence politics too. The increase in interest group activity hasfragmented the political debate into little pockets of debates and have servedto further erode the supply of political parties, who try to make broad basedappeals. PACs also give money to incumbents, which means that incumbents canaccumulate large reelection campaign funds, that in result, discourages potential drop challengers. As a result, most incumbents win, not because theyoutspend their challengers, but because they keep good potential opponents outof the race. Conservatives are one of the big groups that influence politicsand for many reasons.Conservative thinking has not only claimed the presidency it has spreadthroughout our political and intellectual life and stands poised to become thedominant strain in American public policy. While the political ascent ofconservatism has taken place in full public view, the intellectualtransformation has for the most part occurred behind the scenes, in a network ofthink tanks whose efforts have been influential to an extent that only fiveyears after President Reagans election, begins to be clear.