INSTRUCTIONS:
In a response of 150 words to 200 words, please explain the differences between various types of interest groups such as economic interest groups (i.e. business interest groups, manufacturing interest groups, agricultural interest groups, and public employee unions). What has been the role of environmental interest groups such as the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, the Wilderness Society, and the Environmental Defense Fund? What fight did the Sierra Club wage and lose during the tenure of its first president, John Muir? Do interest groups of professionals fully reflect or represent all of the members of that particular profession (i.e. lawyers, doctors, nurses, etc.)? Do you feel the American Bar Association should have so much power in determining the relative merits of law schools (i.e. certifying them as Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 A.B.A. certified law schools)? Can one receive a similar level of education at a non-A.B.A. certified law school such as San Joaquin College of Law, and if so why? Alternatively, what role do public interest groups serve? For instance, what does the A.C.L.U. (American Civil Liberties Union) or the League of Women Voters do or provide for average citizens? What are some of the goals or aspirations of the non-partisan interest group Common Cause? Have they achieved some of those goals (i.e. removing troops from South Vietnam for instance)? What goals are they currently working on (stripping governors of the power to fill vacancies in the U.S. Senate for instance)? What contributions have consumer rights groups like Public Citizen by Ralph Nader provided to the American consumer? For instance, would you feel safe driving a Chevrolet Corvair after Nader’s book Unsafe at Any Speed?