Chapter 7 Interest Groups What Are Interest

Chapter 7 Interest Groups

What Are Interest Groups? o An organized group that tries to influence public policy o David Truman n One of first to study interest groups n Posed Disturbance Theory o Theory that interest groups form in part to counteract the efforts of other groups.

What Are Interest Groups? o Robert Salisbury n Expanded Truman’s theory n Groups form when resources are inadequate or scarce n Stressed the role that leaders play: entrepreneurs

Why Interest Groups are Common o Many kinds of cleavages in the country mean that there are many different interests

Why Interest Groups are Common o The Constitution provides many access points to government o Political parties are weak so interests work directly on government

Kinds of Organized Interests o Generally, interest groups is a term used to describe the numerous organized groups that try to influence government policy. o Public Interest Groups o Economic Interest Groups o Governmental Units o Political Action Committees o Multi-Issue versus Single Issue Groups

Profiles of Selected Interest Groups

The Roots & Development of American Interest Groups o National groups emerge (1830 -1889) n Communication networks enabled nationalization of groups n First were single-issue groups deeply rooted in the Christian religious revivalism o Temperance, Peace, Education, and Slavery n Other groups emerged after the Civil War n Lobbyists o Interest group representative who seeks to influence legislation that will benefit his or her organization through political persuasion.

NRA membership

The Roots & Development of American Interest Groups o The Progressive Era (1890 -1920) n Grew out of concern for impact of rapid industrialization, influx of immigration, monopolistic business practices, crime, poverty, poor working conditions n Organized Labor o AFL o Clayton Act: allowed unions to organize free from prosecution and guaranteed their right to strike n Business Groups and Trade Associations o Trade Associations: a group that represents a specific industry o National Electric Light Association

Labor Union Membership

The Rise of the Interest Group State o 1960 s and 1970 s saw a reappearance of the Progressive spirit. n n n Civil Rights Women’s Rights Elderly Poor Consumers Environment o Common Cause and Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen o Conservative Backlash: Religious and Ideological Groups n Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority n Pat Robertson, the 700 Club and the Christian Coalition n National Rifle Association

Business Groups, Corporations, and Associations o Rise in business advocacy groups o More political than Chamber of Commerce n Example: The Business Roundtable o Created in 1972 o Urges member to engage in direct lobbying to influence the course of public policy o Most large corporations have n Own governmental affairs department n Employ D. C. -based lobbyists to keep them apprised of legislation n Gave substantial soft money in the past n Still use PACS, 527 s, and thus contribute a great deal of money

Organized Labor o Began to emerge as powerful player early in the 20 th century n Could turn out members n Focus not only on labor issues, but also other issues of concern to its members o More recently labor has lost some clout n Membership down

What Do Interest Groups Do? o Lobbying n The activities of a group or organization that seeks to influence legislation and persuade political leaders to support the group’s position n 23 ways for lobbyists and organizations to lobby on the state and national level o Most often they: testify at legislative hearings, contact government officials directly, help draft legislation

Groups and Lobbyists

Lobbying Congress o Members of Congress = targets of lobbyists o Many lobbyists former members n Former Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and George Mitchell (D-ME) earn well over a million dollars a year as Washington lobbyists.

Lobbying Congress o Today lobbyists try to develop close relationships with members to gain access to the process of policy making. n Information is critical. o Lobbyists also work most closely with representatives who are their friends. o “Revolving Door”

The “Revolving Door” o Federal government workers leave to take more lucrative positions in private industry (lobbying, consulting, executive positions) o This may give private interests a way to improperly influence government decisions

Attempts to Reform Congressional Lobbying o Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act, 1946 o Lobbying Disclosure Act, 1995 n Employs a strict definition of lobbyist n Requires lobbyists to: o Register with the clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate o Report their clients and issues and the agency or house they lobbied o Estimate the amount they are paid by each client n Makes it easier for watchdog groups to track the lobbying activity

The Ethics in Government Act

Lobbying the Executive Branch o As the scope of federal government has expanded, so has lobbying of the executive branch n Many potential access points n Lobbyist seek influence at formation and implementation stages. n An especially strong link exists between interest groups and regulatory agencies.

Lobbying the Courts o Can take two forms n Direct sponsorship n Filing amicus curiae briefs o Brief that informs the court of the group’s policy preferences, generally in guise of legal arguments o Interest groups also attempt to influence who is nominated and placed on the bench.

Grassroots Lobbying o A form of pressure-group activity that attempts to involve individuals who contact their representatives directly in an effort to influence policy o Persuading ordinary voters to act as the group’s advocates

Astroturf Lobbying o Efforts - usually led by interest groups (or Corporations) with deep financial pockets - to create synthetic grass-roots movements by aggressively encouraging voters to contact their elected officials about specific issues.

Protest Activities o Some groups resort to more forceful, legal as well as illegal measures to attract attention to their cause. n Sometimes violent, illegal protest (Boston Tea Party, Shay’s Rebellion) n Civil Rights Movement o Marches with permits legal

Election Activities o Candidate recruitment and endorsements o Getting out the vote o Rating the candidates or office holders o Political action committees

Incentives to Join o Solidary incentives—pleasure, companionship o Material incentives—money, things, services o Purposive incentives—goal/purpose of the organization itself n 2 types –Ideological and Public Interest

What Makes An Interest Group Successful? o Leaders o Patrons and Funding n Person who finances a group or individual activity o Members n Free riders: potential members fail to join a group because they can get the benefit, or collective good, sought by the group without contributing to it.

Potential Versus Actual Interest Group Members

Interest Groups as Factions o Madison (Federalist 10) – his description of factions defines the interest groups found today o Madison’s broad language “The latent causes of faction are sown in the nature of man. . ” predicted the potential for multiple factions on many topics o Definition: People who share common goals, interact with each other, and organize to affect the public agenda.

Interest Groups as linkage institutions o Strategies to influence the public agenda * Information & education of public, Congress, White House, etc. * Mass media appeal * Mass mailings * Electioneering activities: campaigning, issue ads, etc. * Political Action Committees (PACs)

Interest Groups’ Influence o Positive: Advantage for democracy because it allows individual citizens to influence government in ways that are beyond their ballot – links them to the public agenda o Negative: The poorer citizens & those in minorities are poorly represented / there is too much money involved in the process (elitist) / and there is too much opportunity for influence of the public agenda to be purchased