Interests Groups

1. Interests Groups • People joining together in order to protect a common interest, is a basic part of the democratic process. • This right is protected by the Constitution. • Interest groups are sometimes called pressure groups. • Special interest • Organized interest • Lobbies • They also give themselves such names as clubs, associations, committees, leagues, and federations. • No matter what they are called, they exist to influence public policy.

2. Types of Interest Groups • Economic based interest groups – those that represent business, labor, agriculture, and certain professions. • Business groups – businesses that are looking to protect their interests. • National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) • Represents big business in public affairs • Chamber of Commerce • Represents smaller businesses • Trade Associations – interest groups of the business community

3. Types of Interest Groups • Labor Groups – A labor union is an organization of workers who share the same job or work in the same industry. • Try to shape government policy that will benefit their members. • Less than 13.5% of the nation’s labor force • The largest, the AFL-CIO, is made up of over 100 separate unions. (13 million members) • There are also a number of independent unions that are not affiliated with the AFL-CIO. • Work for things like Social Security programs, minimum wages, and unemployment benefits.

4. Types of Interest Groups • Agricultural Groups – represent the interests of the American farmer. • The National Grange is the most prominent. • Concerned with the welfare of the farming families • 400,000 members • The Farm Bureau is the largest and most effective of these groups. (4 million members) • Supports federal programs to promote agriculture • It opposes government regulation and favors the free market economy.

5. Types of Interest Groups • Professional Groups – these are defined as those occupations that require extensive and specialized training. • Medicine • Law • Teaching • These groups work to maintain, promote, and protect their interests. • AMA • ABA • NEA • These groups have an impact on public policy at every level of government.

6. Types of Interest Groups • Cause Groups – work to promote a cause of idea. • ACLU • Organizations that promote welfare of certain groups • Work to promote the welfare of certain segments of the American population. • Religious Organizations try to influence public policy in several areas. • Public Interest Groups – this is an interest group that seeks to institute certain public policies of benefit to all or most people in this country.

7. Interest Groups at Work • Influencing public opinion • Supply the public with information • To build a positive image for the group • To promote a particular public policy • Propaganda is a technique of persuassion aimed at influencing individual or group behavior. • The use of mass media plays an important role in the use of propaganda.

8. Influencing Parties and Elections • Interest groups try to influence the behavior of political parties. • They become a major source of campaign funding in our government today. • PACs or political action committees raise and distribute money to candidates through these committees. • Lobbying is defined as those activities by which group pressures are brought to bear on legislators and the legislative process.

9. Lobbyists at Work • Liked to be called by some other title, such as “legislative counsel” or “public representative.” • A large part of a lobbyists success depends on how well they know the political system. • Lobbyists use a lot of different techniques to try to persuade legislators and other policy makers to share their point of view. • They use “grass roots” tactics to pressure law makers. Grass roots means from the people or average voter.

10. Lobbyists at Work • The groups that lobbyists speak for can mount campaigns by e-mail, letter, postcard, and phone from the “folks back home.” • A lobbyist today is much different from those of the past. • They are ready to make campaign contributions, provide information, write speeches, and even draft legislation.

11. Lobby Regulation • Abuse does occur now and then. • False or misleading testimony • Bribery • Unethical pressures • Congress passed the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act in 1946. • Lobbyists were required to register with the clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate. • Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 was passed to strengthen the act of 1946. • Registration is required by all lobbyists and organizations. • Each State has its own sets of laws and regulations for lobbyists.

12. Interests Groups • Interest groups function at all levels of government. • Political Parties & Interest Groups • Both political parties and interest groups overlap. • Three major differences between the two. • Making nominations • Primary focus • Scope of the interest

13. Interests Groups • Valuable functions of interest groups: • Stimulate interest in public affairs • Those issues that concern the public at large • Represent their members on a basis of shared attitudes (not based on geography) • What members think as opposed to what happens where they live (labor unions) • Organized interest often provide useful, specialized, and detailed information to government. • Interests groups are vehicles for political participation. • Interests groups add another element to the checks-and-balances feature of the political process. • They also compete with one another in the public arena.

14. Criticisms of Interest Groups • Some have an influence far out of proportion to their size, importance, or contribution to public good. • It is hard to tell just how many are represented by an interest group. • Many do not express the views of all of the people that they claim to represent. • Some groups use tactics that would undermine the entire political system.