The Presidential Campaign And Obama 's Administration

In a pluralist democracy like in the United States, interest groups have played a major role throughout the history through highly organized factions and are aimed at different levels of government. Lobbying is one of the tactics of the interest groups to aid their agenda through implementing new laws and regulations. "If you want to have your face in the light, you should have your back in the dark". Similarly, the influences of the interests groups and lobbyists have good and bad effects on the people and the society.

The controversy surrounding political lobbying does not question the act of influencing public officials, but rather the ethics relating to how these public officials are influenced. It is important to distinguish the fine line between bribery and lobbying. It is illegal to bribe a public official in the United States. This would mean that an individual could not provide compensation to a public official for them to behave, or vote, in a specific manner. Lobbyists may donate money to a specific candidate’s political campaign, but they may only do so when there is no expectation that the public official will behave in a favorable way toward the lobbyist or their clients (Mackinder). Lobbyists may bring public officials, their immediate families, and staff on trips or out to dinner. While it is illegal for a lobbyist representing a corporate client from directly bringing, it is not illegal for foreign governments to sponsor for these said trips (Goldmacher). What has begun to happen is lobbyists representing corporate clients may bring public officials on these trips, if the trip is sponsored by a foreign government. The Senate Office of Public Records reported that $3.23 billion was spent on lobbying in 2013, with 12,300 registered lobbyists. Professor James Thurber, who teaches at American University, has studied congressional lobbying for over 30 years, and does not believe these figures are accurate. He believes

Interest groups are structured groups which try to influence government to adopt certain policies or measures. The responsibilities of an interest group can be never-ending. One of the main responsibilities of an interest group is giving the underrepresented a chance to speak out on issues they are passionate about. The Rainbow/Push Coalition is an interest group I believed I would be passionate about.

Public interest lobbies form a linkage element between citizens and governmental elites. In lobbying they articulate what they perceive to be the issue positions of certain sectors of society. Public interest groups also play an important role in facilitating the political participation of their members and related attentive publics. By helping to bring new issues to the table, interest groups influence the shape of political agendas.

Special interest groups help to put pressure on elected officials to support and act on legislation. There are two main categories of special interest groups, business and societal special interest groups. A couple of special interest groups that are very well known is Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and American Red Cross. These groups are very focused on making sure to gain as much support as possible to make sure that there are changes made in legislation that supports their cause. Mothers Against Drunk Driving was a very big part in lowering the legal alcohol blood level from .10 to .08. Now this may be not seem like a very big deal, but it all started with one person who had one voice and was able to make changes all the way up to the Federal level. Special interest groups can be very effective and are capable of making big changes when they are ran effectively and gain the much needed support from Federal

An interest group also known as a special interest group or a lobby is an organized group of individuals, organizations, or businesses who share a goal. The interest group forms an alliance in support of their cause to influence public policy and government officials in the group 's favor. The goal of the group could be focused on small group, such as the Japan Eraser Manufacturer 's Association; or the goal could be focused on a large public group, such as family and friends of public school-aged children in the United States. "The most important lobbying forces in any society are the various entities of government: national, regional, and local government agencies and institutions such as the military" (Thomas).???????????

Historical Background of the policy: The Obama campaign of 2010 was a driving force to establish a better quality of health insurance for all Americans who were uninsured. Before the act was passed nearly 102 million Americans were in health insurance policies with lifetime limits; it was estimated that as many as 20,000 people annually could be denied coverage for care due to those limits (The Affordable Care Act: the impact of health insurance reform on health care consumers: hearing of the committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pension, United States Senate, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, first section..January 27, 2011., 2013). Most beneficiaries who have reached their lifetime limits are seriously ill, which results to them having to use their benefits but instead of receiving it they have already ran out just when they needed the coverage the most. Another problem that corrupted the health care field was young adults going without health insurance from their jobs because of the fact employers were not offer plans, it being too costly, or individuals not being ineligible for their parent’s coverage due to their age. Cancellation among policy or were required to pay a higher expense for coverages that provided service for pregnant and nonpregnant women. Employers suffered dealing with offering employees’ high insurance coverage or not offering it at all. Also, individuals who suffered from preexisting conditions rather it was an elderly or a child they were either

interest groups are activity involved in the legislature process (on the national level) seeking to

