Professor Mac Only
Chapter 9
Interest Groups
Chapter Learning Outcomes-
By the time you finish reading this chapter, you will understand the following better
Identify and examine individual and collective actions (such as through voting, political parties, interest groups and social movements) and evaluate issues of public concern.
Analyze and critique how one's own attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs (political ideologies and political socialization) are shaped by political policies, one's own cultural, ethnic, and racial heritage, socio-economic status, by gender, by age, by sexual orientation. Students will learn from many different people, methods, and viewpoints by being actively involved in a learning community that includes people similar and different than one's self.
Interest Groups
- Also sometimes known as factions, pressure groups, or special interests
- Has an organized membership and the pursuit of certain policy goals stem from the members’ shared interest
Interest Groups
- Must want to influence policy to be called an interest group
- Political parties tend to address a broader range of issues
Three Types of Interest Groups
Economic
Citizens
Government
Economic Groups
- More economic groups exist because have more monetary resources
- Tend to be more effectively organized due to resources
- People are encouraged to joining because of economic benefits (example: pay)
Economic Groups
- The most numerous types are business groups.
- More than half of the 12,000 lobbyists registered in Washington DC represent business organizations
- Examples
National Association of Manufacturers
US Chamber of Commerce
Types of Economic Groups
Labor Groups: organized labor work largely on labor law but sometimes on trade, foreign policy, etc.
Examples:
AFL-CIO
American Federation of Teachers
Types of Economic Groups
Agricultural Groups: farm organizations
example:
Association of Wheat Growers
National Farmers Union
Types of Economic Groups
Professional Groups: Most professions have lobbying groups
example:
American Association of University Professors
American Bar Association
Citizens’ Groups
- Non-economic groups
- Members drawn together by purposive incentives or opportunities to promote a cause in which they believe.
- Have a harder time acquiring resources than economic groups
- Free-rider Problem: people benefit but aren’t members of interest groups
Types of Citizen Groups
Public-Interest: claim to represent the broad interest of society as a whole
Example:
Common Cause
National Association of Colored People
Types of Citizen Interest Groups
Single-Issue groups: organized to influence policy in just one area.
Example:
Sierra Club
National Rifle Association
Types of Citizen Groups
Ideological groups: have a broader agenda that comes from a philosophy or moral position
Example:
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Christian Coalition
Government Interest Groups
- A growing group of interest represent governments that are both local, state and foreign
- States, cities, and other government units within the U.S. lobby (37 governors have offices in Washington, DC)
- Often try to include their views in the budgetary process
Lobbying
- Federal statute defines lobbying as any communication made on behalf of a client to members of Congress, congressional staffers, the president, White House staff and high-level employees of nearly 200 agencies, regarding the formulation, modification, or adoption of legislation.
Lobbying
- The Secretary of the US Senate and the Clerk of the US House of Representatives oversee federal lobbying.
- According to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, those offices are charged with providing guidance on lobbying disclosure, ensuring the timeliness and accuracy of required reports, and making those reports available to the public.
Lobbying
- Inside lobbying refers to efforts to develop and maintain inside contacts with policymakers.
- Outside lobbying involves bringing the public pressure to bear on policymaking
Lobbying
- Organizations that employ lobbyists in house must register with Congress if their lobbying expenditures exceed $24,500 during a six-month period. Lobbying firms must file a separate registration – at least 45 days after first contact – for each client whose lobbying billings exceed $6,000 for a six-month period.
- According to a Center for Public Integrity report, nearly 300 individuals and entities lobbied without filing proper registration forms.
Webs of Influence
- View Now This World (2014) What is Lobbying and Can it be good? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTbtKRdYbYo
- CBS News (2011) Jack Abramoff: The lobbyists playbook [corruption in Washington DC] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHiicN0Kg10
Webs of Influence
- Iron Triangles consist of small and informal but relatively stable sets of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who seek to develop policies beneficial to a particular interest
Iron Triangle
Ways Interest Groups Try to Influence
1. Acquiring access (set meetings, dinners, etc)
2. Developing relationships with congress and the executive branch (through meetings, dinners, phone calls, happy hours)
Ways Interest Groups Try to Influence
3. Providing information and legislation (a lot of legislation often written by interest groups; congressional staffers reliant on good information)
4. Filing lawsuits
Ways Interest Groups Try to Influence
5. Activating membership through grassroots pressure (grassroots initiatives)
6. Donating Campaign funds (individual donations and Political Action Committees or PACs)
Policies
- Policies derived from interest groups often benefit many interests and sometimes even the collective.
- If interest groups dictate policy, problems can occur.
- Provide a voice for like-minded people, especially in a two-party system.
Final Video Recommendations
- PBS. (2015) Interest Groups. PBS CrashCourse. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOvBA7oIIgc