VOCABULARY :

• Lobby - with the pronunciation (merriam-webster.com)
  "1: a corridor or hall connected with a larger room or series of rooms and used as a passageway or waiting room: as
  a: an anteroom of a legislative chamber ; especially : one of two anterooms of a British parliamentary chamber to which members go to vote during a division
  b: a large hall serving as a foyer (as of a hotel or theater)
  2: a group of persons engaged in lobbying especially as representatives of a particular interest group"

• Lobbying (merriam-webster.com)
  
  intransitive verb :
  to conduct activities aimed at influencing public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation
  transitive verb
  1 : to promote (as a project) or secure the passage of (as legislation) by influencing public officials
  2 : to attempt to influence or sway (as a public official) toward a desired action

• Lobbying
  "includes all attempts to influence legislators and officials, whether by other legislators, constituents or organized groups. Governments often define and regulate organized group lobbying."
  (Wikipedia)

• American Politics : Participation, Interest Groups, and Lobbying - Glossary (laits.utexas.edu)
  

  ex :
  lobbying

  "Trying to influence decision makers. Interest groups use lobbying as a tactic to pursue the interests of their members, but individuals, too, can lobby. Lobbying can be done directly or indirectly, and can be aimed at any branch or level of government."
  
  

  lobbyist

  "One who tries to influence decision makers. The term originates from the physical layout of capitol buildings, where legislators deliberate in a chamber, and nonlegislators must gather outside the chamber, in the lobby. Thus, those trying to influence lawmakers came to be known as lobbyists."
  
  

   

FACTS :

• Obama 'to curb role of lobbyists' (BBC)
  "US President-elect Barack Obama will introduce rules to restrict the role of lobbyists as he shapes his administration, says a senior official."

• Lobbying in the United States (nationmaster.com)

• Interest Groups in American Politics - LINKS (twyman-whitney.com)
  "An interest group (also called an advocacy group, lobbying group, pressure group, or special interest) is a group, however loosely or tightly organized, that is determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected.
  The textbook used in class defines this as "An organization of people with shared ideas and attitudes who attempt to influence public policy."
  
  

• THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTEREST GROUP POLITICS IN AMERICA: Beyond the Conceits of Modern Times - a text
  (arjournals.annualreviews.org)

• The Impact of Interest Groups on American Politics - Essay Sample (essaysample.com)

• THE ROLE OF SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS IN AMERICAN POLITICS - Essay (termpapersmonthly.com)
  Join or Login to view the rest of this paper.

• Lobbyists Spend Record Sums to Influence Washington (worldproutassembly.org)
  
  

• Fundamentals For Effective Lobbying (mbf.org)
  "What exactly is lobbying? Simply put it is an attempt to influence someone else’s opinion or activities. Lobbying in the governmental process is making information available to public officials who cannot be expected to know how every law or regulation will affect all of their constituents...
  There are several ways to reach an elected official, phone, letter, personal visits and e-mail... "
  
  

• In defense of lobbying - an article by Ross K. Baker who "is a political science professor at Rutgers University. He also is a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors."
  (blogs.usatoday.com)

  "This country’s Founders actually set up a system to encourage the petitioning of government. And yes, like it or not, that means lobbyists have the same claims to the First Amendment as our free press does."
  
  

INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES :

• Interest Groups Vocabulary Practice Quiz (school.discoveryeducation.com)
  "Match the definitions given by each numbered item ... with the correct term that is defined.
  When you're finished, click "submit" to find out your score, how well you know the vocabulary terms related to the role of interest groups in our democratic system."

LESSON PLANS :

• Moyers on America . Capitol Crimes . Lesson Plan . Lobbying (PBS)
  
  Lesson Objectives :
  
  "By the end of this lesson, students will:

  • Brainstorm a list of strategies that citizens or organizations can use to influence the legislative process.
  • Discuss how lobbying activities might benefit a democracy.
  • Record a definition of "lobbying" and the Constitutional language protecting the right to lobby the government.
  • Analyze statistics related to dollars spent per year on professional lobbying.
  • Watch a video clip and discuss how violating U.S. House of Representatives ethics rules might affect the democratic process.
  • Write an essay describing the pros and cons of lobbying and the proper role of this practice in a democracy."

• Whose special interests ? - The Role of "Special Interest Groups" in Legislation - a lesson plan (ncsl.org)
  

  Objectives :

  "At the conclusion of this Lesson, students should be able to:

  • define the terms faction, interest group, association, lobbyist, political action committee.
  • identify and explain the concerns many citizens have with interest group politics.
  • identify the arguments in favor of interest group politics and lobbying
  • discuss the effects of interest group activities on legislation"

CARTOONS :