1. American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) (http://www.aarp.org/)
2. National Rifle Association (NRA) (http://www.nra.org/)
3. National Federation of Independent Business (http://www.nfib.com/)
4. American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) (http://www.aipac.org/)
5. AFL-CIO (http://www.aflcio.org/home.htm)
6. Association of Trial Lawyers of America (http://www.atlanet.org/)
7. Chamber of Commerce (http://www.uschamber.org/default.htm)
8. National Right to Life Committee (http://www.nrlc.org/)
9. National Education Association (http://www.nea.org/
10. National Restaurant Association (http://www.restaurant.org/)

2. The Center for Public Integrity (http://www.publicintegrity.org/) is a nonprofit, non-partisan research organization combining investigative journalism and political science to educate the public. Access their Web site and address these issues:

1. Write a review of the articles "Money Trail," "The Buying of the President 2000," and "Issue Ad Watch." Profile the presidential candidates and identify who is behind the campaign donations and the amounts they are spending
2. From the article, "Off the Record," describe the legislative agenda of the named media corporations.
3. Compare the Center for Public Integrity with Common Cause. Describe the benefit(s) each provide to the public and identify how each promotes campaign reform.

Exploration

1. X-PAC is a nonpartisan political action committee (PAC) dedicated to representing the economic and political needs of Generation X. This PAC is interested in a wide variety of political issues but currently focuses on Social Security reform.

Go to PAC’s Web site at http://www.freespeech.org/x-pac/

1. Select "Leadership" to determine who the "movers and shakers" of X-PAC are. Whom do they represent? What are their political affiliations?
2. Return to the main page and review the various links and information. Do you believe that X-PAC will have much influence on the Social Security debate in Congress? Why or why not?
3. In your opinion, what could be done to make X-PAC more successful?

2. Go to http://www.policy.com/, a website devoted to American public policy. Select the link to "Advocacy Groups" in the left-hand frame under "Community." Policy.com maintains a substantial website with internet links to virtually every topic in American Government. Their list of links to advocacy groups is very comprehensive. You have already visited some interest group websites in previous activities, including the American Conservative Union, Americans for Democratic Action, and the Center for Democracy and Technology.

• Select five interest groups you have not visited yet and go to their websites by selecting the link from policy.com’s list. Explore each website.
• Summarize the main issues for which each of the groups you selected has a position. Some interest groups are associated with a very narrow range of issues, while others, such as the ADA, maintain positions on a broad variety of issues.
• For each organization you selected, categorize them according to ideology. Are they liberal, conservative, or are you unable to categorize them?

3. Robert Putnam wrote an article in 1995 that has been widely discussed about what he perceived to be a decline in American civic participation. A copy of his article, titled "Bowling Alone" can be found at http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/journal_of_democracy/v006/putnam.html. Read pages 65-67 and answer the following questions:

• Summarize de Tocqueville’s observations about Americans’ propensities to form associations.
  
• What is "social capital?"
  
• List some of the reasons Putnam gives as to why life is easier in a community "blessed with a substantial stock of social capital."
  
• Scroll down to the section titled "Why is U.S. Social Capital Eroding?" and list some of the reasons Putnam gave for this erosion.

If you are interested in pursuing this topic further, a critique of Putnam’s thesis can be found at The Atlantic website at http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/96apr/kicking/kicking.htm.


4. Two important interest groups in American political life are AARP—The American Association of Retired Persons—and the NEA—National Education Association. High percentages of senior citizens vote, enhancing their political clout with lawmakers at all levels of government in the United States. For example, retirees fiercely defend the social security system. The nation’s teachers are also important to political candidates. Candidates’ policy positions on education in America will be closely scrutinized by the NEA leadership and rank-and-file membership.

To understand each interest group’s goals, consult these groups’ sites (http://www.aarp.org and http://www.nea.org/) and answer the following:

• How do the two groups describe their goals and objectives? How many members do they have?
  
• On the AARP site, click on legislative issues. About what issues is AARP concerned? Why? What member services and discounts are provided by AARP?
  
• What information does the computers/internet link provide senior citizens?
  
• What issues are of concern to the NRA, according to its web site?
  
• After reading both sites, why do you think both groups are so politically powerful?