1. Interest Groups
Chapter 11

2. Interest Group Power Interest Groups =
Organizations outside the government that attempt to influence the government’s behavior, decision-making, and allocation of resources
Interest groups usually work within the framework of government and employ tactics such as lobbying to achieve their goals

3. The Interest Group Explosion
Why has there been such a large growth in interest groups over the last forty years?
Number of national-level interest group organizations in the United States
1959: 5,843
1970: 10,308
1980: 14,726
Mid-1990s: 22,200

4. Major Organized Interest Groups

5. Money and Politics Soft Money Hard Money PAC
Political arm of an interest group
Legally entitled to raise money in order to contribute funds to favored candidates or political parties
PACs representing business interests have grown the most since the 1970s
Soft Money
Money raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for party-building purposes
Made illegal in 2002 by BCRA (McCain-Feingold Act)
Hard Money
Political contributions given to a party or candidate
Limited in amount and fully disclosed

6. Total PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates, 1979-2004 (in millions)

7. Spending by Political Action Committees (PACs), 2003-2004
Insert table 11.3 (formerly 9.3 in 9e)

8. PACs that Gave the Most to Federal Candidates, 2000-2004 (Millions of Dollars)

9. All Time Big-Money Contributors

10. Contributors to the Republican and Democratic Parties by Sector

11. Union Membership in the United States Compared to Other Countries

13. The Decline in Union Membership
Just use the graph on the right side.
Historical Statistics of the United States, vol. 1, 178; Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1998, 444; U.S. Census Bureau; Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2003, 432, 433.

14. Types of Interest Groups: Ideological or Single-Interest Groups
The Christian Coalition distributes voter guides before elections as one means of influencing politics

15. The National Rifle Association
After the Columbine High School tragedy, public opinion solidly favored stricter gun laws
NRA spent $3 million to fight gun control bills
Gun control legislation did not pass

18. NRA Issue Ads

19. AARP: The Nation’s Most Powerful Interest Group
36 million members
Offers a wide array of material benefits like insurance and magazines
One of the most influential lobbying groups in Washington

20. Divided We Fail AARP Ads

21. Types of Interest Groups: Public Interest Groups
Ralph Nader
Unsafe at Any Speed
(1965)
Ran for president as Green Party candidate in 1996 and 2000 and as independent in 2004 and 2008

22. Types of Interest Groups: Foreign Policy and Public Sector Interest Groups
Foreign Policy Interest Groups
Council on Foreign Relations
American-Israel Political Action Committee
Public Sector Interest Groups
National Governors Association
National League of Cities
National Educational Association

23. Interest Groups: Cohesiveness
Types of members in an organization
Ex.) National Education Association (NEA)
Small number of formal members
People intensely involved with the group
People who are members in name only

24. Interest Groups: Techniques
Mass Mailing
Publicity and Mass Appeals
Influence on Rule Making
Litigation
Election Activities
Forming a Political Party
Cooperative Lobbying

25. Who are the Lobbyists? The Iron Triangle Interest groups
Bureaucratic leaders and experts
Congress members

26. The Iron Triangle
iron triangle – a policy-making alliance that involves very strong ties among a congressional committee, an interest group, and a federal department or agency (such as a House and/or Senate authorizing committee)
each side supports the other 2
Ex.) Policy making for veterans is made thru iron triangle of Dept. of Veterans Affairs, House and Senate Veterans Committees, and a long list of interest groups that represent veterans

27. The “Revolving Door”
Federal government workers leave to take more lucrative positions in private industry (lobbying, consulting, executive positions)
This may give private interests a way to improperly influence government decisions
Nearly half of all retiring congressmen have gone into lobbying in recent years, as have many high-level staffers

28. Obama’s Ads on Lobbyists

29. McCain’s Ad on Interest Groups

30. What Do Lobbyists Do? Techniques
Providing technical information at hearings (best way to influence legislators)
Grass-roots mobilization
Protests and demonstrations
Coalition building
Boycotts
Meeting with legislators at conferences
“Wining and dining”

31. Soft Money and Issue Advocacy
The 1996 election was a watershed in the involvement of interest groups and individuals in financing campaigns
Great increase in issue advocacy –
unlimited and undisclosed spending by an individual or group on communications that do not use words like “vote for” or “vote against,” although much of this activity is actually about electing or defeating candidates
serves as a way for interest groups to circumvent disclosure and contribution limits

32. Born Alive Issue Ad

33. Obama’s Response

34. moveon.org

36. BCRA and Interest Group Electioneering
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) was passed and signed into law by President George W. Bush in February, 2002
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., and Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.)

37. The Effectiveness of Interest Group Activity in Elections
Tendency of PACs to give money to incumbents has meant that challengers face real difficulties in getting their campaigns funded
“Too often, members’ first thought is not what is right or what they believe, but how it will affect fundraising. Who, after all, can seriously contend that a $100,000 donation does not alter the way one thinks about--and quite possibly votes on--an issue?” - Former U. S. Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY)

38. Sources of House Candidates’ Receipts, 2003-2004

39. Sources of Senate Candidates’ Receipts, 2003-2004

40. Federal and State Regulation
Serious campaign finance reform began in 1971 with the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)
Buckley v. Valeo (1976) – Supreme Court case that overturned several of FECA’s provisions on grounds that they violated 1st Amendment
said legislatures couldn’t limit how much of their own money people spend on their own campaigns independent of a candidate or political party, but Congress may limit how much people contribute to somebody else’s campaign

41. Characteristics of Individual Political Contributors