Interest Group Webquest - mr. kings history



Interest Group Webquest Assignment

DUE: Friday, May 19, 2017 before 11:59 p.m.

EMAIL to: mking@

Step 1: Choose one interest group from TWO of the following categories: Business, Labor, Environmental, and Public Interest and TWO think tanks from different categories. PICK AT LEAST ONE GROUP WITH WHOM YOU DISAGREE! (You will have a total of 4 groups to research.)

Step 2: Answer the questions about each group by researching their website and other information, especially

Business Groups

• Business Roundtable

• National Black Chamber of Commerce

• National Association of Manufacturers

• National Federation of Independent Business

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Environmental Groups

• Appalachian Mountain Club

• Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition

• Trustees of Reservations

• Neponset River Watershed Association

• National Audubon Society

• National Wildlife Federation

• Nature Conservancy

• Sierra Club

• Wilderness Society

• National Resources Defense Council

Labor/ Professional Groups

• AFL_CIO

• American Association for Justice

• American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Workers

• American Federation of Teachers

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

• American Medical Association

• National Association of Realtors

• National Education Association

• Teamsters Union

Public Interest Groups

• American Civil Liberties Union

• Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

• Center for Public Integrity

• Common Cause

• Electronic Frontier Foundation

• National Association of Negro Women

• League of Women Voters

• National Abortion Rights Action League- NARAL Pro-Choice America

• National Rifle Association

• National Right to Life

• U.S. Public Interest Research Group- US PIRG

Think Tanks- Centrist

• Center for Responsive Politics

• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

• Council on Foreign Relations

• RAND Corporation

• The Pacific Institute

Think Tanks- Conservative/Libertarian

• American Enterprise Institute

• Cato Institute

• Pacific Research Institute

• Progress and Freedom Foundation

• The Heritage Foundation

• The Hoover Institution

Think Tanks- Liberal/ Progressive

• Center for American Progress

• Economic Policy Institute

• Progressive Policy Institute

• The Brookings Institute

• The Century Foundation

• The Urban Institute

For EACH (4 in all) answer the following questions:

1. Interest Group #1: Category _____________________________

What is the name of the interest group?

What is the group's purpose?

Surveying their website, what issue and related piece of legislation do they seem most concerned with? What tactic does it most likely use to achieve its goals? (Litigation (the court system); Campaign contributions; Grassroots lobbying/mass mobilization.)




In what ways does the group try to influence the policy process and gain access to the 3 branches of government and/or the different levels of government?

What seems to be the primary source of the group's funding (foundation grants, federal grants/contracts, or direct mail/member contributions?)

What political ideology does the group seem to be most aligned with? Is it obvious or does the group seem to be trying to conceal their true motivations?

2. Interest Group #2: Category _____________________________

What is the name of the interest group?

What is the group's purpose?

Surveying their website, what issue and related piece of legislation do they seem most concerned with? What tactic does it most likely use to achieve its goals? (Litigation (the court system); Campaign contributions; Grassroots lobbying/mass mobilization.)

What seems to be the primary source of the group's funding (foundation grants, federal grants/contracts, or direct mail/member contributions?)

What political ideology does the group seem to be most aligned with? Is it obvious or does the group seem to be trying to conceal their true motivations?

3. Think Tank #1

What is the name of the think tank?

What is the group's purpose?

What issue and related piece of legislation do they seem most concerned with?






What seems to be the primary source of the group's funding (foundation grants, federal grants/contracts, or direct mail/member contributions?)

What political ideology does the group seem to be most aligned with? Is it obvious or does the group seem to be trying to conceal their true motivations?

4. Think Tank #2

What is the name of the think tank?

What is the group's purpose?

Surveying their website, what issue and related piece of legislation do they seem most concerned with?

What seems to be the primary source of the group's funding (foundation grants, federal grants/contracts, or direct mail/member contributions?)

What political ideology does the group seem to be most aligned with? Is it obvious or does the group seem to be trying to conceal their true motivations?

SUMMARY (typed or on separate sheet of loose leaf notebook paper): What conclusions can you draw about (7-9 complete sentences):

• The power of interest groups to influence public policy

• The relationship between SIGs / Think Tanks and their funding sources

• The transparency of these groups with regard to their political ideology

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download