Chapter 7

1. Chapter 7 Interest Groups

2. What Are Interest Groups? • An organized group that tries to influence public policy • David Truman • One of first to study interest groups • Posed Disturbance Theory • Theory that interest groups form in part to counteract the efforts of other groups.

3. What Are Interest Groups? • Robert Salisbury • Expanded Truman’s theory • Groups form when resources are inadequate or scarce • Stressed the role that leaders play: entrepreneurs

4. Why Interest Groups are Common • Many kinds of cleavages in the country mean that there are many different interests

5. Why Interest Groups are Common • The Constitution provides many access points to government • Political parties are weak so interests work directly on government

6. Generally, interest groups is a term used to describe the numerous organized groups that try to influence government policy. Public Interest Groups Economic Interest Groups Governmental Units Political Action Committees Multi-Issue versus Single Issue Groups Kinds of Organized Interests

7. Profiles of Selected Interest Groups

8. The Roots & Development of American Interest Groups • National groups emerge (1830-1889) • Communication networks enabled nationalization of groups • First were single-issue groups deeply rooted in the Christian religious revivalism • Temperance, Peace, Education, and Slavery • Other groups emerged after the Civil War • Lobbyists • Interest group representative who seeks to influence legislation that will benefit his or her organization through political persuasion.

9. NRA membership

10. The Roots & Development of American Interest Groups • The Progressive Era (1890-1920) • Grew out of concern for impact of rapid industrialization, influx of immigration, monopolistic business practices, crime, poverty, poor working conditions • Organized Labor • AFL • Clayton Act: allowed unions to organize free from prosecution and guaranteed their right to strike • Business Groups and Trade Associations • Trade Associations: a group that represents a specific industry • National Electric Light Association

11. Labor Union Membership

12. 1960s and 1970s saw a reappearance of the Progressive spirit. Civil Rights Women’s Rights Elderly Poor Consumers Environment Common Cause and Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen Conservative Backlash: Religious and Ideological Groups Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority Pat Robertson, the 700 Club and the Christian Coalition National Rifle Association The Rise of the Interest Group State

13. Business Groups, Corporations, and Associations • Rise in business advocacy groups • More political than Chamber of Commerce • Example: The Business Roundtable • Created in 1972 • Urges member to engage in direct lobbying to influence the course of public policy • Most large corporations have • Own governmental affairs department • Employ D.C.-based lobbyists to keep them apprised of legislation • Gave substantial soft money in the past • Still use PACS, 527s, and thus contribute a great deal of money

14. Organized Labor • Began to emerge as powerful player early in the 20th century • Could turn out members • Focus not only on labor issues, but also other issues of concern to its members • More recently labor has lost some clout • Membership down

15. What Do Interest Groups Do? • Lobbying • The activities of a group or organization that seeks to influence legislation and persuade political leaders to support the group’s position • 23 ways for lobbyists and organizations to lobby on the state and national level • Most often they: testify at legislative hearings, contact government officials directly, help draft legislation

16. Groups and Lobbyists

17. Lobbying Congress • Members of Congress = targets of lobbyists • Many lobbyists former members • Former Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and George Mitchell (D-ME) earn well over a million dollars a year as Washington lobbyists.

18. Lobbying Congress • Today lobbyists try to develop close relationships with members to gain access to the process of policy making. • Information is critical. • Lobbyists also work most closely with representatives who are their friends. • “Revolving Door”

19. The “Revolving Door” • Federal government workers leave to take more lucrative positions in private industry (lobbying, consulting, executive positions) • This may give private interests a way to improperly influence government decisions

20. Attempts to Reform Congressional Lobbying • Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act, 1946 • Lobbying Disclosure Act, 1995 • Employs a strict definition of lobbyist • Requires lobbyists to: • Register with the clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate • Report their clients and issues and the agency or house they lobbied • Estimate the amount they are paid by each client • Makes it easier for watchdog groups to track the lobbying activity

21. The Ethics in Government Act

22. Lobbying the Executive Branch • As the scope of federal government has expanded, so has lobbying of the executive branch • Many potential access points • Lobbyist seek influence at formation and implementation stages. • An especially strong link exists between interest groups and regulatory agencies.

23. Lobbying the Courts • Can take two forms • Direct sponsorship • Filing amicus curiae briefs • Brief that informs the court of the group’s policy preferences, generally in guise of legal arguments • Interest groups also attempt to influence who is nominated and placed on the bench.

24. Grassroots Lobbying • A form of pressure-group activity that attempts to involve individuals who contact their representatives directly in an effort to influence policy • Persuading ordinary voters to act as the group’s advocates

25. Astroturf Lobbying • Efforts - usually led by interest groups (or Corporations) with deep financial pockets - to create synthetic grass-roots movements by aggressively encouraging voters to contact their elected officials about specific issues.

26. Protest Activities • Some groups resort to more forceful, legal as well as illegal measures to attract attention to their cause. • Sometimes violent, illegal protest (Boston Tea Party, Shay’s Rebellion) • Civil Rights Movement • Marches with permits legal

27. Election Activities • Candidate recruitment and endorsements • Getting out the vote • Rating the candidates or office holders • Political action committees

28. Incentives to Join • Solidary incentives—pleasure, companionship • Material incentives—money, things, services • Purposive incentives—goal/purpose of the organization itself • 2 types –Ideological and Public Interest

29. What Makes An Interest Group Successful? • Leaders • Patrons and Funding • Person who finances a group or individual activity • Members • Free riders: potential members fail to join a group because they can get the benefit, or collective good, sought by the group without contributing to it.

30. Potential Versus Actual Interest Group Members

31. Interest Groups as Factions • Madison (Federalist 10) – his description of factions defines the interest groups found today • Madison’s broad language “The latent causes of faction are sown in the nature of man..” predicted the potential for multiple factions on many topics • Definition: People who share common goals, interact with each other, and organize to affect the public agenda.

32. Interest Groups as linkage institutions • Strategies to influence the public agenda * Information & education of public, Congress, White House, etc. * Mass media appeal * Mass mailings * Electioneering activities: campaigning, issue ads, etc. * Political Action Committees (PACs)

33. Interest Groups’ Influence • Positive: Advantage for democracybecause itallows individual citizens to influence government in ways that are beyond their ballot – links them to the public agenda • Negative: The poorer citizens & those in minorities are poorly represented / there is too much money involved in the process (elitist) / and there is too much opportunity for influence of the public agenda to be purchased