8- 1

1. Interest Groups 8-1

2. Interest Groups Interest groups are groups of citizens who share a common interest, whether a political opinion, religious affiliation, ideological belief, social goal, or economic objective, and that try to influence public policy to benefit their members. • Constitutionally, they are protected under the First Amendment’s right of association. • The right to freely associate with others and form groups • They are also the very factions that Madison warned about. • Madison defined a faction as any group that places its own interests above the aggregate interests of society. Interest Groups

3. Types of Interest Groups Most interest groups arise from conditions in public life. • A proactive group arises when an enterprising individual sees an opening or opportunity to create the group for social, political, or economic purposes. • A reactive group forms to protect the interests of the members in response to a perceived threat from another group, or to fight a government policy they believe will adversely affect them, or to respond to an unexpected external event. Interest Groups

4. Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous All interest groups are based on the idea that members joining together in a group can secure a shared benefit that would not be available to them if they acted alone. • Groups whose members share a number of common characteristics are described as homogeneous. • Groups whose members come from varied backgrounds are described as heterogeneous. Interest Groups

5. The Right of Petition Interest groups do not exist in a void. They form for the specific purpose of influencing public policy. • The right of petition gives individuals with a claim against the government the right to ask for compensation, but it also includes the right to petition to ask for a policy change or to express opposition to a policy. Interest Groups

6. Lobbying Today, the rights of association and petition most often take the form of lobbying. • Lobbyists try to persuade elected officials to adopt or reject a specific policy change. • Lobbying is a legitimate form of petitioning, and interest groups of all sizes and purposes engage in it, from big corporations such as Microsoft or Google to large-scale grassroots groups such as the Sierra Club. • Grassroots groups form in response to an economic or political event, but do not focus on only one issue. Interest Groups

7. How Does Lobbying Work? Interest groups lobby the legislative, executive, and even judicial branches of government, at the state and federal levels. • They meet with staff aides to members of Congress to make the case for their policy goals. • They try to influence the executive branch by meeting personally with key bureaucrats and policymakers. • Lobbying of the judicial branch takes the form of lawsuits for/against government policies. Interest Groups

8. Economic Interest Groups Economic interest groups form to advance the economic status of their members and are defined by a specific set of financial or business concerns. • Trade associations are a subcategory of economic interest groups that focus on particular businesses or industries. Examples are: • Chamber of Commerce • National Retail Association • Professional associations are similar, as they are formed by individuals who share a similar job. Examples are: • American Bar Association • American International Automobile Dealers Association Interest Groups

9. Economic Interest Groups (Cont’d) • Large corporations can be included as a type of economic interest group, because they try to influence policy on their own as well as joining trade associations comprised of businesses with similar goals. Examples are: • Wal-Mart • Comcast • Boeing Interest Groups

10. Unions Unions are a type of economic interest group comprised of people who share a common type of employment. Unions seek safer working conditions and better wages for their members. • Collective bargaining is protected by the National Labor Relations Act, passed by Congress in 1935. • The act provides that only one union can be selected to represent workers in a specific location. • Their power rests in their ability to call strikes or work stoppages. • Power to mobilize members to vote for or against a candidate. Interest Groups

11. Unions (Cont’d) • When the industry they represent loses jobs, union membership shrinks; and the smaller the union, the less power it can exert on both manufacturers and elected officials. Interest Groups

12. Unions (Cont’d) • Despite the recent downturn  in membership in large industrial and manufacturing unions, unions representing teachers, health service workers, communications workers, and government employees have all made large gains over the past two decades. Interest Groups

13. Ideological Interest Groups Ideological interest groups form among citizens with the same beliefs about a specific issue. • Economic benefits are not the primary basis for their existence. • Citizens’ Groups • These are typically formed to draw attention to public issues that affect all citizens equally, such as environmental protection, transparency in government, consumer product safety, ethics reform, and campaign finance reform. Interest Groups

14. Ideological Interest Groups (Cont’d) • Single-issue groups form to present one view on a highly salient issue that is intensely important to its members, such as the right to carry a concealed weapon is to Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. • Although grassroots groups form in response to an economic or political event, they do not focus on only one issue. • Example: MoveOn.org Interest Groups

