The purpose of this assignment is to understand the influence of money and various special interest groups in US politics and the way in which increased influence may contribute to the blurring of lines between the three branches of government.
This Assignment aligns with Learning Outcome 3.
The purpose of this assignment is to understand the influence of money and various special interest groups in US politics and the way in which increased influence may contribute to the blurring of lines between the three branches of government.
Knowledge: In recent years, many political scientists have argued that the influence of money has come to play too big a part in who controls Congress (legislative branch).
In the lesson 5 discussion, you chose a bill to explore and looked at how your representative or senator voted on that bill. Now, let’s follow the money that may have influenced that vote or another vote. Follow the instructions below, step by step.
Research:
1. Go to OpenSecrets.org
1. For background information: Scroll down the homepage and explore the different options for tracking money in politics. For example, there is a “Recent Reports” section that provides various Scorecards on Lobbying, information on Dark Money, and Political Action Committees (PACS).
2. At the top of the page, click on the Candidates & Officeholders link and choose the Get Local option. Find one of your senators or representatives to Congress. Under their picture, click on their name in order to find their profile. You can choose different election cycles or career details. Once on your senator or representative’s page, explore each of the links in the top navigation bar (Summary, Elections, Industries, PACs, Contributors, Geography).
2. Identify three clues or areas of concern that might impact your congressperson’s votes. 1. How much does your representative or senator receive in direct (hard money) donations, and where does that money come from?
2. What Political Action committees, lobbyists, or other Special Interest Groups or donors might influence your representative or Senator’s vote on your chosen bill or other bills?
3. Is there any evidence of soft or dark money? What about evidence of the representative or senator adding a pork barrel project to the bill?
4. Example area of concern: There is a Georgia congressperson who gets more money from out-of-state donations than from in-state. Why? Why might this be of concern?
Write:
The goal here is for you to report how the money influences our representatives (House of Representatives) or senators (Senate) and in turn, may impact the other branches of government. Remember to support your ideas with valid points, examples from the course readings, or other trusted sources, and to cite those sources.
Requirements: Write a minimum of 1000 words.: Click here to access a student example for this assignment. Click here to access a student example for this assignment.
Introduction: Provide an overview of your representative or senator’s vote and present three of your points of concern as you identified above in your research. State whether or not your representative or senator is influenced by money (thesis). If needed, see How to Write an Introduction Article by Grammarly.
First through Third Body Paragraphs: In each body paragraph, discuss one point to support your thesis statement or main point of your paper. This is where you might provide more details on funds received, the influence of political action committees and special interest groups, or the source of funds.
Conclusion Paragraph: Wrap up and summarize your points. In your conclusion, don’t forget to explain how an influenced congressperson might then influence
other branches of government. Be sure to briefly define the three branches of government in this portion.
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