Interests Groups

1
Interests Groups

• People joining together in order to protect a
  common interest, is a basic part of the
  democratic process.
• This right is protected by the Constitution.
• Interest groups are sometimes called pressure
  groups.
• Special interest
• Organized interest
• Lobbies
• They also give themselves such names as clubs,
  associations, committees, leagues, and
  federations.
• No matter what they are called, they exist to
  influence public policy.

2
Types of Interest Groups

• Economic based interest groups those that
  represent business, labor, agriculture, and
  certain professions.
• Business groups businesses that are looking to
  protect their interests.
• National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
• Represents big business in public affairs
• Chamber of Commerce
• Represents smaller businesses
• Trade Associations interest groups of the
  business community

3
Types of Interest Groups

• Labor Groups A labor union is an organization
  of workers who share the same job or work in the
  same industry.
• Try to shape government policy that will benefit
  their members.
• Less than 13.5 of the nations labor force
• The largest, the AFL-CIO, is made up of over 100
  separate unions. (13 million members)
• There are also a number of independent unions
  that are not affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
• Work for things like Social Security programs,
  minimum wages, and unemployment benefits.

4
Types of Interest Groups

• Agricultural Groups represent the interests of
  the American farmer.
• The National Grange is the most prominent.
• Concerned with the welfare of the farming
  families
• 400,000 members
• The Farm Bureau is the largest and most effective
  of these groups. (4 million members)
• Supports federal programs to promote agriculture
• It opposes government regulation and favors the
  free market economy.

5
Types of Interest Groups

• Professional Groups these are defined as those
  occupations that require extensive and
  specialized training.
• Medicine
• Law
• Teaching
• These groups work to maintain, promote, and
  protect their interests.
• AMA
• ABA
• NEA
• These groups have an impact on public policy at
  every level of government.

6
Types of Interest Groups

• Cause Groups work to promote a cause of idea.
• ACLU
• Organizations that promote welfare of certain
  groups
• Work to promote the welfare of certain segments
  of the American population.
• Religious Organizations try to influence public
  policy in several areas.
• Public Interest Groups this is an interest
  group that seeks to institute certain public
  policies of benefit to all or most people in this
  country.

7
Interest Groups at Work

• Influencing public opinion
• Supply the public with information
• To build a positive image for the group
• To promote a particular public policy
• Propaganda is a technique of persuassion aimed at
  influencing individual or group behavior.
• The use of mass media plays an important role in
  the use of propaganda.

8
Influencing Parties and Elections

• Interest groups try to influence the behavior of
  political parties.
• They become a major source of campaign funding in
  our government today.
• PACs or political action committees raise and
  distribute money to candidates through these
  committees.
• Lobbying is defined as those activities by which
  group pressures are brought to bear on
  legislators and the legislative process.

9
Lobbyists at Work

• Liked to be called by some other title, such as
  legislative counsel or public representative.
• A large part of a lobbyists success depends on
  how well they know the political system.
• Lobbyists use a lot of different techniques to
  try to persuade legislators and other policy
  makers to share their point of view.
• They use grass roots tactics to pressure law
  makers. Grass roots means from the people or
  average voter.

10
Lobbyists at Work

• The groups that lobbyists speak for can mount
  campaigns by e-mail, letter, postcard, and phone
  from the folks back home.
• A lobbyist today is much different from those of
  the past.
• They are ready to make campaign contributions,
  provide information, write speeches, and even
  draft legislation.

11
Lobby Regulation

• Abuse does occur now and then.
• False or misleading testimony
• Bribery
• Unethical pressures
• Congress passed the Federal Regulation of
  Lobbying Act in 1946.
• Lobbyists were required to register with the
  clerk of the House and the secretary of the
  Senate.
• Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 was passed to
  strengthen the act of 1946.
• Registration is required by all lobbyists and
  organizations.
• Each State has its own sets of laws and
  regulations for lobbyists.

12
Interests Groups

• Interest groups function at all levels of
  government.
• Political Parties Interest Groups
• Both political parties and interest groups
  overlap.
• Three major differences between the two.
• Making nominations
• Primary focus
• Scope of the interest

13
Interests Groups

• Valuable functions of interest groups
• Stimulate interest in public affairs
• Those issues that concern the public at large
• Represent their members on a basis of shared
  attitudes (not based on geography)
• What members think as opposed to what happens
  where they live (labor unions)
• Organized interest often provide useful,
  specialized, and detailed information to
  government.
• Interests groups are vehicles for political
  participation.
• Interests groups add another element to the
  checks-and-balances feature of the political
  process.
• They also compete with one another in the public
  arena.

14
Criticisms of Interest Groups

• Some have an influence far out of proportion to
  their size, importance, or contribution to public
  good.
• It is hard to tell just how many are represented
  by an interest group.
• Many do not express the views of all of the
  people that they claim to represent.
• Some groups use tactics that would undermine the
  entire political system.