Chapter 10 Section 2 Questions 1-8

Government Chapter 10 Section 2

1. What is a lobbyist?  What do they do?

A lobbyist is someone who makes direct contact with lawmakers or other government leaders. They represent interest groups.

2. What are some potential dilemmas involved with lobbyists?

Different interest groups compete for power and influence, so it’s nearly impossible for any single group to control lawmakers and other public officials. Most organizations struggle to pay small staffs.

3. Identify the kinds of people who become lobbyists.

-Previous government officials

-Have a good understanding of human nature

-Understand the political system

-Many are lawyers or public relations experts

-Aware of  their groups beliefs

4. Describe three methods lobbyist use to influence lawmakers.

-Providing useful information: giving legislators pamphlets, reports, statistics, and other kinds of information.

-Drafting Bills: studies have show that interest groups and their lobbyists draft parts of or entire bills for almost 50% of all legislation.

-Providing Election Support: raising money for political campaigns

5. Explain why Congress asks lobbyists to testify at hearings and to hear draft legislation.

Because they can provide useful information

6. How do interest groups win public support?

Through media campaigns and letter writing. They inform the public of what they’re doing and how it will help them.

7. Why is the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act ineffective in controlling lobbying at the national level?

-Lobbyists only have to report money spent on direct contact with legislatures.

-The act requires only that people or organizations whose principal purpose is to influence legislation need register.

8. Do you believe interest groups have too much influence on the national government?  Why? 

I believe that interest groups are perfectly fine because all they are doing is providing information to the legislature, not completely controlling passed bills or anything like that. All they do is persuade government officials, which is not an illegal thing.

Chapter 10 Section 1 Questions 1-8

Chapter 10 Section 1

1.Why was James Madison against special interest groups?

He believed that the republican form of government under the Constitution would be sufficient safeguard against the potential abuses of these interest groups.

2. What is the difference between special interest groups and political parties?

-Interest groups do not nominate candidates for office

-Interest groups are usually concerned with only a few specific problems

-Interest groups do not try to gain members with different points of views

-Interest groups are organized on the basis of common values, rather than on geographic location

3. List three reasons why citizens join special interest groups?

-A group may help promote an individual’s economic self-interests

-A group centers around an individual’s beliefs, values, or attitudes

-A group promotes social opportunities

4. Describe the ways that leaders of an interest group unite the membership of the group.

They keep members informed of the group’s activities through newsletters, mailings, and telephone calls. They act as speakers for their group and try to improve its image in the media. They plan the group’s strategy, and raise money to run the organization. They oversee all financial decisions of the group.

5. Why are interest groups more effective in influencing government officials than are individual citizens?

Because they represent more than one individual, interest groups have a stronger bargaining position with leaders in government. Interest groups help bridge the gap between the citizen and the government.

6. Why would a professional association such as the American Bar Association, organized to influence licensing and training of lawyers, become a political interest group?

It is actively involved in political issues. While they are concerned primarily with the standards of their professions, they also seek to influence government policy on issues that are important to them.

7. List four special interest groups and describe what their interests are.

-The National Association of Manufacturers works to lower individual corporate taxes, limit government regulations of business, and raise taxes on imported goods.

-The Chamber of Commerce speaks for smaller businesses.

-The Business Roundtable, a group composed of executives from 200 of the country’s largest and most powerful corporations, meets to no doubt make taxes and such for their respective businesses less.

-The American Farm Bureau Federation speaks for the larger, more successful farmers is closely associated with the FDA.

8. If you were to join a special interest group what would it be and why?

I would join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters because I feel that it is important for people to come together to make sure working environments and benefits are fair.

Rosalie for President

1. What office are you running for?  Give a brief reason why you are running for this office and not another.

            I am running for President. I chose this over any other office because I believe I would be able to fairly represent our country and voice this to other countries as well as officials within our own country. On top of that, I’d kill to explore Air Force One, and that’s a really cool presidential perk.

2. What party are you running under?  Give a reason why you chose this party.

I am running under the Democratic Party. It’s a rather of flexible party that allows some individuality, and is filled with younger people, who are my ideal voters.

3. List three important campaign issues that you wish to address and your side of the issue.  What do you purpose to do?  Why is it necessary to do this?  How does this issue affect your voters?

Marriage Equality

            I believe you should be able to marry whoever you want to marry, regardless of sexual orientation. Almost everyone knows someone who is LGBTQ, and I think we’re not truly equal until you can marry the one you love.

Suicide/Bullying Prevention

            My home state of Alaska has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, and I’d like to prevent not only suicide, but also bullying. Almost everyone has been affected by suicide.

Funding NASA.

            If we gave just one cent per dollar of our tax dollars to NASA, there would be so much more scientific growth and discovery in our country. Many everyday things, from memory foam mattresses to scratch-resistant lenses for glasses to even the insoles in your shoes.

