ABSTRACT

Contractors, along with other corporations, have begun to put the public to work on their behalf. They spend large sums appealing to a huge constituency: employees, stockholders, suppliers and subcontractors, as well as citizens of communities where plants are located, for help in putting pressure on Executive and Congressional policy-makers. All defense-related advertising carries political weight. The readers of ads, the respondents to grass-roots efforts include contractors, military officers, even Government officials, as well as the general public. Such ads and campaigns are aimed, directly or indirectly at influencing legislators, legislation and appropriations. Geography is central to the grass-roots politics of the “iron triangle.” Struggles over weapons systems choices in Washington are played out in local communities. In addition to the general advertising that reaches all of their constituents, the corporations reach local communities through the media and through a direct appeal, mobilizing workers and their families to take the corporation’s message to Washington.