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LECTURE #9: Interest Groups. Presented by Derrick J. Johnson, MPA, JD Advanced Placement United States Government & Politics, School for Advanced Studies. What is an Interest Groups?.
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LECTURE #9: Interest Groups Presented by Derrick J. Johnson, MPA, JD Advanced Placement United States Government & Politics, School for Advanced Studies
What is an Interest Groups? • An Interest group is an organization of people who enter the political process to try to achieve their shared goals. • Interest groups have been a part of American politics since the beginning, but their numbers have grown tremendously in recent years. • Groups like the N.A.A.C.P. and the Sierra Club have existed for over a century, while most others have formed after WWII.
There is an interest group for nearly everyone. Some groups can be broad and others are more specific in nature. • In recent years, interest groups have moved their headquarters to Washington, D.C. to be closer to the seat of government. Today, very few occupations or industries go without interest groups to represent them in Washington.
Types of Membership • Membership in interest groups may be classified in two ways: institutional and individual. • A group’s members may be composed of organizations, such as businesses or corporations, or they may be composed of individuals. • Institutional Interests • Over 500 firms have lobbyists, public relations experts, and/or lawyers in Washington. • Most of them represent business interests, however, there are other institutional represented in Washington, like city governments (National League of Cities) and education (The National Council on Education).
Individual Interests • Individual Americans are much more likely to join religious and political associations than citizens of any other democracy. • Many of the organizations they join are represented in Washington and lobby the government for favorable policies for their interests. • Examples include: AFL-CIO, NAACP and NOW.
Types of Interest Groups • Interest Groups maybe divided broadly into three types: 1.) economic interests, 2.) consumer and public interests and 3.) equality and justice. • Economic Interest • Economic groups are concerned with profits, process, and wages. Government can influence these things in terms of taxes, subsidies, regulation, trade policy and contracts, so Economic groups will seek to influence government.
There are four types: • Labor Unions – The focus on better working conditions and higher wages. Ex: AFL-CIO and UTD (teachers union). • Agriculture Groups – Ex: National Farmers’ Organization and the American Farm Bureau Federation. These groups are not as strong as they once were. • Business Groups – Ex: Large corporations like General Motors and AT&T and trade associations like the Chamber of Commerce. • Professional Groups – Some of the most powerful interest groups are the ones that represent occupations like the American Bar Association, the National Education Association, and the American Medical Association.
Consumer and Public Interest Groups • Today over 2,000 groups champion causes “in the public interest.” • They are less narrow in their interest and they seek the collective good for everyone and not just their members. • Two types: • Public Interest Group – Ex: Common Cause, Public Interest Research Groups, and Ralph Nader’s organization. • Environmental Interest – Ex: The Sierra Club and Audubon Society. Equity and Justice • Interest groups have championed equal rights and justice, particularly for women and minorities. • The oldest of these groups is the NAACP. However, others have developed over time like NOW.
Powers of Interest Groups • Interests groups employ four strategies for accomplishing their goals: lobbying, electioneering, litigation and appealing to the public for support. Lobbying • Lobbying means to attempt to influence government policies. • The term originally used in the mid-17th Century to refer to a large room near the English House of Commons where people plead their cases to members of Parliament.
In early U.S. history, lobbyists traditionally buttonholed members of Congress in the lobbies just outside the chambers of the House and Senate. • In the 19th Century, lobbyists were seen as the vote buyers who used money to corrupt legislators. • Lobbyists today influence lawmakers and agency bureaucrats in many ways. Some activities include: • Meeting and socializing at conventions • Contacting government officials by phone, e-mail or letter • Taking officials out to lunch • Testifying at committee hearings • Members of Congress have learned to rely on lobbyists for information and advice on political strategy.
Electioneering • In order to accomplish their goals, interest groups need to get and keep people in office who support their causes. • Many groups aid congressional candidates sympathetic to their interests by providing money for their political campaigns. • Today Political Action Committees (PACs) do most of the electioneering. • PACs are the political arm of interest groups, legally entitled to raise voluntary funds to contribute to favored candidates or political parties. • The number of PACs has mushroomed over the past 30 years, especially since the Campaign Reform Act of 1974, which limited individual contributions to campaigns. The act allowed PACs to exist and now there are a plethora of them.
As campaign costs have risen, PACs have helped pay the bills. • About half of the members of the House of Representatives get the majority of their campaign funds from PACS. • PACs overwhelmingly support incumbents over challengers, although, they may play it safe by contributing to both. • 527 groups, named after a section of the United States Internal Revenue Code, are tax-exempt organizations created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment, or defeat of candidates for public offices. • During the presidential election of 2004, 527 groups raised lots of money for both parties and they ran ads attacking both candidates. Ex: Swift Boaters for Truth.
