1. PO 101: Intro to Political Science Unit 7: Public Opinion, Political Parties, and Participation

2. Administrative Matters… Unit 8 (Runs today through July 12) Discussion Board (2 THREADS!!!) KEYNES/HAYEKand INTERVENTION Seminar 2 Tomorrow Night UNIT 6 AND 7 QUIZZES – TONIGHT AND FRIDAY!!! UNIT 8 QUIZ - 30 QUESTIONS – 60 MINUTES Chapter 16 Questions from you folks?

3. Remember This…The Political Process Public Opinion Political Parties Interest Groups Why Aggregate Interests?

4. Interest Groups S

5. What are Interest Groups? An interest group is a group of people that organizes to be heard and influence government programs and policies.

6. TYPES OF INTERST GROUPS - Public vs. Private Classification based on the “GOALS” that the group pursues…Do they pursue ends for EVERYONE or MEMBERS ONLY?

7. What Makes an Interest Group Powerful? 1. Resources, Resources, Resources 2. Size 3. Leadership 4. Cohesiveness The most effective groups like the NRA and AARP have all of these.

8. Power 25

9. Interest Group Strategies Interest Groups have very different strategies from Political Parties: ACCESS – Ability to have face to face contact with a decision maker. What does it take to gain ACCESS? Lobbying, Lawsuits, Amicus CuraeBriefs, Grassroots (Astro Turf)

10. Political Parties Parties are quite different from Interest Groups! GOALS are the SAME! Strategies and Scope DIFFERENT Parties are: Inclusive Broad

12. Including a broad range of groups – Winning Majorities

13. Stimulating political interest – Mobilizing Voters

14. Ensuring accountability – Knowing who is Responsible

15. Make Sense of Complexity in Politics – Party Labels

17. Political Parties Simplifying Choices for Voters Voters are pretty Dumb! (Rationally Ignorant) Clear and Consistent policy positions taken by parties offer valuable information about candidates and cues on policy issues. Once voters know which party usually represents their interests, the party label can be a very useful shortcut.