Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,0, Martin Luther University, language: English, abstract: Interest- or Lobby groups are coalitions of people, who have the same basic attitude in one or more issues. Grounded on these preferences they try to make demands on other groups of the society to install, to enforce or to preserve their own interests.1 Their main objective is to get access to one or more key positions within the governmental system.2 The Lobby groups possess a decisive part within the political system of the United States of America since they exert strong influence by means of different measures on the Executive, Legislative, Judicative and the political parties to direct the policies and the legislation in the course of their preferences.3 In the American region the Interest groups are segmented into seven types. There are the so called business groups (e. g. National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)), the unions (e. g. American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)), the lobbying groups of the agricultural sector (e. g. National Farmers Union (NFU)), and professional associations (e. g. American Medical Association (AMA)). Furthermore there are the advocacy groups from single states and cities (e. g. National League of Cities (NLC)), ethnic interest groups (e. g. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)) and single-issue lobbying groups (e. g. Mothers against drunk driving (MADD)).4 The characterization of the American system of interest groups is its very strong decentralized structure, its regional rootedness and its highly specialization founding on the extremely different interests.5 Due to this there is nowadays a very pluralistic system of advocacy groups with more than 20.000 registered associations in America.6 The National Rifle Association (NRA) represents an example of an American interest group. [...]

Were it not for the negative coverage that it receives from elite American news organizations, the National Rifle Association and American gun culture as a whole would not be in the position of strength they enjoy today. The more negative coverage the elite media have dished out, the more people have been attracted to NRA and gun culture. Brian Anse Patrick presents the evidence for this startling case. As an analysis of the data unmistakably shows, not only are the elite media systematically biased against NRA, they have indeed inadvertently helped to mobilize American gun culture, making it one of the most successful social movements of modern times. In the new edition of this groundbreaking study, with a new Foreword by the author, Prof. Patrick makes his case. The evidence is incontrovertible and based on scientific content analysis of ten years of actual NRA coverage in many elite news publications, compared and contrasted with similar coverage of other major American social movements. Additionally, Prof. Patrick presents an innovative model for how information is disseminated from top-to-bottom in the mainstream media which he terms "administrative democracy," and suggests how groups like the NRA flourish in part because of the increasing availability of non-centralized social media which allow dissenters from the prevailing media paradigm to construct their own narratives with which to understand society and their place within it. Written in a lucid and penetrating style, this book should be of interest to readers on either side of the gun rights debate, as well as to those wishing to study the workings of a successful citizens' advocacy network.

How the NRA became a political juggernaut by influencing the behaviors and beliefs of everyday Americans The National Rifle Association is one of the most powerful interest groups in America, and has consistently managed to defeat or weaken proposed gun regulations—even despite widespread public support for stricter laws and the prevalence of mass shootings and gun-related deaths. Firepower provides an unprecedented look at how this controversial organization built its political power and deploys it on behalf of its pro-gun agenda. Taking readers from the 1930s to the age of Donald Trump, Matthew Lacombe traces how the NRA's immense influence on national politics arises from its ability to shape the political outlooks and actions of its followers. He draws on nearly a century of archival records and surveys to show how the organization has fashioned a distinct worldview around gun ownership and used it to mobilize its supporters. Lacombe reveals how the NRA's cultivation of a large, unified, and active base has enabled it to build a resilient alliance with the Republican Party, and examines why the NRA and its members formed an important constituency that helped fuel Trump's unlikely political rise. Firepower sheds vital new light on how the NRA has grown powerful by mobilizing average Americans, and how it uses its GOP alliance to advance its objectives and shape the national agenda.

The National Rifle Association enjoys a reputation for invincibility unequaled by any other private lobby. For more than three decades the NRA has handily defeated almost every significant legislative attempt to regulate firearms, thanks in large part to the political clout provided by their activist members, who once numbered close to 3 million. But though its reputation remains, the influence and power of the NRA has begun to fade. Membership is down to 2.6 million and - as gun violence claims nearly 30,000 American lives each year - the group has lost several important gun-control cases in the past two years. Under Fire is the first in-depth, nonpartisan look at this important organization. Using a fast-paced reportorial style, Osha Davidson investigates the current troubles of this feisty, often fanatical, but quintessentially American, institution. Davidson examines such issues as the link between drugs and guns, the NRA's. Connection with gun manufacturers, its increasingly unsteady relationship with the police, and the growing schism within the organization itself. Effectively separating the NRA from the myths that so often define it, Under Fire portrays a gun lobby that is neither the Evil Empire its foes claim nor the super-patriotic defender of cherished American values that it holds itself to be. As he explores these conflicting identities, Davidson shows that charges made by each side are not merely harmless banter in an isolated political battle. In place of reasoned debate, both camps resort to insults and bumper-sticker slogans that tighten the deadlock on an issue with important ramifications for all Americans. At a time when a resolution to the crisis of unrestricted firearms seems to be of paramount concern, Under Fire offers true insight into one of our nation's most pressing concerns.

Pre-University Paper from the year 2020 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 13 Punkte, sehr gut minus, , language: English, abstract: This student essay critically examines the historical development of the NRA, its influence on US politics and lobbying in the US, focusing on current events and political controversies. The essay begins with an introductory reflection on recent political events in the US, particularly with regard to the 2020 presidential election and the role of money in politics. It looks at how Democratic candidates, including Elizabeth Warren, are dealing with the challenge of Super PACs and their influence. The focus then shifts to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its deep-rooted influence in American politics. The essay examines the history of settlement in the US, the Second Amendment, the evolution of guns, the economic driver of the gun industry, and finally the intertwining of politics and lobbying. A critical discussion and conclusion reflects on the current political and social challenges posed by such powerful organisations as the NRA.

Interest-group lobbying is a controversial activity in American politics and this book provides a study of group power. This edition includes expanded coverage of the changing dynamics of power politics in America; new media venues and grassroots organizing; and the perennial issue of reform.

Uses National Rifle Association materials, meetings, leader speeches, and interviews with NRA members to examine how the organization perceives threats to gun rights as an attack in a broad culture war that will ultimately lead to gun confiscation and socialism.

Special-interest groups are organized groups of people who share a common perspective or policy goal that they collectively promote through the political process. The best-known examples are powerful organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA) or the Sierra Club. But interest groups representing just about every conceivable point of view can be found across the American political landscape. All interest groups engage in lobbying - trying to shape public policy in a way that favors that particular group's agenda or goals. This book examines how special interest groups and the professional lobbyists that represent them can exert a great deal of influence over the government.

A shocking exposé of rampant, decades-long incompetence at the National Rifle Association, as told by a former member of its senior leadership. Joshua L. Powell is the NRA--a lifelong gun advocate, in 2016, he began his new role as a senior strategist and chief of staff to NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre. What Powell uncovered was horrifying: "the waste and dysfunction at the NRA was staggering." INSIDE THE NRA reveals for the first time the rise and fall of the most powerful political organization in America--how the NRA became feared as the Death Star of Washington lobbies and so militant and extreme as "to create and fuel the toxicity of the gun debate until it became outright explosive." INSIDE THE NRA explains this intentional toxic messaging was wholly the product of LaPierre's leadership and the extremist branding by his longtime PR puppet master Angus McQueen. In damning detail, Powell exposes the NRA's plan to "pour gasoline" on the fire in the fight against gun control, to sow discord to fill its coffers, and to secure the presidency for Donald J. Trump.