Limits cannot be placed on the amount of money companies and groups spend on lobbying in Texas because this money is not coming from the government or from taxes. This money comes from companies and groups who voluntarily chose to fund lobbyist agendas or pay for lobbying on their behalf. It is very difficult to control how much a group can “donate” to a cause or how much they spend lobbying without angering lobbyists or the companies who pay the lobbyists. If individuals choose to set aside millions of dollars to fund lobbyists, that is their own prerogative. Lobbyists are often seeking “face time” with legislators, which makes “the spending worthwhile from the lobbyists’ standpoint” (Ramsey). The

The most common activity for interest groups is lobbying. But that is not the only activity they are involved in, they are also involved in activities like forming Political Action Committees (PAC’s) and election activities. Lobbying is done by groups to influence the government decisions on policies. In the United States, almost all of the interest groups employ lobbyists to influence policy making. Lobbyists work to try to persuade governmental officials. Some ways they achieve their goals are persuasion, economic leverage, and disruption. The most important rule to lobbying is the entrance. You must be able to influence an official. The more spread out the interest groups money is throughout the country, the more likely it is that the legislators will listen to the concerns of that group.

Interest Groups are an important part of the law-making process in many countries. Ideally, they are highly organized groups, composed of citizens that lobby in different ways for a cause. There are literally thousands of different groups in the United States, each putting forth much time and effort for their supporters. This paper will discuss the different types of interest groups, as well as how and why they exist. Without these important groups, many benefits that people have, such as healthcare, wage raises, education, ect, are a direct result of political interest groups.

An interest group is an association of individuals or organizations who share ideas and/or attitudes and attempt to influence public policy without trying to be elected. These groups may also be known as advocacy groups, pressure groups, or lobbying groups. Berman and Murphy (2011) note that American democracy is influenced by a number of well organized groups designed to persuade government policy toward a particular outcome. Although many distrust these groups the reality is they are a link between the public and policy makers.

Interest groups are the main group in the United States. Interest groups are the private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape the making and the content of public policy. Also they are known as pressure group or special interest. Interest groups try to influence the policies of the government and they do strike on the one thing they focus on. This group gives a lot of positive impacts to America. These groups don’t seek for votes; they are only interested in influencing the policies of government and they help to stimulate the interests in public affairs. Also they provide useful specialized and detailed information to the government. In addition to that these groups provide checks and balances on each other and the behavior of officials in the government. Interest groups are mostly found in economic interest and they use propaganda, which is a technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group behavior. Sometimes the lobbyist helps the interest groups by lobbying. Lobbying is usually defined as those activities by which a group pressures are brought to hear on legislators and the legislative process and this helps the interest groups to take their interests or the issue that

An interest group or also known as a lobbying group, are organizations or companies that are interested in persuading U.S. politicians in selecting their agenda or policies. A lobbyist is typically an individual who is hired by an interest group. These individuals or lobbyists are paid to lobby elected officials in congress. A lobbyist can also be an individual who is an unpaid advocate lobbying for a special interest group. “Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in a government, most often legislators or members of

He goes on to explain how the law when finally passed is unlikely to mirror their exact interest, as when it moved through the legislative process other interest groups asserted their influence to modify it in ways to accommodate their interest. This gives us a simple but clear idea of the effect interest groups have on policy making and makes one wonder the conduciveness of such actions to the economy if politics are to pamper to the interests of interest groups. Murphy (2010) also outlined that interest groups do not only effect government but they also exercise their influence on policy through public and private channels both directly and indirectly.