Interest Groups Chapter 16

In This Chapter What are Interest Groups? What do Interest Groups Do? What makes an Interest Group successful? Criticisms

What are Interest Groups? An Interest Group (special interest) is an organization of people with similar policy goals that tries to influence the political process to try to achieve those goals Interest groups try to influence every branch and every level of government

The Roots and Development of American Interest Groups Interest groups have been part of the American political landscape since the country’s founding James Madison in Federalist #10 argued for a proliferation of groups so that no one group could get hegemony over the other groups The open nature of the American government invites organized political participation

Roots of Interest Groups 1st national groups emerge in 1830s Business interests play larger role after Civil War Groups begin to send Lobbyists to Washington Progressive era leads to an explosion of groups Growth of labor and trade associations

The Interest Group State Expansion of civil rights and groups in 1960s Development of conservative and religious groups Evolution of new business groups dedicated to lobbying Declining power of organized labor We are all members of interest groups?

Roots of the American Interest Group System Community Groups Groups build social capital and civic virtue Their main goal is to influence public policy Social Capital - cooperative relationships that facilitate the resolution of collective problems Civic Virtue - the tendency to from small-scale associations for the public good

The Rise of the Interest Group State Expansion of civil rights and groups in 1960s NAACP and ACLU Nader’s Unsafe at Any Speed Common Cause and Public Citizen Rise of conservative/religious groups Evolution of new business groups dedicated to lobbying Declining power of organized labor

Types of Organized Interests Public Interest Groups (NRA) Economic Interest Groups (AFL-CIO, NAM) Governmental units, who lobby for earmarks Political Action Committees (EMILY’s List) Multi-issue versus single-issue groups

Table 16.1: What are the characteristics of selected interest groups?

What Do Interest Groups Do? The most common and effective interest group technique is lobbying or seeking to influence and persuade others to support your group’s position Lobbyists are hired by your college or university, businesses, foreign countries, trade associations, and anyone else anting their voice heard on policy matters A lobbyist is someone whose task it is to influence legislation or policymaking

Some are non political Political Interest Groups increase representation and participation increase public awareness about important issues help frame the public agenda monitor programs to guarantee effective implementation engage in lobbying and election activities

Target Congress through research, money, or testimony Also target bureaucratic agencies and the president Lobby courts through sponsorship or amicus briefs Can use grassroots techniques, such as petitions May also resort to protests and activism Lobbying

Election Activities Recruiting and endorsing candidates Organizing get out the vote efforts Rating candidates and office holders Establishing political action committees

What role do lobbyists play in Congress? This cartoon presents one popular, although not always correct, view of how legislation gets enacted on Capitol Hill.

What makes Interest Groups Successful? Leaders Funding and patrons Members: helps to overcome the free rider problem, especially for collective goods

Criticism of Interest Groups Interest Groups have been criticized for ignoring the wider interest of society producing confusion and deadlock in Congress generating so much emotion that they make reasoned discussion difficult having too much influence

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