PRESSURE GROUPS USA

1. PRESSURE GROUPSUSA The US political system is the most pluralist of all democratic systems – there are more pressure groups, operating at more levels of government and with more impact than in any other political system. Unit 3 The Politics of the USA

2. Issue based politics • Civil rights • Abortion • Gun control • Environmental protection

4. Pluralism Elitism Lobbying Access points Single issue groups Corporate power Direct action Iron triangles Clientalism The meaning of pluralism Types and classifications Sectional and cause groups Methods used. Reasons for success Relative power vs parties Controversies over extent power exerted Role and significance of PACs Comparisons with UK Key concepts

5. Pressure groups • Pressure groups vary in size, wealth and influence. In the US pressure groups operate at all levels of government – federal, state and local – and seek to bring their influence to bear on all 3 branches of government – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

6. Key Terms • Pressure group – ‘an organised interest group in which members hold similar beliefs and actively pursue ways to influence government. Unlike political parties they are principally interested in influencing those who determine policy. • Political Action Committee – Pressure groups that collect money from their members and then give it to candidates and political parties who support their interests. • 527s – Groups set up in response to 2002 federal law which was designed to limit amount of money given by PACs. 527 is the section in the law. • Iron Triangle – Strong relationship between pressure groups, congressional committees and government agency, which attempt to guarantee policy outcomes to their benefit.

7. Trends in US Politics • ‘"The political parties are threatened as the number of interest groups has mushroomed, with more and more of them operating offices in Washington, D.C., and representing themselves directly to Congress and federal agencies," says Michael Schudson in his 1998 book The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life. "Many organizations that keep an eye on Washington seek financial and moral support from ordinary citizens. Since many of them focus on a narrow set of concerns or even on a single issue, and often a single issue of enormous emotional weight, they compete with the parties for citizens' dollars, time, and passion."

8. Context • The US political system is the most pluralist of all democratic systems • There are more pressure groups working at more levels of government than any other political system • Why? • Constitutional and institutional • Political and cultural • Social

9. Constitutional and institutional • Decentralised • Power dispersed • No single dominant branch of government • Separation of powers • Codified constitution-legal framework • Strength of committees (Philpott / BOB)

10. Political and cultural • Weakness of major parties • Members of congress individual – ‘folks back home’ • Americans suspicious of governments • No democratic country gives greater rein to freedom of the individual than USA • Since 1930s growth of government • 535 in Congress • Only two main parties

11. Social • Diverse society • Religious observance is more established in USA than UK • American media also decentralised..so local political issues given prominence

12. The lobbying industry often employs former members of Congress and administrative officials. Critics argue that officials exploit their position in public office, so as to earn large sums of money. i) Of the 100 most senior officials serving in the Clinton administration, 51 are now lobbyists or work for companies that undertake lobbying work. Criticisms of interest group activity

13. Current NRA campaigns San Francisco “Proposition H” • In November 2005, 58% of voters in San Francisco, approved "Proposition H" banning the sale, manufacture and distribution of firearms and ammunition, as well as possession of handguns, within city limits effective January 1, 2006. (The last gun dealer in the city had closed several years earlier because of a special tax.) San Francisco thereby became the third major city in the United States with a handgun ban, after Chicago and Washington D.C • The day after the election, the National Rifle Association and other gun advocates filed a lawsuit challenging the ban, saying it oversteps local government authority and intrudes into an area regulated by the state. (A previous handgun ban, adopted in 1984, was successfully challenged on similar grounds.) On June 12, 2006 Superior Court Judge agreed with the NRA position, saying that California law "implicitly prohibits a city or county from banning gun possession by law-abiding adults."

15. Impact of pressure groups • Recently, pressure groups have had significant impact in a number of policy areas: Civil rights for African – Americans Environmental protection – Sierra Club Women’s rights – League of Women Voters Abortion rights Gun control – NRA Health – Health Insurance Association of America

16. PACs • Definition ‘ An umbrella organisation that collects money from lobby groups who are concerned with the same issue, its sole purpose is to raise campaign funds and spend them.’ 4,000 PACs in USA today • Why are there so many? • Concern over pressure group financing led to law in 1971 • Federal Elections Campaign Act 1971 limited personal and group donations to candidates • Maximum donation is $5000 • You can donate to as many PACs as you want • PACs pool to money – so the giver’s influence is greater • PACs can spend as much as they wish on a candidate indirectly – funding advertising that supports a candidate or opposes the alternative candidate. • PACS act as a legal intermediary – thus avoiding limits on direct contribution.

17. 527s • 2002 new electoral laws were passed by Bush to limit the actions of PACs. Money could no longer be spent on directly supporting or opposing a candidate or supporting Federal Campaigns. • 527 is named after the section in the law where the loophole is. • They spend their money in 2 ways; • Voter mobilisation efforts (encouraging people to vote) • Advertising that appears to focus on an issue (guns,abortion) but in reality might hail or criticise views/ voting records.