Table Of Contents:
Introduction xi

1. CHANGE IS IN THE AIR 3(10)

Everyone Has Something to Say 4(2)

Citizen Perot and the Contract with America 6(1)

"It's the Issue, Stupid" 7(1)

"Harry and Louise" 8(2)

"Vote Yes on Proposition 144" 10(1)

Everything Is on the Table 11(2)

2. THE ANATOMY OF AN ISSUE CAMPAIGN 13(13)

The Genesis of an Issue 13(5)

The Life Cycle of an Issue 18(3)

Issue Dynamics 21(5)

3. ISSUES AND INTEREST GROUPS 26(17)

Inside Interest Groups 26(2)

The Interest-Group Explosion 28(2)

Why Members Join Interest Groups 30(6)

How Interest Groups Influence Policy 36(7)

4. TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY: ISSUE ARENAS 43(22)

Places to Go and People to Persuade 44(3)

Influencing Corporate Behavior: Alternatives to Influencing Governmental Policy 47(1)

The States and the Federal Government: Our Uneasy Federal System 48(9)

Beyond Legislation: Implementing the Law 57(4)

Courts of Last Resort: "Taking" the Policy Initiative 61(4)

5. UNDERSTANDING AND INFLUENCING PUBLIC OPINION 65(16)

Taking the Public's Pulse 67(5)

Exploring the Territory 72(2)

Assessing the Reliability of Public Opinion 74(5)

Leadership and Public Opinion Polls: Following the Leader? 79(2)

6. INFORMATION AND PERSUASION 81(22)

Information and Advocacy 81(8)

Painting Pictures and Putting Numbers into Perspective: Using Creativity and Imagination to Communicate Information 89(5)

Dueling Data: Sources and Reliability of Information 94(2)

"Laundering" Information: Buying Science 96(2)

Making Policy Choices with Imperfect Information: Striking a Balance between Costs and Benefits 98(5)

7. MEDIA ADVOCACY 103(28)

Issues and the Media 103(5)

Shaping the News Coverage 108(11)

Buying the Media's Attention 119(5)

Developing a Media Message 124(7)

8. FINDING STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: BUILDING AND MANAGING COALITIONS 131(18)

Issue Coalitions 132(5)

Why Organizations Join Coalitions 137(1)

Building a Coalition: Membership 138(2)

Strange Bedfellows: The Power of Unlikely Alliances 140(2)

Managing a Coalition: Governance 142(7)

9. PERSUADING DECISION MAKERS 149(33)

Lobbying and Lobbyists 149(2)

A Day in the Life of a Lobbyist 151(7)

Information and Lobbying 158(2)

Lobbying the Legislature 160(8)

Lobbying Government Policymakers: Yes, Even the President 168(6)

Influencing Corporate and Institutional Behavior 174(6)

Money, Politics, and Lobbying 180(2)

10. GRASSROOTS MOBILIZATION 182(31)

All Power to the People 182(4)

Identifying the Grassroots in Your Own Backyard 186(2)

Mobilizating Your Grassroots 188(6)

Mobilizing the Grass Tops 194(1)

Marketing the Issue to the Public 195(10)

Potemkin Interest Groups 205(5)

Buying Silence: Philanthropy and Grassroots 210(3)

11. INITIATIVES AND REFERENDA: THE PUBLIC TAKES CHARGE 213(15)

Origins of Initiatives and Referenda 213(2)

Recent Developments: What Goes Around Comes Around 215(1)

The Initiative Process 216(6)

Winning While Losing 222(1)

Even the Public Doesn't Have All the Answers 223(5)

12. ISSUES AND ADVOCACY STRATEGIES FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY 228(29)

Peering into the Future 229(2)

Issues for the Next Century 231(8)

Emerging Advocacy Strategies 239(5)

Doing Better: The Search for Lasting Solutions 244(13)
Notes 257(16)
Bibliography 273(6)
Index 279