Transcript Interest Groups

Interest Groups
Interest Group Examples
• AARP (American Association of Retired People)
• Sierra Club (Environment)
• NAACP (National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People)
• NOW (National Organization of Women)
• ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)
• PIRGs (Public Interest Research Groups)
• NEA (National Education Association)
• AMA (American Medical Association)
Thousands of interest groups in the US
What Are Interest
Groups?
• Interest Group (special interests) is an
organization of people with similar
policy goals that tries to influence the
political process to try to achieve those
goals.
• Interest groups try to influence every
branch and every level of government.
Interest Groups
• Interest groups want to PASS POLICY
• BUT don’t run their own candidates for
office
• Interest groups can “access,” or influence
many points and levels of government
Remember FACTIONS?
• Interest groups have been part of the
American political landscape since the
country’s founding.
• The open nature of the American
government invites organized political
participation.
What do interest groups
do?
• The most common and effective interest
group technique is lobbying or seeking to
influence and persuade others to support
your group's position.
• Lobbyists are hired by your college or
university, businesses, foreign countries,
trade associations, and anyone else wanting
their voice heard on policy matters.
• A Lobbyists is someone whose task it is to
influence legislation or policymaking.
Interest Groups
Techniques
• Direct Techniques:
Lobbying
– Private meetings
– Testifying
– Drafting Legislation
– Social Occasions
– Providing Political Info
– Supplying Nomination
suggestions
• Indirect Techniques:
Generating Public
Pressure
– Groundswell of
public pressure
– Use Constituents as
Lobbyists
– Building Alliances
with other groups
Honest Lobbyists?
• A lobbyist must be honest and truthful if he or
she wants to remain effective.
• Access to lawmakers is critical and if a lobbyist
gets a reputation of being untruthful or
disingenuous legislators doors will close.
• Of course, lobbyists put their group's position in
a favorable light but good lobbyists will also
make lawmakers aware of the downsides of a
bill and the arguments on the other side as well.
What makes Interest
Groups Successful?
• In general three factors tend to lead to interest
group success:
• 1. Leaders – having a prominent leader aids in the
reputation of the group and enhances a group's
ability to attain its goals.
• 2. Patrons and Funding – funding is critical.
Without money, it is hard to get your message out.
• 3. Members – a group must have members to be
successful. Organizing members allows for
strength in numbers and pooling of financial
support.
Pluralism and its Critics
• Pluralist theory
argues that interest
group activity brings
representation to all.
• Interest groups
compete and
counterbalance one
another.
• Three criticisms of
pluralism are
1. It gives short shift to
those who are not
organized.
2. It fails to deal with the
fact that some interests
have more power than
others.
3. It seems to leave no room
for consideration of
transcendent national
interests.
Hyperpluralist Theory
• Hyperpluralists argue that when
interest groups become so powerful
that they dominate the political
decision-making structures they
render any consideration of the
greater public interest impossible.
Criticisms of Interest
Groups
• Interest Groups have been criticized for
– Ignoring the wider interest of society
– Producing confusion and deadlock in
Congress
– Generating so much emotion that they
make reasoned discussion difficult
– Having too much influence
Interest Groups and
Pluralism Theory
• Many interests and groups prevents one
from being too powerful
• Linkage Institution – links people and
government, gives voice to people
• Federalist 10 – factions are bad, but a
necessary evil
• All groups are not equal, but gives voice
Interest Groups and
Hyperpluralism
• Interest groups causing political chaos
• TOO MANY GROUPS
• Government trying to please everyone,
resulting policies are haphazard and illconceived
• Ex. – support removing business
regulations and support environment
protection???
– impossible
What makes Interest
Groups powerful?
• Size
• Power of AARP – 25% of the population
50 and over
• Intensity – drive or effort put forth (single
issue groups fall into this category)
• Money
• form a PAC (Political Action Committee) –
donate money to campaigns and
advertising
Types of Interest Groups
• Economic – Labor unions, agricultural,
Business, Professional
• Consumer – public interest, environmental
• Equality and Justice – racial issues,
gender issues, minority issues
How Interest Groups
Work
1. Lobby – (aka Buttonholing) influence
government policy
Ex - call/email officials, meet and socialize, go
to lunch, testify at committee hearings, ask
for political favors
2. Electioneering – keep people in office
who are sympathetic to group wants and
needs
Ex. - GIVE MONEY TO CAMPAIGNS
How Interest Groups
Work
3. Litigation – (aka amicus curiae – “friends of
the court”) (1) File briefs that consist of a
written argument for their side
OR… (2) groups sue business or gov for action
4. Appealing to the public – make the group’s
own public image look good
5. The “Ratings Game” – interest groups rate
politicians based on voting records
How do Interest groups
get money?
• Donations (YOU!)
• Foundations
Ex. - Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford
Foundation
• Federal grants and contracts
The Revolving Door
• Government officials quit their jobs or don’t
get reelected
• Then take government jobs for a certain
lobbying agency
• Fear that private interests by business
have an unfair influence on gov decisions
• Ex- official does favor in return for later job
Federal Disclosure Act of
1995
•
•
•
•
•
Defining what is a lobbyist
Defining lobbyist actitivies
Defining lobbyist contacts
Registration procedures
Penalties
Federal guidelines for
lobbyists
• Any person who:
• Receives compensation of $5,000 or more per six-month
period, or makes expenditures of $20,000 or more per
six-month period, for lobbying.
• Makes more than one lobbying contact.
• Spends 20 percent or more of his or her time over a sixmonth period on lobbying activities for an organization or
a particular client.
• Unless each of these criteria is met, there is no
registration requirement for that individual.
• An organization is required to register
Points to consider…
• Interest Groups:
• Promote interest in public affairs
• Provide useful information
• Serve as watchdogs
• Represent the interest of Citizens
• Which of the following describes a fundamental difference
between political parties and interest groups?
A) Political parties are prohibited from sponsoring campaign
advertisements, and interest groups are not
B) Political parties represent broad arrays of issues, whereas
interest groups are more likely to focus on narrow sets of
issues
C) Political parties are more likely to focus on national politics,
whereas interest groups focus on local politics
D) Political parties tend to have strength in particular regions,
whereas the power of interest groups is more consistent
across states
E) Political parties are required to disclose their campaign
finance activities, whereas interest groups are not
Interest groups engage in all of the following
activities EXCEPT
A) testifying before congressional
committees
B) sponsoring issue advocacy ads
C) lobbying federal agencies
D) filing federal lawsuits
E) using the franking privilege
• Which of the following groups would be
LEAST likely to maintain a national
lobbying organization in Washington,
D.C.?
A) Environmentalists
B) Public housing tenants
C) Nurses
D) Automobile manufacturers
E) Automobile assembly line workers
• An interest group would likely have the greatest
influence on policy matters involving
A) narrow issues, only a few interest groups, and
technical information
B) broad, highly visible national issues
C) broad foreign policy issues
D) major constitutional questions about civil rights
and liberties
E) areas in which members of Congress have
considerable expertise and commitment