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Learn about hard money and soft money in elections, the role of interest groups in democracy, and the impact of various types of interest groups on US politics. Explore the structures of economic groups and citizen groups. Dive into the National Rifle Association and different strategies used by interest groups to influence policy.
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POL3162Introduction to American Politics INTEREST GROUPS SHANG E. HA SOGANG UNIVERSITY
From Previous Class…. • Hard Money • funds that can be used to help elect or defeat a specific candidate • donations to the primaries and general elections count separately. • Has limits (by the FEC) • Soft Money • Contributions that are not used to help a specific candidate (contributions that can be used for voter mobilization or to promote a policy proposal or point of view as long as these efforts are not tied to supporting or opposing a particular candidate) • No limits
From Previous Class… • A 527 organization can raise unlimited soft money from individuals or corporations for voter mobilization and for issue advocacy, but these expenditures must not be coordinated with a candidate or a party (which means that 527s cannot advocate the election or defeat of a particular candidate or political party). • A 501(c)(4) organization can raise unlimited soft money for voter mobilization and for issue advocacy, and does not have to disclose contributors. But 501(c)(4)s cannot coordinate efforts with candidates or parties. Plus, at least half of their activities must be non-political. • Political action committee (PAC) is an interest group or a division of an interest group that can raise money to contribute to campaigns or to spend on ads in support of candidates. The amount of a PAC can receive from each of its donors and the amount it can spend on federal campaigns are strictly limited. • “Super” PACs can spend unlimited amounts on voter mobilization and issue advocacy (even from corporations and labor unions) and can support or oppose specific candidates. But they cannot make contributions to candidates or coordinate efforts with candidates or parties.
Overview • APT, Chapter 9 • What roles do interest groups play in a democracy? • The logic of collective action • What kind of strategies do interest groups implement? • How much power do interest group have in the US politics? (a lot…..??)
The Interest Group Universe • Interest groups –organizations of people who share common political beliefs and aim to influence policy by electioneering and lobbying • Lobbying –efforts to influence public policy through contact with public officials on behalf of an interest group
The Interest Group Universe: National Rifle Association • More than 4 million individuals belong to the National Rifle Association (NRA), one of the most powerful interest groups in America. • At their national convention (shown here), members can attend a gun show and meetings where they debate the group’s goals and select leaders.
Types of Interest Groups • Economic group – a type of interest group that seeks public policies that will provide monetary benefits to its members • Citizen group –a type of interest group that seeks changes in spending, regulations, or government programs concerning a wide range of policies (also known as a public interest group) • Single-issue group –a type of interest group that has a narrowly focused goal and seeks change on a single topic, government program, or piece of legislation
Types of Economic Groups • Trade Associations • They are composed of companies in the same industry or business. • E.g., the National Beer Wholesalers Association. • Labor unions • lobby for exclusive use of union labor on government contracts and strongly support the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier to start unions in the private sector. • Professional Organizations • They are composed of individuals who join in their capacity as professionals (examples include doctors, lawyers, and teachers). • E.g., the American Medical Association.
Organizational Structures • Two different types of groups are centralized groups and confederations • Large groups like the AARP and the NRA are centralized • Headquarters typically in Washington, D.C. • Members and offices throughout the country • Lobbying decisions made by group leaders in headquarters • These are efficient, but it’s tougher to know what members on the ground want. • Independent and local organizations are often structured as confederations. • An example is the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). • Often, local groups from across the nation band together to form a larger group. • Easy to read the local members, but hard to band together and move in one direction toward a singular goal
Staff • There are generally two types of staff that make up an interest group: • Experts on policy areas • People who know people Revolving Door – a term describing movement of individuals from government positions to jobs with interest groups or lobbying firms and vice versa. • Over 40 percent of representatives leaving the House or Senate from 1998 to 2005 became lobbyists after leaving. • K Street – a shorthand term for referring to Washington lobbyists as a group. It was derived from the name of the street in Washington, D.C., where lobbying firms were once concentrated.
Membership (Mass. vs Peak Organizations) • Mass associations – interest groups that have a large number of dues-paying individuals as members • Peak associations – interest groups whose members are businesses or other organizations rather than individuals • Mass associations are similar to AARP. For $16 in annual dues, members get: • Discounts on car rentals, insurance, hotels etc. • Help doing their taxes • Legislative program (This is arguably the most powerful lobby in Washington and its own members barely know about it!) • Peak associations are like BIPAC (Business-Industry Political Action Committee): • This is an association of several hundreds of businesses and trade associations that aims to elect “pro-business individuals” to Congress. • An individual cannot directly join a peak association.
The Logic of Collective Action • Free riding – the practice of relying on others to contribute to a collective effort—while failing to participate on one’s own behalf—and still benefiting from the group’s success • An example that students have often experienced is group work with a common grade. If everyone gets the same grade, then the grade is a public good but individual members have an incentive to slack off (free ride) and hope that a more motivated student picks up the slack and earns them all an A. • Because governmental changes to policies affect everyone, whether they worked for the change or not, it is hard to motivate people to work for the change.
Overcoming Collective Action Problems • Solitary benefits – satisfaction derived from the experience of working with like-minded people • Purposive benefits – satisfaction derived from the experience of working toward a desired policy goal • Coercion – a method of eliminating free riding by potential group members by requiring participation, as in many labor unions • Selective incentives – benefits that are available only to those who participate, such as member services offered by interest groups • Studies show that people join interest groups either out of a sense of internal obligation or duty, external coercion, orselective incentives.
Different Strategies for Different Groups • Inside strategies – tactics used by interest groups within Washington, D.C., to achieve their policy goals • Direct lobbying –attempts by interest group staff to influence policy by speaking with elected officials or bureaucrats • Outside strategies –tactics used by interest groups outside Washington, D.C., to achieve their policy goals
Lobbing the Federal Government: Inside and Outside Strategies
The National Rifle Association’s Lobbying Strategies in the Right For Gun Control
How Much Power Do Interest Groups Have? • The theory of bureaucratic capture says that regulators become “captured” (persuaded by or beholden to) the industries they are supposed to regulate. • This idea would dictate that interest groups always have the upper hand, because they have concentrated wealth at stake, greater expertise on the issue at hand, and are organized to marshal resources (people/money/expertise) more quickly than the regulators or the people.
But…. The evidence does not support these fears. Interest groups are neither omnipotent nor impotent; they get some of what they want, some of the time. It is important to recall four truths about interest groups: • They tend to lobby friends more than enemies and undecideds, and they will moderate their demands in the face of resistance. • Complaints about the power of interest groups often come from the losers of a political conflict. • Many interest groups will claim that they affected policy even if their lobbying had no discernible effect on the outcome. • Interest groups are almost always active on both sides of a conflict so if one or more groups are “successful” than there are likely one or more “unsuccessful” groups on the other side.
Interest Groups: Electioneering and Types of Organizations
Success of Interest Groups • Amount of Public Attention • Interest groups are more likely to succeed when their request attracts little public attention • The National Turkey Federation: In 2002, they persuaded federal bureaucrats to change federally funded school lunch program regulations in a way that increased the allowable amount of turkey in various meals. • Level of Conflict • Disagreements between interest groups • The National Turkey Federation vs. The American Pork Producers/the American Cattlemen • Differences between what a particular interest group wants and the preferences of the general public
What about more complicated/conflictual issues? • Gun control • There was no consensus among members of Congress, interest groups, or the American public about which policy changes were needed • Under these conditions, stalemate is the likely result • If policy change occurs at all, it is likely to reflect a complex process of bargaining and compromise, with no groups getting exactly what they want • Generally speaking, no group is likely to get everything it wants
