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Standard and Short Edition:
1 American Political Culture
2 The Founding and the Constitution
3 Federalism
4 Civil Liberties
5 Civil Rights
6 Public Opinion
7 The Media
8 Political Participation and Voting
9 Political Parties
10 Campaigns and Elections
11 Groups and Interests
12 Congress
13 The Presidency
14 Bureaucracy In A Democracy
15 The Federal Courts
16 Government and Economy
17 Social Policy
18 Foreign Policy and Democracy
Texas Edition:
19 The Political Culture, People, and Economy of Texas
20 The Texas Constitution
21 Parties and Elections in Texas
22 Interest Groups, Lobbying, and Lobbyists
23 The Texas Legislature
24 The Texas Executive Branch
25 The Texas Judiciary
26 Local Government in Texas
27 Public Policy in Texas

Chapter 11: Groups and Interests

You Decide Exercise

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Interest Groups

This exercise is meant to explore the relationship between politicians and interest groups. The text bemoans the problem of too much influence by special interests, and this video clip, from “NOW with Bill Moyers” will investigate some of those problems.

Go to Bill Moyers interviews Chuck Lewis, author of THE BUYING OF THE PRESIDENT 2004 (18:52) at http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/buyingpres.html

Scroll about halfway down the page. Click on the “watch the video” link to play the clip:


  1. What was the advertised benefit for a $3,000 corporate donation to the Republican "GOP Majority Committee" at the Biltmore Resort in Arizona?

  1. On average, about how much did George W. Bush raise per day in 2004?

  1. How many fund-raisers did John Edwards attend in the first 3 months of his campaign?

  1. Who bankrolled George W. Bush’s campaign?

  1. Who bankrolled the Democrats in the 2004 primaries?

  1. In 2002, of the 435 races in the House of Reps, how many incumbents lost their seats?

  1. Does Charles Lewis think our government is of, by and for the average person? Explain.

  1. The authors of the text argue that “in the realm of group politics, liberty seems inconsistent with equality.” How does this clip support that argument?



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