Forum 3.5 - The Rules of the Game

11/13/2017

Guiding Thought Question: In American Politics, special interests groups are able to raise money to support political candidates who share their beliefs and values. What do you think about the process of large groups and corporations being able to directly aid politicians? Explain your ideas.

Today's Learning Objective: Students will be able to explain what interest groups are, and how they use lobbyists to achieve their political goals.

19 Comments

Hayden Hegwood

10/28/2019 09:03:04 am

Having private companies control political candidates is easily corruptable because a large company can fund someone with that helps the company, and they can directly effect the outcome of the election with money.

pepper

11/11/2019 08:57:19 am

the larger companies can help fund political parties and the larger the company is the bigger the influence of the party there is. It can deienitly sway the opinions of the people as well

Matilda

11/11/2019 08:57:28 am

Large, economically and socially influential corporations and groups openly supporting politicians employs the right to free speech, but there is a fine line to walk between unifying a group of people with common beliefs for positive change and creating an “us vs. them” mentality between different groups that only creates division and gets everybody stuck going nowhere.

Blake McNeill

11/11/2019 08:59:55 am

I believe that it is unnecessary and could lead towards false information and creating bias. Such as fossil fuel companies helping support trump because he is in favor of those jobs and corporations, and with that large amount of money they can help create a huge influence

koraleski

11/11/2019 09:08:04 am

i think that large companies giving money to candidates makes it a little unfair and can put the candidates at bigger advantages. for example the nra funded trump putting him at a huge advantage but candidates like warren go off of donations only.

Emily

11/11/2019 09:09:17 am

I think the ability to fund politician is smart because if you’re a politician who is well liked you will most likely get more money. Although if you are not popular you will need to find other ways of funding.

grace

11/11/2019 09:20:28 am

having extreme amounts of contributions can really alter an election to favor wealthier people in america

Haley Light

11/11/2019 12:16:06 pm

I think that businesses should not be able to offer aid to a presidential candidates because it could be used as a way to gain favor from a possible future president resulting in relationships that are easily corruptible and usable for personal benefit.

Greens keeper

11/11/2019 12:25:23 pm

i think its good that different corporations can support their own political interest bc they are who will be impacted by who is in office

Annie Feden

11/11/2019 12:26:24 pm

Private corporations funding politicians in a way is freedom of speech. They can share their ideas, but sharing their ideas and money can alter the outcome of elections because of the influence money can have on people.

Claire N

11/11/2019 12:28:30 pm

I don't think it's very fair that organizations are able to raise money for political candidates. It doesn't seem to be very fair, especially if one organization has a ton of money and supports one candidate over another. It also kind of not very democratic, since people should be running and voted for solely through themselves and what they do, not through others.

Teagan Roorda

11/11/2019 12:29:36 pm

I feel like it depends on the group and how they tend to do things. But it can affect the way people think. Its also based on the person and who they are. If its a liked person they do not have a hard time finding a group and getting funding unlike a person who is disliked has a harder chance to do that.

Cali

11/11/2019 12:30:56 pm

Large companies supporting certain politicians can push bias about how good a candidate is. For example, fossil fuel companies gave lots of money to Trump's campaign, and Trump had lots of money to help fund his campaign.

Sabrina

11/11/2019 12:31:44 pm

Large corporations can use their power to support political candidates that will benefit the company. This can sway the ideas and viewpoints of the people.

Robert Cardoza

11/11/2019 12:32:03 pm

The private companies in my opinion should be allowed to help fund a campaign but it is very possible that the candidate will become corrupt

Sam Petersen

11/11/2019 12:32:12 pm

I don't like that Corporations can pay to have politicians vote for something they support, it is corrupt and I believe it undermines our political system of representation.

Jayme Cox

11/11/2019 12:32:30 pm

Corporations can pay politicians if they want because it is their freedom of speech and that should not be denied, even if it may hurt their business.

Sophie

11/11/2019 12:32:54 pm

I think that large groups and corporations having the ability to aid politicians can greatly influence the outcomes of the elections. I do however think that if the candidates share their beliefs and values, it is their decision whether or not to financially support them

Claire Bingaman

11/11/2019 12:36:05 pm

I think that large corporations being able to directly aid politicians is generally ok. It's showing their support through finances, and the main thing that I think they would do with the money is make more ads for presidential election campaigns.

But there could also be more sketchy reasons for funding. For example, a group could offer to pay a politician to make a certain decision that's against the beliefs of the people the politician represents. Still, this would violate the constitution rules and would probably get the politician kicked out, so I don't understand why the politician would want to do that anyway, for any sum of money the group would rationally offer.

Environmental Policy Class Forum

Welcome to the Forum! Here is where you will be answering your daily warm-up questions. Please do not enter your last name for privacy reasons, and you may use a nickname if you would like (Just make sure Mr. Tredinnick is aware of the nickname you are using). Write out thoughtful responses to the forums on the days they are assigned. If you miss a day please take it upon yourself to complete the Forum you missed. Each Forum has the targeted Learning Objective(s) there so you can see what the focus of the day's class will be.

Forum 3.5 - The Rules of the Game

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