A Citizen's Guide to Politics in America: How the System Works and How to Work the System

Front Cover
M.E. Sharpe, Jun 15, 2000 - Political Science
 

Contents

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR
3
Everyone Has Something to Say
4
Citizen Perot and the Contract with America
6
Its the Issue Stupid
7
Harry and Louise
8
Vote Yes on Proposition 144
10
Everything Is on the Table
11
The Anatomy of an Issue Campaign
13
A Day in the Life of a Lobbyist
151
Information and Lobbying
158
Lobbying the Legislature
160
Yes Even the President
168
Influencing Corporate and Institutional Behavior
174
Money Politics and Lobbying
180
Grassroots Mobilization
182
Identifying the Grassroots in Your Own Backyard
186

The Life Cycle of an Issue
18
Issue Dynamics
21
Issues and Interest Groups
26
The InterestGroup Explosion
28
Why Members Join Interest Groups
30
How Interest Groups Influence Policy
36
Targets of Opportunity Issue Arenas
43
Places to Go and People to Persuade
44
Our Uneasy Federal System
48
Implementing the Law
57
Taking the Policy Initiative
61
Understanding and Influencing Public Opinion
65
Taking the Publics Pulse
67
Exploring the Territory
72
Following the Leader?
79
Information and Persuasion
81
Using Creativity and Imagination to Communicate Information
89
Sources and Reliability of Information
94
Buying Science
96
Striking a Balance Between Costs and Benefits
98
Media Advocacy
103
Shaping the News Coverage
108
Buying the Medias Attention
119
Developing a Media Message
124
Finding Strength in Numbers Building and Managing Coalitions
131
Issue Coalitions
132
Why Organizations Join Coalitions
137
Membership
138
The Power of Unlikely Alliances
140
Governance
142
Persuading Decision Makers
149
Mobilizing Your Grassroots
188
Mobilizing the Grass Tops
194
Marketing the Issue to the Public
195
Potemkin Interest Groups
205
Philanthropy and Grassroots
210
Issue Advocacy and the Internet
213
Internet Tools of the Issue Advocates Trade
214
Websites
217
Grassroots Mobilization
222
Flash Campaigns
223
Learning from Landmines
225
ELobbying
227
Keys to Effective Internet Advocacy
229
Initiatives and Referenda The Public Takes Charge
233
What Goes Around Comes Around
235
The Initiative Process
236
Winning While Losing
242
Even the Public Doesnt Have All the Answers
243
Putting It All Together Guns in America
248
Gun Control Is Contested in Every Possible Forum
258
Influencing Congress
264
Public Opinion and the Future of Gun Control
267
Issues and Advocacy Strategies for the TwentyFirst Century
269
Peering into the Future
270
Issues for the Next Century
272
Emerging Advocacy Strategies
280
The Search for Lasting Solutions
284
Notes
299
Bibliography
319
Index
325
Copyright

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