4. How do you purpose to reach voters?  (Think of what we've read about election campaigns).  Who do you think your voters are?  What age or demographic?
I would focus mostly on the internet and television because they are the most popular ways of obtaining information. The television would mostly be for reaching the 35 and older category, while the internet would be directed towards the 18-35’s.

5. How do you purpose to reach nonvoters (or do you)?
Many nonvoters are young people, and the majority of them have internet access. I would focus on an online campaign as well, being active on tumblr and twitter and trying to show them who I am and what I would do as president. From this they will hopefully think, “Huh, she’s not that bad,” and vote for me.

TRIP WORK CHAPTER 9 STUFF

TRIP WORK

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 6

1) Explain how the electoral system influences presidential campaigns.
To be elected President, the candidate must have 270/538 of the electoral votes. These are derived by combining the number of people in congress, i.e. house + senators = number of electoral votes per state

2) Discuss how modern campaigns are funded.
in 1992, major party candidates received $55.2 million from the government. Third parties must receive at least 5% of the popular vote in order to be funded by the government. Business organizations and labor unions cannot make direct contributions, however, individuals may contribute up to $1000 to any candidate’s primary or general election campaign. An individual may also contribute up to $5000 to a political action committee.

3) What is the impact of mass media on elections?

Americans get most of their information from either television or, although not stated in the book, the Internet. Because of this, mass media impacts the way Americans view the people running for various positions, especially presidential candidates.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8

1) What the four major factors that influence voters decisions?
Personal Background of Voters, Loyalty to Political Parties, Issues in Election Campaigns, and The Candidate’s Image

2) Why do experts predict that campaign issues and the candidates' images may increasingly influence voters?

Voters are becoming less likely to vote due to belonging to a certain political group and are leaning towards the candidate’s image and what they believe in. Because of this, the candidate has to be specific on what they believe in and the topics they plan to address and change if they win the election.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 11

1) What are three suffrage requirements?
They must be a United States citizen, be a resident in that state, and be registered with that state.

2) Why do states have a residency requirement?
So the voter can become informed on state issues before taking part in elections.

3) What is the profile of a Regular Voter?
-positive attitude towards government and citizenship

-believes it is their duty to vote

-interested in political events

-believes their vote matters

-feels they have a say in how the government is run

-better educated

4) What is the profile of a Nonvoter?
-uninterested in politics

-do not care who wins or loses

-believes that that nothing will improve

5) Define Initiative, proposition, referendum, and recall.
Initiative – a procedure by which voters may propose a law or a state constitutional amendment

Proposition – a proposed new law or amendment

Referendum – a procedure by which voters approve or disapprove a measure the state legislature has passed.

Recall – provides a way for voters to remove elected officials who are incompetent or untrustworthy before their terms expire.

6) Discuss why some American citizens do not vote during elections. 

Some feel that their vote does not matter, while others believe that nothing is going to change so it’s pointless for them to waste their time going through the voting process.

Drones and the IHL

The International Humanitarian Law (IHL) regulates the conduct of arms on a, well, international level. Under this, armed drones are not expressly prohibited. Not all drones are armed and ready to fight. Although not directly stated, drones must not harm civilians or carry prohibited items such as chemical or biological agents. In this way, the United States isn’t technically breaking any international laws. In fact, the IHL states that any weapon that causes minimal damage to civilians should be preferred over weapons that are less so. Drone operators will be held accountable for all things the drone does, even though they may be miles away. In this way, the United States isn’t doing anything wrong according to the IHL. As long as they continue the way they are without bringing significant harm to innocent civilians.

Three Parties

The Libertarian Party was founded due to concerns about the Vietnam war. It is focused on lowering taxes, allowing people to opt-out of social security, abolishing welfare, ending the prohibition on illegal drugs, and supporting gun ownership rights.

The Green Party was formed in 2001. It is composed of “grassroots activists, environmentalists, advocates for social justice, nonviolent resisters and regular citizens who’ve had enough of corporate-dominated politics.” Their primary goal is to help state parties grow.

The Constitution Party was created in the 90’s. They say they are neither liberal or conservative because they are focused on limiting the government as outlined in the Constitution. They feel very strongly about abortion being outlawed and disagree with free trade.

Two Party System

For most of American History, our government has had a mostly two-party system. Throughout the course of our country’s politics, the two main parties (Democratic and Republican) have pretty much become the same thing except for some wildly popular social issues the public likes to focus on, such as abortion or gay marriage. Granted, there will always be similarities between any two parties unless they are designed to be completely opposite, which would not do much good for the country come election time. No system of government is foolproof, so there will obviously be flaws in this two-party system. Although third parties are not very well noticed by the American public, they might be able to help balance our government by showing new ideas that are different from Democratic or Republican viewpoints. The main problem third parties encounter is a lack of funding. Even so, somehow finding a way to give more than two options for electoral offices would help create diversity in our country so we’re not just beating the same issues to death.