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Chapter 11: Interest Groups. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2661990n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox. http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/qlh5nb/on-topic---division-of-power---interest-groups 4 minutes http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/ssjwly/the-world-according-to-aarp
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http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2661990n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBoxhttp://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2661990n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/qlh5nb/on-topic---division-of-power---interest-groupshttp://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/qlh5nb/on-topic---division-of-power---interest-groups 4 minutes http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/ssjwly/the-world-according-to-aarp http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/ckzvqn/hebrew-nationalist
The Role and Reputation of Interest Groups • Defining Interest Groups • An organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at several points to try to achieve those goals. Interest groups pursue their goals in many arenas. • Political Parties fight election battles, Interest Groups don’t (don’t run their own candidates for office) - but they may choose sides. • Interest Groups are policy specialists, Political Parties are policy generalists.
Interest Group Examples • AARP (American Association of Retired People) • Sierra Club (Environment) • NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) • NOW (National Organization of Women) • ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) • NEA (National Education Association) • AMA (American Medical Association) Thousands of interest groups in the US
National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
How do Interest groups get money? • Donations (YOU!) • Foundations Ex. - Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation • Federal grants and contracts
Are interest groups good or bad for Americans politics? • Pluralist Theory • Elite Theory • Hyperpluralist Theory
Pluralism Viewpoint on Interest Groups • Politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies. • Many centers of power and many diverse, competing groups. • Groups compete, no one group is likely to become too dominant. • Groups usually play by the “rules of the game.” • Linkage Institution – links people and government, gives voice to the people • Federalist 10 – Madison said factions are bad, but a necessary evil and will cancel each other out
Elitism Viewpoint on Interest Groups • Definition: • Societies are divided along class lines and an upper-class elite rules, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization. • Numerous groups mean nothing, power is not equally divided among them - some have much more. • Money dominates • The largest corporations hold the most power.
Elite power is strengthened by a system of interlocking directorates of these corporations and other institutions. • Corporate elites are willing to lose the minor policy battles, but work to win the major policy issues in their favor. • Lobbying is a problem because it benefits the few at the expense of the many.
The Revolving Door • A criticism of interest groups • Government officials quit their jobs or don’t get reelected • Then take government jobs for a certain lobbying agency • Fear that private interests by business have an unfair influence on gov decisions • Ex- official does favor in return for later job
Hyperpluralism Viewpoint on Interest Groups • Definition: • Groups are so strong that government is weakened. Extreme, exaggerated form of pluralism. • Subgovernments consist of a network of groups that exercise a great deal of control over specific policy areas. • Interest groups have become too powerful as the government tries to serve every interest.
The many subgovernments (iron triangles) aggravate the process. • When the government tries to please all the groups, the policies become confusing and contradictory. • With more interest groups getting involved, these subgovernments may be dissolving.
What Makes an Interest Group Successful? • A. The Surprising Ineffectiveness of Large Groups • Potential group: All the people who might be interest group members because they share a common interest. • Actual group: The part of the potential group consisting of members who actually join. • Collective good: Something of value that cannot be withheld from a group member
Free-Rider problem: Some people don’t join interest groups because they benefit from the group’s activities without officially joining. • The bigger the group, the larger the free-rider problem. (Olson’s law of large groups) • Large groups are difficult to keep organized. • Small groups are better organized and more focused on the group’s goals. • Consumer groups have a difficult time getting significant policy gains - the benefits are spread over the entire population. • Groups that can provide selective benefits can overcome this problem.
B. Intensity • Single-Issue groups: Groups that focus on a narrow interest and dislike compromise. • Groups may focus on an emotional issue, providing them with a psychological advantage. • May be more likely to use protests and other means of political participation than traditional interest groups that use lobbyists.
C. Financial Resources • Not all groups have equal amounts of money. • Monetary donations usually translate into access to the politicians - a phone call, a meeting, etc. • There is a bias towards the wealthier groups. • The wealthier groups don’t always win in the policy arena.
The Interest Group Explosion Figure 11.3
How Groups Try to Shape Policy? • A. Lobbying • -“communication by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a governmental decision maker with the hope of influencing his decision.”
Lobbyists are a source of information, especially in technical areas, for legislators. • Lobbyists can provide ideas and innovations that can be turned into policies that the politician can take credit for. • Lobbyists can help politicians plan political strategies for legislation and for reelection campaigns (Electioneering & PACs). • Lobbyists mainly try to influence politicians through information rather than wining and dining them • Money given to candidates more equals access to a politician than buying (bribery) their votes • Affects policy the most when the issue is narrow in scope and has a low public visibility • Lobbying takes place more in the US system than the UK system because really only cabinet members make policy instead of MPs in the UK system.
B. Electioneering • Direct group involvement in the election process. • Political Action Committee (PAC): Used by interest groups to donate money to candidates. • PACs help pay the bill for increasing campaign costs. • Most PAC money goes to incumbents.
C. Litigation • If an interest group fails in one arena, the courts may be able to provide a remedy. • Interest groups can file amicus curiae briefs in court cases to support their position. • Class Action lawsuits permit small groups of people to try and correct a situation on behalf of a much larger group.
D. Going Public • Groups try and cultivate a good public image. • Groups use marketing strategies to influence public opinion of the group and its issues. • Groups will purchase advertising to motivate the public about an issue.