Interest Groups Good, bad, necessary?

Interest Groups Aka factions or more commonly, “pressure groups” ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE PURPOSE IS TO SEEK TO INFLUENCE GOVERNMENT POLICY USED TO CHECK “MAJORITARIANISM”--SITUATION IN WHICH THE MAJORITY GROUP ALWAYS PREVAILS Categories: single interest, rights and liberties, citizenship, labor, employer-professional, ideological (range of consistent moral positions)

Interest Groups— between people and government

Why interest groups? SOME ANSWERS: Americans join groups—Tocqueville Democracy encourages factions TWO THEORIES: Pluralism: Interest groups naturally forming when people are adversely affected by a disturbance. Groups govern! ANY important government decisions involves multiple interest groups Pluralists: see interest groups naturally forming when people are adversely affected by a disturbance. Yet some people who are adversely affected do not organize,which results in the classic “free rider” dilemma. Elitism: Society’s elites essentially make the country’s most important decisions in private They lead the most powerful interest groups, and can act privately as well Koch Brothers—play the outside game—fund the Tea Party movement

What do they do? Interest Groups lobby. Lobbying is a strategy by which organized interests seek to influence the passage of legislation by exerting pressure on members of the legislature. Lobbyist can be either full-time employees of the organization, or hired from law firms or public relations firms. Lobbyist try to convince the policymaker that the lobbyist’s data are accurate and deserve attention.

Two Tactics of Lobbying Get inside government: In direct lobbying, (astroturf lobbying) a group’s representative have direct contact with policymakers Lobbyist make personal presentations to officials Testifying before committees is another direct tactic Organizations may go to court and litigate Or…go to the people In grassroots lobbying, an interest group’s rank and file members try to influence government on issues Letter writing is one such tactic Political protests

Pluralism at work? Bills and lobbyists for interest groups! America Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 1009 different groups want to have input on this bill! HR 3590 Health Care Reform Bill 1248 groups, including: American Medical Association, AFL-CIO, Susan G Komen for the Cure, Planned Parenthood, Dunkin’ Brands, National Assn. of Rural Health Clinics, Burger King, Center for Reproductive Rights, Chickasaw Nation, Exxon Mobil, Family Research Council, NAACP, Target Corp, United Mine Workers……. These groups 1) hire lobbyists who 2) pressure legislators and #) provide informative reports and very often, drafts of bills (which will hopefully become laws that favor the interest represented by the lobbyist!)

American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, 17 reports 17 Duke Energy lobbyists at work! 111 American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, 17 reports 17 Economic stimulus bill, 12 reports 12 Safe Markets Development Act of 2009, 11 reports 11 Coal Ash Reclamation, Environment, and Safety Act of 20099, reports 9 Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, 9 reports A resolution recognizing the need for the Environmental Protection Agency to end decades of delay and utilize existing authority under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to comprehensively regulate coal combustion waste and the need for the Tennes, 9 reports 8

# of lobbyists for clients Open Secrets website Legislators and lobbyist influence # of lobbyists for clients # of clients Cornyn, John R TX S 3 39 $17,850 $45,000 Camp, Dave MI H 2 40 $10,750 $72,750 Murray, Patty D WA 44 $32,800 $59,500 Meek, Kendrick B FL 4 49 $18,900 $50,028 Landrieu, Mary L LA 5 57 $35,800 $67,000

IRON TRIANGLES RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INTEREST GROUPS, CONGRESSINAL COMMITTEES, AND ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES FUNCTIONING IN THE SAME POLICY AREA POLICY NETWORKS INTERACTION IN A COMMON POLICY AREA

INTEREST GROUPS: Problems Too many interest groups? Hyperpluralism—too many interest groups=government inability to respond, and as a result, everyone’s standard of living is lowered ACCORDING TO ONE CALIFORNIA STATE OFFICIAL: ABOUT 90% OF ALL LEGISLATION IS CONCEIVED BY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS 5% OF LEGISLATION IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO GOVERNERS, STATE LEGISLATORS, AND GOVERNMENT ITSELF