1. Interest Groups
Chapter 12
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2. In this chapter you will:
What interest groups do in American government—and how they do it
Reflect on whether interest groups wield too much power
Trace the historical roots of interest-group activity, and see how lobbyists have changed
Examine the multiple roles that lobbyists play
Consider whether interest groups are good for America
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3. Interest-Group Roles in America
Interest groups, or organizations that seek to influence government, employ lobbyists to pursue benefits for their clients or membership.
Groups serve their members by communicating political information to them, analyzing and relating members’ views to policymakers, and mobilizing people to act politically.
A long debate continues among pluralist, hyperpluralist, and power elite theorists about whether the collective public is well represented by interest groups.
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4. Types of Interest Groups
Interest groups come in several types: Those pursuing primarily economic concerns include business and labor groups, along with trade and professional associations.
Citizen groups include those promoting broad causes (consumer rights, civil liberties) and single-issue advocates such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, as well as ideological groups.
Governments also lobby each other, as well as engaging in “reverse lobbying”—working with interest groups to advance desired aims.
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5. Interest Groups Past and Present
Interest-group activity in the United States stretches back to the beginning of the republic; our modern system of thousands of active groups dates to the 1960s-70s “advocacy explosion.”
In recent years, younger Americans and women have increasingly populated Washington’s interest-group ranks.
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6. Interest Group Lobbyists in Action
Lobbyists perform a wide range of roles, from researchers to social butterflies.
Private sector lobbyists can represent a single firm or a trade association, or set up in business for themselves as independent lobbyists.
Citizen groups are often loath to engage in “lobbying,” but they must to succeed.
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7. Interest Groups and the Federal Branch of Government
Lobbyists working in specific areas sometimes still form “iron triangles” with congressional staff and executive branch officials.
More fluid “issue networks” featuring lobbyists as central players increasingly characterize today’s complex policymaking environment.
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8. Interest Groups and the Federal Branch of Government
Successful federal lobbyists master political information gathering and analysis, engage in political campaigns, and form close ties with one of the two major parties.
Interest groups also lobby the judicial branch by funding confirmation battles, filing amicus curiae briefs, and financing litigation.
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9. Interest Groups and Power
Because of the difficulty of measuring interest-group influence in government, researchers turn to metrics like number of lobbyists and how much they spend on lobbying.
Beginning in the mid-1960s, an advocacy explosion saw lobbyist numbers climb dramatically. Resources devoted to lobbying also rose sharply.
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10. Interest Groups and Power
Despite their extensive presence and billions of dollars in spending, lobbyists rarely change congressional minds on high-profile votes; their role is to support members who are already on the same side. Special favors are easier to win on obscure or highly technical topics.
Regulations on interest-group activity are relatively limited in the United States. They have periodically been tightened, but extensive loopholes remain.
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11. Are Interest Groups Bad or Good for America?
Critics of interest groups in American governance variously claim that they are corrupt, too numerous, lack accountability, and/or enjoy access to lawmakers that ordinary citizens usually can’t achieve.
Supporters of interest groups respond that they enhance democratic representation, help communicate popular views to public officials (and in turn report on government actions to their members), mobilize people for action, or that their sheer numbers enhance the stability and predictability of American government.
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12. Chapter Summary
Interest-group lobbying has long been a vital feature of U.S. government and politics. Lobbyists are deeply engaged across our policymaking system, and groups have sprung up to represent virtually every professional, personal, and identity-based interest, providing their members with information about federal policies and conveying those members’ concerns to Washington. Yet Americans hold lobbyists in very low regard.
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13. Chapter Summary
Public anxiety centers on interest groups’ reputed power to affect policymaking. Groups spend billions of dollars each year to advance their views, and lobbyists swarm over Washington (and state capitals) in vast numbers. It is not clear, however, what all this activity adds up to.
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14. Chapter Summary
Although critics insist that lobbyist influence in shaping government outcomes is extensive, political science research has not turned up definitive evidence in support. And the proliferation of groups on all sides of most issues tends to mean that even if one sector (e.g., business) gains the upper hand in Washington, the pendulum eventually swings to the other
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15. Chapter Summary
A long history of interest group involvement in American national and state politics was punctuated by an “advocacy explosion” that began in the 1960s. In recent years, interest-group representatives have been getting younger—and many more women have entered the lobbying profession. Today, lobbyists perform a wide range of roles, from testifying on policy issues before Congress to acting as full-service “concierges” on behalf of their private or public interest clients. Advocacy or membership groups have a harder time retaining members and must appeal to a mix of benefits: material, solidarity, and expressive.
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16. Chapter Summary
Interest groups are active in all three branches of government; in each, they both seek and provide information—the currency of politics. They also work on (and help finance) political campaigns and are closely intertwined with the leadership of both the Republican and the Democratic parties.
The central presence of interest groups in the halls of government has led—across U.S. history—to calls for reform, including banning lobbyists altogether. At least partly balancing the dangers that interest groups pose are a set of benefits they provide, including boosting democratic representation and contributing to the long-lived stability of American politics and governance.
CHAPTER 12: INTEREST GROUPS