Litigation • Occurs if interest groups don’t get what they want from Congress. • They may sue businesses and/or the federal government for action. • Environmentalist groups have used this tactic successfully to force businesses to follow government regulations. Even the threat of a lawsuit might force businesses to change their ways.
Lawsuits were successful in the 1950s by civil rights groups like the NAACP, who successfully segregationist laws. Ex: Brown v. Board of Education. • Interest groups can influence court decisions by filing an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief, which consists of written arguments submitted to the court in support of one side of a case over the other. • Groups my also file a class action lawsuit, which enable a group of similar plaintiffs to combine their grievances into a single suit.
Appealing to the Public • Interest groups sometimes may best influence policy-making by carefully cultivating their public image. • They can achieve this by using advertisement or through public relations campaigns. Ex: labor unions portray themselves as “hard working” and farmers portray themselves as “old fashioned values” orientated. • Such efforts may seek to galvanize public support for their causes.
Ratings • Many interest groups have a rating system which describes each member of Congress’s voting record to interested citizens. • This can also be used by interest groups to coerce or embarrass congressional members. Ex: The “Dirty Dozen” of Congress. • A typical scene ranges from 0 to 100 percent, reflecting the percentage of times the member supports the group’s legislative agenda.
Theories of Interest Group Politics • There are three main theories regarding interest groups. • Elitist Theory • Argues that just a few interest groups have most of the power. • The government is run by a few big groups trying to preserve their own interests. • Elitist believe that corporate interests control a great many government decisions. • Pluralist Theory • They claim that interest groups benefit American democracy by bringing representation to all.
For example, some argue that interest groups provide “linkage” between the people and the government. • Hyperpluralist Theory • They believe that there are too many groups which are trying to influence the political process, resulting in political chaos and contradiction among government policies. • They argue that the political system s out of control because government tries to please every interest and allow them to dictate policy in their area. • Since all groups are trying to protect their self interests, the policies that result from their pressure are ill-conceived.
Parties vs. Interest Groups • Parties and interest groups have a great deal in common because they represent political points of view of various people who want to influence policy-making. • However, parties influence government primarily through the electoral process. Although they serve many purposes, parties always run candidates for public offices. • Interest groups and PACs support candidates, but they do not run their own slate of candidates. • Parties also generate support for a broad spectrum of policies, whereas interest groups support one or few policies.
The Money Trail • Most interest groups work hard to raise money, but individual membership organizations have more trouble than most. • In addition to dues collected from members, groups receive money from three important sources: • Foundation grants • Are funds established usually by prominent families or corporations for philanthropy. • Ex: The Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Family Fund. • Federal grants and contracts • Are not granted directly to organizations for lobbying purposes, but they may be given to support a project the organization supports.
For Example, Jesse Jackson’s community-development organization called PUSH was heavily supported by federal grants from various agencies. • The Reagan administration reduced grants to the interest groups partly because most of the grants were for liberal causes. • Direct solicitation • Most groups heavily rely on direct mail to solicit funds. • By using computers, groups can mail directly to selected individuals identified from lists developed by staff or purchased from other groups. • Many groups maintain websites that encourage visitors to contribute to their causes.
Factors Effecting Success • Many factors contribute to the success of an interest group, including size, intensity and financial resources. • Size • The large a group, the less effective they may become. • If a group is too large, it tends to have a “free rider” problem. • Since there are so many members, individuals tend to think some one else is doing the work.
It is easier to organize smaller groups, rather than large ones for action. • Intensity • Groups that are intensely committed to their goals are quite logically more successful than those that are not. • A single issue group, devoted to such causes as pro-life, anti-nuclear energy, or gun control, often is most intense. • These are the groups that are more likely to protest or push legislation. Ex: The gun control lobby and the Brady Bill.
Financial Resources • An interest group has only a limited influence if it doesn’t have financial resources adequate to carry on its work. • Most of their activities, such as lobbying, electioneering, and litigation, cost money. • Thus, successful fund raising is crucial for an effective interest group.
The Revolving Door • Interest groups are often criticize for a type of interaction with government called the revolving door. • Through this practice, government officials (both executive and congressional) quit their jobs to take positions as lobbyists or consultants to businesses. • May fear that the revolving door may give private interests unfair influence over government decisions.
There are high profile cases like Michael Deaver, Ronald Reagan’s Deputy Chief of Staff who was convicted of perjury after he left his position to work in the private sector. • An investigation found that he used government contacts to help the clients of his public relation firm. • However, many also argue that former government officials seldom abuse their jobs while in office, and there is nothing wrong with seeking advice from those who served in government.