15. Ideological Groups and Polarization • Because ideological groups get power from the fact that it has agreement within its ranks on a highly salient issue, it discourages debate and disagreement within the group, and any type of compromise outside  the group. This leads to polarization between ideologically opposed groups. • Polarization is the condition in which differences between parties and/or the public are so stark that disagreement breaks out, fueling attacks and controversy. Interest Groups

16. Foreign Policy Groups • Foreign policy groups form to generate support for favorable U.S. policies toward one or several foreign countries. Example: • Example: American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) • Other foreign policy groups focus attention on human rights violations or starvation in certain areas of the world. • Example: Coalition to Save Darfur Interest Groups

17. Foreign Policy Groups (Cont’d)The Coalition to Save Darfur The Coalition to Save Darfur is an interest group that mobilizes people to e-mail, call, or send letters to their legislators on behalf of its effort to end violence and famine in the Darfur region of the African nation of Somalia. In 2006 thousands joined a grassroots rally in New York City to express their support for sending United Nations troops to Darfur to help stop the violence there. Interest Groups

18. What Interest Groups Do Interest groups perform a number of functions in the political process. • Inform • All interest groups provide information to their members, the media, government officials, and the general public. Interest Groups

19. What Interest Groups Do (Cont’d) • Lobby • Almost every kind of group, with every kind of economic interest or political opinion, engages in one form of lobbying or another. • Lobbyists • According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in 2009 there were 13,739 individuals registered as active lobbyists in Washington, D.C. • The lobbyists phone, e-mail, or meet with congressional staffers, their clients, and possibly members of the media to gather information about relevant issues for their clients or to promote their clients’ policy positions. Interest Groups

20. What Interest Groups Do (Cont’d) Top Spenders on Lobbying Interest Groups

21. What Interest Groups Do (Cont’d) • Lobbying Strategies • Inside Lobbying is where lobbyists deal directly with legislators and their staff in asking for a specific policy benefit or in trying to stop a policy that they oppose. • Public or Outside Lobbying is where a group may go straight to the press to provide details about the adverse effects of the proposal, in the hopes that journalists will then inform the general public. • Grassroots Lobbying is where groups encourage an actionamong their own members and the larger public to try to influence public policy. Interest Groups

22. What Interest Groups Do (Cont’d) • Campaign Activities • Interest groups also promote their views by engaging in campaign activities, though federal law regulates their participation. • 501(c)(3) groups have a tax-exempt status and are prohibited from engaging in any activity on behalf of a candidate or party in an election campaign. • Political Action Committees (PACs) raise funds to support electoral candidates and are subject to campaign finance laws. • Issue advocacy is the practice of running advertisements or distributing literature on a policy issue rather than a specific candidate. Interest Groups

23. Top Twenty PAC Contributors, 2009—2010 Interest Groups

24. The Impact of Interest Groups on the Democratic Process Do interest groups provide a natural balance or do they create disproportionate power? • Robert Dahl argued that in a pluralistsociety, the varied interest groups that emerge to represent their members will, in their battles over public policy, produce a consensus that serves the public’s common interest. • Pluralism is a view of democratic society in which interest groups compete over policy goals and elected officials are mediators of group conflict. Interest Groups

25. The Impact of Interest Groups on the Democratic Process (Cont’d) • Theodore Lowi argued that in a democracy some voices are louder than others and that government is more responsive to louder voices and will consistently serve those groups at the expense of those who cannot make their voices heard. • Elitism is a view of democratic society in which only a select few interest groups shape policies in favor of a small group of wealthy or powerful citizens. • Special interests are a set of groups seeking a particular benefit for themselves in the policy process. Interest Groups

26. Self-Service or Public Service • Iron Triangle describes the insular and closed relationship among interest groups, members of Congress, and federal agencies. • Today an iron triangle can be seen as operative in issues related to health care and prescription drugs. Interest Groups

