Order 337754: Political Influences

The First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the people to petition the government for a redress of grievances”, which protects the lobbyist right to “influence legislation.” Much of the guidance regarding lobbying was changed from the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 with the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, to include accountability. This new law is intended to keep “House and Senate members” from accepting gifts from lobbyists or their clients, and lawmakers will have to disclose more information concerning funding for “pet projects.”

Since 1998, almost half of the 198 members of Congress who left government registered to lobby. In 2009, President Obama signed three Presidential Memoranda and two Executive Orders and on his first day in office which restricted lobbying and governed how former members of Congress can be employed once leaving the government. The Center for Responsive Politics reports on opensecrets.org, a site that tracks the flow of money in Washington, that there are currently 12,000 lobbyists registered federally, down from 15,000 in 2007. The amount of money spent lobbying within the last 10 years in federal government ranges from $2 billion to $3.5 billion.

Lobbying

The First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the people to petition the government for a redress of grievances”, which protects the lobbyist right to “influence legislation.” Much of the guidance regarding lobbying was changed from the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 with the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, to include accountability. This new law is intended to keep “House and Senate members” from accepting gifts from lobbyists or their clients, and lawmakers will have to disclose more information concerning funding for “pet projects.”  There are two different approaches when it comes to lobbying; direct or indirect lobbying. Direct lobbying is used more on the national level in Washington, D.C.; where the indirect lobbying methods are used more on the state and local levels. They are not mutually exclusive by any means, however, as both direct and indirect lobbying still occur at all levels of government. Meeting the elected official, or his staff, face to face is the most persuasive form of lobbying and the most “direct” form. Being able to show him/her your passion for the issue, what is at stake, and how you would like his/her position to be on that issue is crucial to your success as a lobbyist. Before this meeting can take place the lobbyist must do all his “homework” first, in order to make sure that he is well prepared. He must have knowledge of not only the subject he is passionate about, but also knowledge of whom he will be speaking with, their history of voting, and where they stand on this particular subject.

Then there is the “indirect” lobbying approach. This is referred to as the “grassroots” because the lobbyist is going to the public to influence the elected official to vote in their favor. By using the indirect lobbying approach, the lobbyist gets the citizen to write letters, call their representatives, and even have public demonstrations for their particular cause. The indirect lobbyist also sends faxes and emails, writes editorials, advertising policy positions, has fund raisers and holds public meetings to get their point across and to bring attention to their political point of view. In a Gallop Poll survey of Congress, “more than 70% rated personal letters from the constituents as having a great deal of influence on their legislative decisions” (Brown MD, J. & Evens MD, R. 2000). There is much more time and effort involved in using indirect lobbying compared to direct lobbying.

What is a Lobbyist?

LEFT COLUMN CONTENT

A lobbyist is an activist who seeks to persuade members of the government (like members of Congress) to enact legislation that would benefit their group. The lobbying profession is a legitimate and integral part of or democratic political process that is not very well understood by the general population. While most people think of lobbyists only as paid professionals, there are also many volunteer lobbyists. Anyone who petitions the government or contacts their member of Congress to voice an opinion is functioning as a lobbyist. Lobbying is a regulated industry and a protected activity under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees rights to free speech, assembly, and petition.

Lobbying involves more than persuading legislators. Professional lobbyists research and analyze legislation or regulatory proposals, attend congressional hearings, and educate government officials and corporate officers on important issues. Lobbyists also work to change public opinion through advertising campaigns or by influencing opinion leaders.

Types of Lobbyist Groups

BUSINESS  GRBUSINESS  GROUPS

US Chamber of Commerce National Federation of Independent Business Business Roundtable

LABOR  GROUPS

AFL-CIO United Automobile Workers American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees National Education Association International Brotherhood of Teamsters

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

American Medical Association American Bar Association National Association of Realtors

FARM

GROUPS

National Farm Bureau

National Farmers Union

SINGLE

ISSUE GROUPS

National Rifle Association

National Right to Life Committee

National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

PUBLIC INTEREST

GROUPS

Sierra Club

Common Cause

League of Women Voters

Citizens United

National Taxpayers Union

DISTURBANCE THEORY

Disturbance theory states that interest groups form primarily in opposition to other interest groups so as to counteract influence in their respective political domains. The theory also states that interest groups form and grow in response to threats. Start with the status quo. Everyone is ok with representation they are getting. Then there is a disturbance. For example, government deregulates or regulates a new area and the new laws affect one group adversely. Or a foreign company enters as a new competitor so profits and wages go down. Now, a group of people find themselves at a disadvantage after the disturbance. So, latent groups organize in response to the disturbance. This formation means another area might not be represented so they form a group and so on. This will happen until an equilibrium is reached and the different groups no longer feel disadvantaged.

PLURALISM

Pluralism refers to the view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the framework of government, but that many non-governmental groups use their resources to exert influence. Pluralist theory describes an ideal-theoretical arrangement of society and representative government according to which many different groups with competing interests use their varying but not grossly unequal resources to shape election outcomes and public policy.

LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION

Most of the kinds of goods, services, policies, and goals we care about socially, economically, and politically require that people work together to produce, provide, implement, or achieve them. The primary function of an organization is the furtherance of common interests of groups of individuals. In the normal case an organization will go down if it does not foster the common interest of its members. If such a common interest is existing every unorganized action of an individual will either fail in advancing the common interest at all or will not be able to advance the interest in a suitable way. However, each member of the organization has its own individual interests which differ from the interests of other members. These individual goods can also be provided by an organization (e. g. the state provides its citizens with electric power which is an individual good).

The United States has been the site of a dynamic and expansive economy for over two centuries. It remains dynamic, but there are new controversies regarding the relative impact of globalization, the deficit, and other economic trends.  What can and should the federal government do about these issues?  Regarding outsourcing, there is no way for the federal government to regulate private business. The best that it can do is to level the playing field for those businesses not outsourcing jobs by imposing some sort of business tax on those that do.  Regarding poverty, education and training is still the most employed remedies by government agencies to mitigate this problem.  Regarding corporate welfare, much of this is political. Where saving General Motors probably helped Obama win electoral votes (in both Michigan and Ohio) instead of Romney, who advocated letting GM go bankrupt, in the 2012 presidential election.

10 Powerful Special Interest Groups in America

1. National Rifle Association

2. U.S. Chamber of Commerce

3. American Medical Association

4. AARP

5. Americans For Prosperity

6. MoveOn.org

7. American Israel Public Affairs Committee

8. AFL-CIO

9. National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League

10. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People