Interest Groups AP United States Government Spring, 2017
A little background Madison spoke (indirectly) about interest groups in Federalist, No. 10 [A] number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community Madison s solution: pluralism Our solution: campaign finance reform (more to follow...) We are a nation of many competing interests interest group: association of individuals (group) that seeks to influence government other familiar term: special interest
Types of Interest Groups: Economic 1. Business: large corporations exert substantial influence over government 2. Trade and other associations: business that have similar interests band together Example: Mortgage Bankers Association 3. Labour: unions represent workers open shop refers to when union membership is not required as a condition of employment opposite is closed shop Union membership is roughly (only) 11.8% of the US workforce (BLS) Why? Decline in industrial jobs relative to service-industry jobs
Types of Interest Groups: Economic (continued) 4. Professional Associations: individuals share a common profession, and are united for common political purposes related to the profession Example: American Medical Association, Mortgage Bankers Association
Types of Interest Groups: Ideological/Single-Issue Ideological groups focus on a single issue Examples: right-to-life groups, environmental protection groups, Groups: National Rifle Association (NRA), National Pro-Life Alliance
Other Types of Interest Groups Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) seek to influence on issues that affect the public generally Environmental issues, safe energy, consumer protection Inclusion of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Dodd-Frank was heralded as one of their lobbying victories Foreign Policy Interest Groups support or oppose foreign policies Example: Council on Foreign Relations Public Sector Interest Groups are states and cities way to influence federal government
How Powerful are Interest Groups? Size and Resources Obviously larger interest groups have more money and members, but their members might be less unified Is the membership concentrated, or spread across the nation? How much can the group influence Congress, the courts and the President? Structure and Cohesiveness Is the group unified? Do members share common views?
Lobbying, or, Techniques for Exerting Influence Lobbying: efforts by individuals and/or groups to inform and influence public officials Lobbyists: individuals who lobby; or, individuals who seek to influence policy Lobbying methods: Grassroots mobilisation: Mass media and the Internet, mass mailings Goal: gain broad support Direct contact with government: well-staffed interest groups have good contact with federal agencies and other government officials Think of lobbying as providing information to support a cause Also: campaign donations, donations to PACs Interest groups form political action committees (PACs) legal mechanism for contributing money to candidates (to be discussed later)
Lobbying, or, Techniques for Exerting Influence, Continued Remember! lobbying: efforts by individuals and/or groups to inform and influence public officials Litigation: groups use the judiciary; seek to influence Court rulings Filing of amicus curiae briefs (will be discussed later) Most successful interest groups actually work through both parties
Influence of Lobbyists Lobbyists actually provide help to government Provide information, educate the public, shape public opinion, prepare legislation, testify before Congress, help fund campaigns Who are lobbyists? Generally former government employees revolving door Issue networks: relationships between interest groups, committees concerned with the interest, and governmental agencies responsible for handling the interest Will be discussed more later
Money and Politic$ Interest groups influence politics by spending money on elections Political Action Committee is the political arm of an interest group that is the legal mechanism for raising money and contributing it to candidates PACs have grown in importance since the 1970s Campaigns are really, really expensive... PACs contribute disproportionately to incumbents (incumbency advantage) 501(c): section of the US tax code that allows for tax-exempt organisations They re actually prohibited from supporting candidates, BUT they can and do engage in lobbying and voter registration drives Campaign finance reform Prezi