Part I: Political Parties and Interest Groups—complete the chart below to outline the similarities and differences between political parties and interest groups.
Political Parties
How are they similar?
Interest Groups
Definition:
Examples:
Definition:
Lobbying—(def)
Examples:
Political Parties and Interest Groups Continued—Read each statement below. If that statement describes the action of a Political Party write P on the line. If the statement describes the action of an Interest Group write IG.
_____ A national convention was held to nominate a candidate.
_____ Candidate A ran an advertisement on tv to present negative ideas about Candidate B.
_____ The Sierra Club sent a lobbyist to Washington DC to influence legislation.
_____ The group supports a wide variety of issues in their platform to gain members with different interests.
_____ This group is only concerned with gun control and does not seek members with different interests.
Political Parties
How are they similar?
Interest Groups
Definition: Organized groups of people with similar political goals and interests who seek to influence public policy and governmental decision-making.
Definition:Organized groups of people who share common interests and work together to influence government decisions that affect those interests.
Examples: Democratic Party, Republican Party
Examples: National Rifle Association (NRA), Sierra Club
Lobbying: the act of trying to influence government decisions by meeting with elected officials or government regulatory agencies
Examples: American Medical Association lobbying for healthcare policy changes
Examples: Sierra Club lobbying for environmental protection legislation
P
P
IG
P
IG