Elections 2004

Lobby & Interest Groups

Election-year debate is not limited to the campaigns and the media. Organized interests and well-organized individuals endeavor to shape the dialogue at every stage of the process. Some groups mount campaigns comparable to those of the candidates themselves in order to see that their points of view are represented.
Interest Groups: Many Voices (Democracy in Action)
Interest Group and Independent Expenditure Advertising (Democracy in Action)

Partisan Groups
Republicans
· Club for Growth - supports the Reagan vision of limited government and lower taxes
· Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy - promoting fair, community-based solutions to environmental challenges
· GOPAC - Republican training and education
· International Republican Institute
· Log Cabin Republicans - gay and lesbian Republican organization
· National Assembly of Irish American Republicans
· National Federation of Republican Assemblies - conservative Republican group
· Republican Jewish Coalition - voice of Jewish Republicans
· Republican Leadership Council - emphasizes economic issues and inclusiveness over a narrow moral agenda
· Republican Liberty Caucus - represents the G.O.P's libertarian tradition
· Republican Majority for Choice - (formerly Republican Pro-Choice Coalition) seeks to get abortion out of politics
· Republican Main Street Partnership - a voice for centrist Republicans
· Republican National Coalition for Life - works to ensure adoption of the pro-life plank in the Republican platform
· Republican National Lawyers Association
· Republicans for Choice - seeks to remove the anti-choice plank in the Republican platform
· Republicans for Environmental Protection - environmental conscience of the GOP
· Ripon Society - to promote moderate Republican principles
· Teen Age Republicans
· The WISH List - raises funds for Republican pro-choice women candidates

Democrats
· Americans Coming Together - Section 527 organization mobilizing people to register and vote in 17 battleground states
· Americans for Democratic Action - independent liberal political organization
· Democrats for Life of America - elect pro-life Democrats to office and support pro-life Democrats
· Democratic Leadership Council - New Democrats
· EMILY's List - electing pro-choice Democratic women candidates
· Grassroots Democrats - Section 527 organization focused on funding state party operations
· Irish American Democrats
· The Media Fund - Section 527 media buying organization
· National Committee for an Effective Congress - supports progressive candidates
· National Democratic Institute for Int'l Affairs
· National Jewish Democratic Council - promoting Jewish values in the Democratic Party
· National Stonewall Democrats - federation which links clubs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Democrats
· New Democrat Network - the political action arm of the New Democrat movement
· Progressive Majority - electing progressives at the federal and state levels
· 21st Century Democrats (formerly Democrats 2000) - recruiting and electing progressive candidates
· 2020 Democrats - develop a vision that extends beyond the priorities of the immediate election cycle

Issue-Oriented Groups
· AFL-CIO
· American Association for Affirmative Action
· American Association for Retired Persons
· American Bar Association
· American Civil Liberties Union
· American Entrepreneurs for Economic Growth
· American Medical Association
· American Public Health Association
· American Public Transit Association
· American Public Human Services Association
· Americans United for Affirmative Action
· Anti-Defamation League
· Association of American Universities
· Center for Individual Rights
· Christian Coalition of America
· Citizens Against Government Waste
· Common Cause
· Concord Coalition
· Constitution Society
· Corporate Watch
· Death Penalty Information Center
· Environment2004
· Families USA
· Family Research Council
· Federation of American Scientists
· Greenpeace International
· Labor Unions Directory
· League of Conservation Voters
· League of Women Voters
· National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
· National Center for Children in Poverty
· National Education Association
· National Coalition for the Homeless
· National Fish and Wildlife Federation
· National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
· National Organization for Women
· National Priorities Project
· National Rifle Association
· OMB Watch
· People for the American Way
· Public Citizen (Ralph Nader)
· Sierra Club
· Teamsters
· United Farm Workers
· Wilderness Society

More links at Issue Resources (Politics1.com)