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Chapter 11. Parties and Interest Groups

Explore

Major political party web sites

The Democratic Party's and the Republican Party's web sites contain enormous amounts of information regarding the parties' platforms, strategies, and current party news. At the both sites, you can participate in a blog and read recent press releases, among other things. Of course, both sites prominently highlight the opportunity to donate money to the parties and allow you to register to vote.

Each party also has a Senate (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee) and House committee (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee) dedicated to recruiting and assisting party candidates. These sites are relatively similar to each other and contain a great deal of information, including party news, newspaper articles critical of the other party, and details on upcoming elections (and, of course, the opportunity to donate money). They are particularly useful for finding information on upcoming congressional elections.

The Democratic Party state directory and the Republican Party state directory allow visitors to find contact information for their respective party organizations and contain links to the state parties' web sites. If you are interested in getting involved in local party politics, most of the state web sites have contact information for county chairpersons.

Minor political party web sites

Though the United States has a two-party political system, various minor parties exist in the country as well, including the Libertarian Party, the Reform Party, the Green Party of the United States, the Natural Law Party, and the Constitution Party. The web sites for each of these parties contain similar information, such as the party's platform, addresses of local offices, background on party candidates, and ways to get involved in the party. Some, such as the Libertarian web site, allow you to participate in blogs. (See Exercises.)

Miscellaneous party web sites

To view public opinion information regarding partisanship and the evaluation of political parties over time, visit the National Election Studies' Guide to Public Opinion and Political Behavior. Topics include strength of partisanship, feeling thermometer ratings toward political parties, and whether differences exist between the parties.

Want to know how much money the parties are raising and where that money comes from? Then visit the Center for Responsive Politics party fundraising web page. The site allows you to look up such things as the top industries and individuals that contribute to the parties, including the national party organization and the party congressional committees.

Politics1.com's Directory of U.S. Political Parties has links to the web sites of just about every American political party in existence. It even has links to some party organizations not listed earlier, such as the Young Democrats of America and Young Republican National Federation. It is a great resource if you are interested in learning more about American third parties.

Interest group web sites

The Second Amendment

The National Rifle Association supports gun rights for citizens, and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence supports gun control.

Corporate umbrella organizations

These corporate interest groups represent business generally and on a large scale: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce promotes business interests in the United States and internationally, the National Association of Manufacturers promotes policies that will make manufacturers more competitive in the United States, and the Business Roundtable is made up of a consortium of business leaders promoting American business interests.

Unions

The largest union in the country is the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization, usually referred to as the AFL-CIO. Other unions include transit employees in the Brotherhood of Teamsters; automotive workers in the United Auto Workers (UAW); and the growing SEIU, the Service Employees International Union, whose members range from janitors to nurses. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees—or AFSCME—is another large union but is made up of state and local government employees. Federal government workers also have a union, the American Federation of Government Employees, or AFGE.

Environmental groups

Some of the many key environmental groups are the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Greenpeace.

Animal rights

The Humane Society is the world's largest animal protection organization, with other mainstream organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also sponsoring animal rescue campaigns and boycotts of products and industries that are harmful to animals.

Reproductive rights and right-to-life organizations

Abortion stands as one of the most controversial and intractable issues in American politics today. Interest groups represent both sides of the debate. Pro-choice groups such as NARAL Pro-Choice and Planned Parenthood oppose such groups as Operation Rescue West and National Right to Life.

Women's rights and women's role in society

The National Organization for Women (NOW) has promoted rights and equality for American women for years, in both society and the workplace. In opposition to NOW have been groups such as the Eagle Forum and Concerned Women for America. Some liberal groups such as EMILY's List and the National Women's Political Caucus work to get liberal women elected to office, and conservative groups have responded with groups such as Women in the Senate and the House (WISH), which recruits conservative female candidates.