Free Essay Example - Interest Groups Contributions

Usually, political institutions respond to the voices of different people rather than the voice of an individual. In interest groups, the members tend to share common concerns, as well as influence the government policies that affect their concerns. The elected officials and the public play vital roles in the political process. For instance, during campaigns, can engage in vote-buying or even influence peddling. Houston Apartment Association is a non-profit association representing people involved in the development, ownership, and management of apartment properties ("Data on Campaign Finance, Super PACs, Industries, and Lobbying," n.d.). This paper will explore the campaign contributions of the Houston Apartment Association as an interest group in the American political system. I will also identify what can be gained from participating in the interest group.

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The Group's Campaign Contributions, Amount Given, And the Recipients

Houston Apartment Association mobilizes its clients to show the government officials and authorities that the public has strong support towards a given cause. The interest group would target a member of the Congress by holding rallies, as well as encourage the constituents to write down their concerns. As such, the member of Congress will pay attention to the concerns endorsed by many people such as the health care reform. Through this lobby, it would be easy to inform the clients of the stances of different candidates on various issues ("Library of Congress," n.d.). Houston Apartment Association can donate lots of money to the politicians. However, the money to use for campaigns is not given directly but through the Political Action Committee (PAC). The amount that the interest group gives to candidates is $10,000 for each candidate. $5,000 would be used in the primary campaign while $5,000 is for the general election campaign ("The Influence of Campaign Contributions on the Legislative ...," n.d.). The number of candidates who can get the donations is not restricted. Ideally, these recipients are chosen to get the donations with the aim of punishing those politicians who do not pay attention to the interests of the group. The group chooses candidates as the recipients of the contributions to help in their campaigns.

What the Interest Group Gains from Doing This and What They Might Lose

The group will find it easy to mobilize voters to vote for a particular candidate. In this case, institutional advertising of Houston Apartment Association would advance the image of the organization, and influence public opinion, which consequently affects the incorporated policies, as well as the views of lawmakers ("Data on Campaign Finance, Super PACs, Industries, and Lobbying," n.d.). Moreover, from my perspective, I believe that this group will build bonding experiences for the people who attend the organized rallies and campaign events. Though this, the positions of the members of the Congress would be published hence showing the key issues that might sway the voters. The group will also look for any loopholes, which might exist when incorporating the new regulations. Ideally, what the group may lose is the inability to buy policies legally. When involved in his group, I will suggest the enforcement of new regulations in which the campaign contributions and donations would be made legal.

Conclusion

Houston Apartment Association as an interest group will serve of great vitality in the American political system through different ways. It would help in convincing the ordinary citizens to apply pressure on the representatives from the government. However, there will be the need to use proper electoral strategies that affect the manner in which the institutional goals will be achieved.

References

Data on Campaign Finance, Super PACs, Industries, and Lobbying. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.opensecrets.org/Library of Congress. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/

The Influence of Campaign Contributions on the Legislative ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1088&context=djclpp