Fundamental Goals of Politics Essay #10

While interest groups and political parties each play a significant role in the United States political system, they differ in their fundamental goals. The fundamental goal of interest groups in the political process is to influence the public policy along with Congress and government officials. It's possible that the interest groups are also working towards changing laws that they don't agree with. 

The fundamental goal of major political parties in the political process is to elect certain candidates they favor into office, as well as gaining as much control as they can over the government. Gaining control and having who they want in office would make it so more of their ideas are heard and acted upon in society. 

There are many ways interest groups influence the political process, one being media campaigns. Media campaigns are a good way for interest groups to get noticed and to have their most important issues gain attention. The more attention an issue gains the more likely the government is to deal with it. Another way interest groups influence the political process is through Political Action Committees (PACs) donations. With the money they receive, they can put more emphasis on certain issues or policies they want changed or acted upon. 

Media campaigns are seen worldwide for particular policies that interest groups focus on. Through the media interest groups are able to catch policymaker's attention and therefore have a greater influence on them. If media is covering an issue from an interest group, it obviously has enough of a voice to gain media attention and is then more likely to gain a policymaker's attention. This leads to interest groups having a greater influence on the decision making process/policymakers, and from there, they have their foot in the door of the political process.