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1. INTEREST GROUPS Chapter 11a
O’Connor and Sabato
American Government:
Continuity and Change
2. In this chapter we will cover…
What Are Interest Groups?
The Roots and Development of American Interest Groups
What Do Interest Groups Do?
What Makes an Interest Group Successful? INTEREST GROUPS
3. 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.
4. The Roots and Development of American Interest Groups Interest groups have been part of the American political landscape since the country’s founding.
James Madison in Federalist #10 argued for a proliferation of groups so that no one group could get hegemony over the other groups.
The open nature of the American government invites organized political participation.
5. The Roots and Development of American Interest Groups National Groups Emerge (1830-80)
Progressive Era (1890-1920)
Organized Labor – the American Federation of Labor (AFL) (1886)
Business and Trade Associations – The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) (1895)
The Rise of the Interest Group State (1960s and 1970s)
Religious and Ideological Groups
Business Groups, Trade and Professional Associations
Organized Labor
6. 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.
7. 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
8. 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.
9. What Makes an Interest Group Successful? In general three factors tend to lead to interest group success:
Leaders – having a prominent leader aids in the reputation of the group and enhances a group's ability to attain its goals.
Patrons and Funding – funding is critical. Without money, it is hard to get your message out.
Members – a group must have members to be successful. Organizing members allows for strength in numbers and pooling of financial support.
13. Pluralism and its Critics Pluralist theory argues that interest group activity brings representation to all.
Interest groups compete and counterbalance one another.
14. Hyperpluralist Theory Hyperpluralist 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.
15. Criticism 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
16. Important Points to Think About