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Political Issues and Lobbying Strategies

The document discusses various political issues, including lobbying efforts against employment and consumer protection laws, and the formation of coalitions by interest groups. It highlights significant political events, such as Christine Todd Whitman's election as New Jersey's first female governor and her response to President Clinton's State of the Union address. Additionally, it addresses the challenges of electoral politics, the influence of interest groups, and societal tolerance of differing values.

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4 views2 pages

Political Issues and Lobbying Strategies

The document discusses various political issues, including lobbying efforts against employment and consumer protection laws, and the formation of coalitions by interest groups. It highlights significant political events, such as Christine Todd Whitman's election as New Jersey's first female governor and her response to President Clinton's State of the Union address. Additionally, it addresses the challenges of electoral politics, the influence of interest groups, and societal tolerance of differing values.

Uploaded by

Lê Lâm Bảo
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

UNIT 3: POLITICAL ISSUES

1. Since its formation the Roundtable has primarily been involved in lobbying
against full-employment legislation, minimumwage increases, antitrust
legislation, consumer protection laws, and controls on toxic elements and
industrial pollution.
2. A relatively new lobbying strategy involves interest groups combining to form
coalitions or associations to achieve a particular goal. A coalition might be
formed to try to prevent a piece, of legislation from being enacted or to try to
get a new law passed.
3. Electoral politics arc the foundation upon which a democratic political system
rests. They frame policy debate, determine legislative and top executive
officials, and influence the decisions these officials make as well as the initial
agenda they pursue.
4. Republican Christine Todd Whitman was elected the 50th governor of New
Jersey on November 2, 1993. Her victory over governor James J. Florio was
noteworthy in two respects: first, she became the first candidate to defeat an
incumbent New Jersey governor in a general election, and second, she became
the first female governor in the history of the state.
5. On January 24, 1994, Whitman emerged into the national spotlight when she
delivered the nationally televised Republican response to President Bill
Clinton's State of the Union address. Traditionally, the opposition party's
response to the State of the Union message had been delivered by party
leaders in Congress. Whitman was chosen because the Republican party
wanted to stress the devolution of power from Washington to the states.
6. Presidential candidates who received the most popular votes were defeated in
the Electoral College in 1876 and 1888. And it could happen again. The
election of 1876 was marred by illegal voting and ballot fraud, especially in
many of the southern states.
7. The successful conversion of a partisan agenda into legislative enactments
and executive actions is an important measure of responsible party
government, that is, holding the party accountable for its platform and the
promises made by its candidates for national offices.
8. For more than thirty years Ralph Nader has spearheaded efforts to make
consumer products and work environment safer, government more
responsible to citizens, and citizens more involved in government. In 1996 he
entered the electoral arena
9. In the mid 1990s, as the Clinton administration campaigned to reduce
smoking by teenagers, the tobacco industry mounted a major advertising
effort to assure the public that it, too, wanted to discourage young people
from using its products. The industry's role in trying to head off restrictive
laws on smoking has come under heavy criticism in recent years as an
example of the disproportionate influence exerted on public policy by certain
interest groups.
10. Although tolerance of others' differences is a basic democratic principle,
many Americans find it difficult to accept speech and behavior that conflicts
sharply with their own values or those of the majority. Among actions that
can still arouse strong passions are interracial dating, public nudity or cross-
dressing, and disrespect for patriotic or religious symbols such as the flag or
the cross.

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