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Government Interest Groups

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The American political system is a unique system of government. It is different in comparison to other systems of government because the power of American government is in the hands of the American people, and not the government itself. The inequality of power under European rule motivated the founding fathers to create a system of government that would not render the people powerless (Ginsberg, B., Lowi, T. J., Weir, M., & Tolbert, C. J., 2015). Instead it gave the power to restrict the authority and power of government directly in the hands of the American people. Although there are still flaws in the American political system, it is still thought to be one of the greatest democracies in the world, and it is because of the participation …show more content…

2002). Interest groups usually only pursued elected officials only by the extent of them activates and informational resources that prove to be relevant to their chances for election or re-election (Burstein, P., & Linton, A. 2002). The amount of monetary contributions an interest group contributes to elected officials pulls a lot of weight with how they may vote on an issue.
Both parties are very specific on their positions on issues such as the economy, and social and political views (Gimpel, J. G., Lay, J. C., & Schuknecht, J. E. 2003). The political views of Republicans and Democrats are influenced by particular groups that usually make up their respective electoral bases (Singh, R. 2003). Before there was a Republican or Democratic party there were the Populists and the Progressives that were the two major parties during the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Singh, R. 2003). Third parties, such as the Libertarian and Green parties, represent the interests that are usually ignored by the other two major political parties Ginsberg, B., Lowi, T. J., Weir, M., & Tolbert, C. J. …show more content…

2003). The individuals who run for these state and local offices heavily rely on their political parties, volunteers, and money (Singh, R. 2003). Each state has its own levels of government and elected officials. These range from state governors and representatives to local city council members, local and county law enforcement officials such as sheriffs (Singh, R. 2003). Most state and local officials handle serious issues such as setting laws for crimes, school policies, as well as the responsibility of protecting the people (Singh, R. 2003). As opposed to larger government, local government is more likely to make effort to handle situations that may arise (Ellis, E.

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