Chapter 9

1. Chapter 9 Interest Groups: Organizing for Influence

2. E. E. Schattschneider The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class bias.

3. The Interest Group System • The interest-group system includes all interests that are organized and seek political goals • Interest group = a faction • Typical Interest group functions • Supporting candidates for public office • Working to influence legislators and policymakers • Promoting public policies • The difference between political parties and the typical interest group- • the party addresses a broad range of issues

4. The Interest Group System • James Madison- • the source of most interest groups or factions is the unequal distribution of property • Worried that gov. would be dominated by groups but recognized that a free society must allow the advocacy of self-interest- Federalist no. 10

5. The Interest Group System • Reasons for so many groups: • American tradition of free association • the wide diversity of interests that exist in America • America’s federal system- multiple gov. entities

6. The Interest Group System • Alexis de Tocqueville describes America as “a nation of joiners” • Citizens of the U.S. are more actively involved in interest groups and community causes than other nations • Interest group activity is basic to democracy because it promotes the concern of various interests in society

7. The Interest Group System • Economic Groups • The organizational edge: economic groups versus citizens’ groups • Private (Individual) goods vs. collective (public) goods • Private- Material Incentive i.e. higher wages, lower taxes, subsidies • Public- clean air & water, protection of individual rights • The free rider problem- non-members get these benefits for free • The size factor: business groups smaller and more efficient

8. The Interest Group System • Economic Groups • Types of Economic Groups • Business Groups • the most fully organized • Labor Groups • Agricultural Groups • Professional Groups

10. Percentage Union Members, by Sector and Industry

11. The Interest Group System • Citizens’ Groups • Purposive Incentives • The satisfaction of contributing to a worthy goal or purpose • Collective (Public) Goods • cannot be selectively denied to individuals • The air we breathe = collective good • The Free-Rider Problem • individuals get the benefit without belonging to the group • to overcome this groups have created benefits for members

12. The Interest Group System • Citizens’ Groups • Types of Citizens’ Groups • Public-Interest Groups- NAACP • Single-Issue Groups- NRA • Ideological Groups- MoveOn • concerned with a wide number of issues

14. The Interest Group System • A Special Category of Interest Group: Governments • States, cities, and other governmental units in the U.S. lobby heavily • Foreign governments are prohibited from certain lobbying activities • Pressure through their embassies with paid lobbyists in Washington

15. Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts • Acquiring Access to Officials • Policy support- Based on providing useful and persuasive information to key officials • Campaign Contributions- Money is key element—amount contributed is staggering • K Street- 20,000+ lobbyists in DC • Regulated by: • Lobbying Disclosure Act-1995 &Honest Leadership & Open Government Act-2007 • Requires lobbyists to register and file detailed reports of activities • “Revolving door” – Capitol Hill to K Street • Some top officials are former lobbyists

16. Total Spending on Lobbying of Federal Government

18. Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts • Lobbying Congress • Most significant resource that groups offer candidates = $$$ • Lobbying Executive Agencies • Targets include • POTUS & presidential staff • Top officials in executive agencies • “Agency capture”- over time the agencies tend to favor the industries they are supposed to regulate- • Lobbying the Courts • Initiating lawsuits- i.e. ACLU • Lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench

19. Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts • Webs of Influence: Groups in the Policy Process • Iron Triangles • Small and informal but stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who are concerned with promoting a particular interest

20. Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts • Webs of Influence: Groups in the Policy Process • Issue Networks • Informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who are brought together temporarily by their shared interest in a particular policy problem • Generally more frequent but less stable than iron triangles • Members of an issue network may change as the issue develops • Once the issue is settled, the network disolves

21. Outside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Public Pressure • Constituency Advocacy: Grassroots Lobbying • Grass-roots lobbying = pressure from constituents • Members of the public try to get lawmakers’ attention • AARP • largest citizen group- over 30 million • Difficult to assess influence

22. Outside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Public Pressure • Electoral Action: Votes and PAC Money • PACs • 4000+ PACs • funneling a group’s election contributions • contributions limited to $10,000 per candidate for each election • Most PACs associated with business • Tend to contribute money to incumbents • 8x as much to incumbents • Amount of influence? • Too much? vs. right to be heard • Citizens United v. FEC (2010) • 1st Amendment issue Percentage of PACS by Category

24. The Group System: Indispensable but Biased • The Contribution of Groups to Self-Government: Pluralism • Serving the “public interest”? • Flaws in Pluralism: Interest-Group Liberalism and Economic Bias • The tendency of officials to support demands of the interest groups • Liberal- the habit of using government to promote group interests • Neither party is “conservative” in the sense of being reluctant to use gov. power to promote groups • Not equally representative • Organization is an unequally distributed resource • Economic groups are the most highly organized • Nearly 2/3 of all lobbying groups are business related

25. The Group System: Indispensable but Biased • A Madisonian Dilemma • Madison’s solution to the problem of factions actually contributes to the problem by the fragmentation of authority among policymakers thereby providing more groups more opportunities to get their way • Federalist #10- A free society must allow pursuit of self-interest • Checks and balances work to protect rights, but also exaggerate influence of minorities • Groups can wield too much influence over individual policies or agencies

26. States in the Nation