To Accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, and Texas Editions American Government: Roots and Reform, 10th edition Karen O’Connor and Larry J. Sabato  Pearson Education, 2009  Chapter 16 Interest Groups

Interest Groups

Interest Group Theory  Groups build social capital and civic virtue.  Their main goal is to influence public policy.  They don’t run candidates for office, but try to influence.  Variety of theories exist about why groups form.  Pluralist theory says power is distributed among a variety of competing groups.  Related to disturbance theory: groups will form to oppose competing groups that caused a disturbance in system

Interest Group Theory  Transactions theory: holds that policies are results of narrowly defined exchanges among political actors.  Believe it isn’t rational for people to form groups, and those that form represent elites.  Neopluralist theory (i.e. population ecology theory) argues life of organization is conditional on density/diversity of number of groups in an area.

Types of Organized Interests  Public interest groups (i.e. NARAL, NRA) seek collective good that doesn’t necessarily benefit members.  Economic interest groups (i.e. AFL-CIO, NAM) primary purpose of promoting financial interest of members  Governmental units, lobby for earmarks for state or local governments.

Types of Organized Interests  Political Action Committees (i.e. EMILY’s List) do political fund raising and give to candidates who support the group’s ideals.  Multi-issue versus single-issue groups mean there are many different competing interest groups.

Roots of Interest Groups  First national groups emerge in 1830s.  Many were single issue groups tied to religious revival movement like temperence, slavery, and women’s rights.  WCTU opposed alcohol because it left families destitute.  Business interests play larger role after Civil War.  The Grange represented farming interests.  Large trusts and monopolies gained power in government.

Roots of Interest Groups  Groups begin to send lobbyists to Washington at that time.  Progressive era leads to an explosion of groups.  Wanted to see reforms made to help society.  Growth of labor and trade associations starting with AFL in 1886, later led to passage of Clayton Act in  Business groups like NAM and Chamber of Commerce tried to overturn Clayton Act, but were hurt by FTC formation in 1928.

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The Interest Group State  Expansion of civil rights and groups in 1960s cause this.  Examples include ACLU, NAACP, and other minority groups rise from Civil Rights Movement.  AARP also comes from this time period.  Public groups like Common Cause and Public Citizen form.  These were watchdog groups to pressure Congress.  Declining power of organized labor.

The Interest Group State  Development of conservative and religious groups, late 1960s, boom in 1980s and currently.  Start with Moral Majority in 1978, then Christian Coalition in 1990, and growth in power for NRA.  Evolution of new business groups dedicated to lobbying, like Business Roundtable and corporate lobbying  Declining power of organized labor has happened in last few decades, but still powerful in some areas.

Lobbying  Interest Groups hire Lobbyists to represent the interests of their members to policy makers.  They give voice to many who would not have one otherwise.  Downside is that they can increase costs of public policies with their demands.  Target Congress through research, money, or testimony.  Work closely with representatives who share their interests.  Many members of Congress become lobbyists after leaving.

Lobbying  Also target bureaucratic agencies and the president.  Much work is done with regulatory agencies- Iron Triangles.  These are the policy-making relationships among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy, and interest groups  Lobby courts through amicus curiae briefs for certain cases, or by trying to influence judicial nominations.  Can use grassroots techniques, such as petitions.  May also resort to protests and activism, such as those by PETA and Operation Rescue.

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Lobbying – Iron Triangles

Lobbying

Lobbying - Examples Tobacco lobbyists usually try to convince Congress that their cigarettes aren’t dangerous. Trailer: (3 minutes) Senate hearing clip: (1 minute)

Lobbying - Examples Gallup Poll Ranking the honesty and ethics of Lobbyists: ethics-rating-clergy-slides-new-low.aspxhttp:// ethics-rating-clergy-slides-new-low.aspx

Election Activities  Recruiting and endorsing candidates (Emily’s List, WISH List)  Organizing get out the vote efforts. (MoveOn.org, Progress for America)  Rating candidates and office holders. (American Conservative Union, Americans for Democratic Action)Rating candidates and office holders  Establishing political action committees to give directly to candidates.

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What Makes a Group Successful?  Leaders, to inspire membership, including choosing well- known people to lead for their notoriety.  Patrons, for funding, like governments, foundations or wealthy individuals.  Members, who are involved at varying levels.Members  Leaders are at the top, workers in the middle, rank and file members at the bottom, and pay dues but little else.

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What Makes a Group Successful?  Membership helps to overcome the free rider problem.  This is when potential members are unlikely to join because they will get benefits of membership without joining.  Several factors for this, including threat of losing benefits elsewhere.  Particularly true for groups that provide collective goods.

Regulating Interest Groups  1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act regulates Congress.  Requires lobbyists to register and report payments.  New 2007 Honest Leadership and Open Government Act.  Bans gifts, toughens disclosure, increases time limits.  Executive regulated by 1978 Ethics in Government Act.Ethics in Government Act

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