27. Self-Service or Public Service (Cont’d) Interest Groups

28. Self-Service or Public Service (Cont’d) • Revolving door describes the movement of members of Congress, lobbyists, and executive branch employees into paid positions in each other’s organizations. Shown (r) Representative Billy Tauzin (R-La.) As chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative Tauzin was instrumental in passing the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act in 2003. In 2005, Representative Tauzin left the House of Representatives to be named president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a major beneficiary of that Medicare Prescription Drug bill. Interest Groups

29. Issue Networks Hugh Heclo claims that the interconnections of interest groups and the government is more benign, suggesting that the term issue networks is better than iron triangle to describes the relationship. • The relationship among interest groups, members of Congress, and federal agencies is more fluid, open, and transparent than the term iron triangle suggests. • Congress and the federal bureaucracy each have an elaborate set of rules governing their behavior with respect to interest groups and lobbyists, and most members and bureaucrats follow them closely. Interest Groups

30. Characteristics of Successful Interest Groups Leadership Accountability • Successful leadership takes an individual who acts as an interest group entrepreneur to organize citizens into a formal group that agrees on a united purpose. • Transparency • This is an important democratic element of interest groups; without it, there is a risk that the leaders could act in ways that do not properly serve their members. • Membership feedback • Members must be able to register satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the group’s leadership. Interest Groups

31. Characteristics of Successful Interest Groups (Cont’d) Membership Stability • Whether a group is small or large, attracting and keeping members over time are essential to its survival. • Selective benefits • Attract and keep members by providing benefits exclusive to members. • These can include material benefits, such as direct monetary benefits from policies that the group  advocates, discounts on travel or prescriptions, and even monthly magazines   Interest Groups

32. Characteristics of Successful Interest Groups (Cont’d) • Solidarity Benefits • Benefits to members of a group that are intangible but come from interacting with people who share similar professional or personal interests • Expressive Benefits • Benefits to interest group members of having a specific opinion expressed in the larger social or political sphere Interest Groups

33. Characteristics of Successful Interest Groups (Cont’d) • The Free Rider Problem • Many of the benefits that large interest groups seek on behalf of their members—clean air by the Sierra Club, or gun rights by the National Rifle Association—are public goods; i.e., they are available to all. • Public goods are goods or benefits provided by government from which everyone benefits and from which no one can be excluded. Interest Groups

34. Characteristics of Successful Interest Groups (Cont’d) • Tangible Benefits • The Sierra Club makes membership more attractive by providing material benefits like a knapsack or calendar. • The National Rifle Association provides members with a magazine subscription, a window sticker, and small life insurance policies. • Economic and Political Changes • Changes in both the economy and the political environment can affect the stability of a group’s membership. Interest Groups

35. Characteristics of Successful Interest Groups (Cont’d) • Financial Stability • Groups must establish financial stability; i.e., they require money to sustain their organizations. • One method of raising funds is membership dues; i.e., funds that individuals or businesses pay to join the group. • Some groups file for “not for profit” status. Interest Groups

36. Interest Groups and Public Policy Immigration • Interest groups align along both sides of the debate. • Proponents of amnesty argue that bringing illegal residents into legal society would make it possible for them to earn fair wages, participate in politics, and pay taxes on their earnings. • Example: National Council of La Raza • Opponents of immigration reform argue that the previous amnesty program encouraged more people to enter the United States illegally and that illegal immigrants take away jobs from the legal resident population. • Example: NumbersUSA Interest Groups

37. Interest Groups and Public Policy— Immigration (Cont’d) On March 21, 2010, Reform America staged a huge march on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., calling for immigration reform that includes a secure border strategy, expansion of the number of legal immigration visas, and amnesty for illegal immigrants currently in the United States. Through the use of mass media and advanced technology, groups can organize protest marches on a much larger scale than ever before. Interest Groups

38. Focus Questions • How do interest groups influence economic and social policy? • How do interest groups help or hinder government responsiveness to all citizens in an equal and fair way? • Are interest groups themselves democratic organizations? Are their leaders accountable to their members? Explain. • Do interest groups balance each other out across income levels, regions, and ethnic backgrounds? Explain and give examples. • Are interest groups gates, or gateways, to democracy? Interest Groups