Civics 101
Political Participation
- Political Socialization
- Political socialization = the process of people forming political values, beliefs, and behaviors
- Socialization helps bring people into a society’s political culture
- Political culture = fundamental values, beliefs, and practices that most citizens share
- U.S. political culture includes values such as democracy, liberty, equality, voting
- Political culture = fundamental values, beliefs, and practices that most citizens share
- Influenced by:
- Family
- Peers: friends, classmates, co-workers
- Education
- Religion
- Media
- Politicians/candidates
- Interest groups
- Events
- Organizations: school, church/synagogue/mosque, clubs, workplace
- Personal circumstances: social class, gender, race, ethnicity, age, location, job, etc.
- And more
- Interest Groups
- Interest group = a collection of people/organizations with a shared point of view who work together to advance their point of view
- Try to influence other people/organizations, government policies, political candidates
- Types of interest groups and examples:
- Business association: Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers
- Labor union: National Education Association, Service Employees International Union
- Professional association: American Medical Association, American Bar Association
- Charity: Red Cross, American Cancer Society
- Religious group: Moral Majority, Family Research Council
- Shared interest: National Rifle Association, American Civil Liberties Union
- Environmental group: Sierra Club, Greenpeace
- Government watchdog: Common Cause, Public Citizen
- Civil rights group: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Human Rights Fund
- Government group: National School Boards Association
- Help individuals to gain more power as a group because they can combine resources and money
- This allows individuals to have a louder voice and gain access to politicians, candidates, the media, etc.
- Protected by the First Amendment – freedom of speech, assembly, and petition
- Some are partisan (closely linked to a political party) and others are non-partisan
- Functions:
- Lobby government officials
- Lobbyist = person who represents a particular special interest group
- Meet with officials, present information, testify at hearings
- Encourage members of the interest group to also make contact
- Phone calls, email, write letters, visit
- Go to court (lawsuit, defense)
- Try to influence public opinion
- Through tv/radio ads, billboards, mailings, protests, etc.
- Get involved in elections
- Help politicians get elected and re-elected
- Fight for issues
- Lobby government officials
- Interest group = a collection of people/organizations with a shared point of view who work together to advance their point of view
- Lobbying
- Lobby = advocate for a particular interest by contacting government officials
- Lobbyist = a person who represents a particular special interest group and lobbies the government
- Lobbyists can lobby the federal, state, and/or local government
- When related to lobbying the federal government, the term “lobbyist” refers to a person meeting the federal government’s definition of a lobbyist
- Is employed by a client to lobby the government
- Make more than one contact for a client
- Spends >20% of his/her time working for a client
- A lobbyist contacting federal government officials must register with the government
- In 2012, $3.31 billion was spent on lobbying the federal government
- Many lobbyists are former members of the House of Representatives and Senate
- Methods:
- Speak with politicians and/or their staff to persuade them
- Face-to-face meetings, phone calls, events, lunch meetings, mailings, email, etc.
- There are rules on gift-giving from lobbyists to government officials
- Face-to-face meetings, phone calls, events, lunch meetings, mailings, email, etc.
- Provide information
- Government officials are not experts on every topic so lobbyists provide information and data related to their special interest
- May provide testimony in a legislative hearing to provide information on an issue
- Draft bills
- Lobbyists often draft entire bills or parts of bills
- Comment on proposed regulations
- Speak with politicians and/or their staff to persuade them
- Limitations:
- Lobbyists must register with the government and follow rules
- The Lobbying Disclosure Act (1995) provides rules for lobbying
- Ex: must file semi-annual reports listing the issues/bills being lobbied, the government branches and/or agencies contacted, and the amount of money paid by a client
- The Lobbying Disclosure Act (1995) provides rules for lobbying
- Former government officials must wait a specified period of time before becoming a lobbyist
- House of Representative – one year
- Senate – two years
- Campaign contributions through Political Action Committees are regulated
- Lobbyists must register with the government and follow rules
- Ways of Having Influence
- Voting
- Helping a campaign
- Running for office
- Advocating
- Contacting lawmakers
- Lobbying
- Giving money
- Running for Office
- Must meet the qualifications for a particular office
- Qualifications vary by office
- Explore how many likely voters and donors there will be
- Make an announcement
- Campaign
- Give speeches
- Meet with citizens
- Make appearances at events
- Canvass neighborhoods
- Make advertisements
- Ad methods:
- Common man appeal = portray a candidate as best representing and reflecting the voters
- Black and white = show two clear sides, one favorably and the other unfavorably
- Card stacking = present only one side
- Appeal to authority = use a respected person to attest to a candidate or issue
- Testimonial = show people talking about their support for a candidate or issue
- Glittering generalities = make a candidate look great with vague statements
- Bandwagon = encourage voters to join the winning group
- Labeling = use unflattering terms to describe an opponent
- Appeal to fear = make voters afraid of the consequences of a candidate or issue not winning
- Ad hominem = personally attack a candidate
- Transfer = show a symbol with a candidate to associate the candidate with the symbol, whether positive or negative
- Ad methods:
- Raise money
- Seek endorsements from popular politicians, respected figures, celebrities, newspapers, etc.
- Engage in debates
- Videos: The Nomination Process for Presidential Candidates and Contested and Brokered Conventions
- Must meet the qualifications for a particular office
- Money in Politics
- PACs
- SuperPACs
- Dark Money
- Videos: PACs and Super PACs and Dark Money