Interest/Pressure Groups

1
Interest/Pressure Groups

• In the American Political System

2
Interest Groups

• U.S. Government Chapter 6

3
Interest Group - A Definition

• An interest group is a private organization of
  like-minded people whose goal is to influence and
  shape public policy.
• Interest groups are extra-constitutional.

4
The Nature of Interest Groups

• Interest groups are private organizations whose
  members share certain views and work to shape
  public policy.
• Interest groups exist to shape public policy

Interest groups are extra-constitutional.
5
Valuable Functions of Interest Groups

• Interest groups raise awareness of public
  affairs, or issues that concern the people at
  large, seek to influence legislation

6
Early Development

• Date back to the time of the Founding Fathers
• Seen as power-hungry
• Believed to promote instability, injustice, and
  confusion

7
Criticisms

• Some groups have an influence far out of
  proportion to their size or importance
• In rare cases, groups use tactics such as
  bribery, threats, and so on.

8
Lobbying

• Lobbying is any activity by which a group
  pressures legislators and influences the
  legislative process

9
Types of Interest Groups

• Economic
• Ideological or single-issue
• Public interest
• Foreign policy
• Governmental

10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
Types of Interest Groups

• 1. Professional Such as the American Medical
  Association
• AMA building in
• Chicago

13
Economic Groups

• Business
• Trade Associations
• Labor
• Professional Associations

14

• 2. Labor Unions

15

• 3. Business- Example

16

• Ideological A cause or idea such as
  environmental organizations, issues such as gun
  ownership

17
Public Interest Groups

• Motivated by such issues as the environment, safe
  energy, consumer protection, and good government.

18

• 4. Religious

19

• 5. Certain group of people, such as retired
  persons

20
Foreign Policy Interest Groups

• Concerned with the relationship between the
  United States and foreign nations. Examples
  include the Council on Foreign Relations, and
  AIPACthe American-Israel Political Action
  Committee.

21
Government Interest Groups

• Represent the interests of government employees,
  as well as elected officials from state and local
  governments.

22
Characteristics and Power of Interest Groups

• Size and resources
• Cohesiveness
• Leadership
• Techniques
• Intensity

23
Interest Group Techniques

• Appeals to the public and mass media
• Mass mailings
• Influence of rule making
• Litigation
• Election Activities/electioneering
• Forming a political party
• Lobbying

24
Growth of Interest Groups
25
Interest Groups vs. Political Parties

• Interest groups
• support candidates, but cannot nominate them
• take a narrow focus on most issues
• compete for influence over elected officials

26
Interest Groups vs.Political Parties (cont.)

• Political parties
• can nominate candidates
• focus on a broad range of issues to appeal to a
  broad range of people
• compete for control of the branches of govt. to
  control policy making

27
Proposals for Reform

• Increasing the number of groups
• Full disclosure
• Increased federal and state regulations

28
The Influence of Lobbyists

• A. Who are the lobbyists
• 1. Employees of associations who try to
  influence policy decisions and positions in the
  executive and especially legislative branches of
  government.
• 2. The revolving door is the employment cycle
  from government to interest group.

29
IRON TRIANGLES

• 3. Iron triangles are mutually supporting
  relationships among interest groups,
  congressional committees and subcommittees, and
  the government agencies that share a common
  policy concern

30
B. What do Lobbyists do?

• 1. Provide money for congressional election
  campaigns
• 2. A third house of Congress, representing
  people on the basis of interests
• 3. Interest groups provide 2 types of info
• A. political-who supports/opposes legis.
• B. Substantive-impact of proposed laws

31
Hard Money

• Contributions regulated by the federal government
  that are given directly to a candidate

32
Soft Money

• Previously unlimited and unregulated campaign
  contributions to federal candidates and the
  national parties
• Supposedly for generic "party building"
  activities (ex get-out-the-vote drives, bumper
  stickers, yard signs, and issue ads"

33
Federal Election Reform Act1974

• Created Federal Election Commission
• Required disclosure
• Limited amount of money that could be contributed
  HARD MONEY
• Individual contributions may not exceed 1000 per
  candidate per election per year
• No foreign contributions
• Soft Money unlimited

34
Federal Election Reform ActUnintended
Consequences?

• The rise of Political Action Committees
• Millions of dollars of unregulated soft money
  used to finance campaigns

35
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002a.k.a.
McCain-Feingold Bill

• Ban on national parties and officeholders raising
  and spending soft money
• Special interest groups can only use regulated
  hard money for pro-candidate communications with
  increased limits
• Ban on non-partisan issue ads 60 days before
  election

36
B.C.R.A (McCain-Feingold)Unintended
Consequences?

• Rise of 527 tax exempt groups and ads
• Independent Expenditures
• Laundering of dirty money through political
  parties that ends up with candidates

Former House Majority Leader Tom Delay indicted
for conspiracy and laundering of illegal
campaign funds
37
527 s

• A 527 group is created primarily to influence the
  nomination, election, appointment or defeat of
  candidates for public office.
• Tax-exempt organizations that engage in political
  activities, often through unlimited soft money
  contributions.
• Most are advocacy groups trying to influence
  federal elections through voter mobilization
  efforts and so-called issue ads that tout or
  criticize a candidate's record.

38
Campaign Finance Reform Supreme Court Decisions

• Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003)
• Citizens United

39
Presidential RacesTrends in Spending
 

• 1996
• 425.7 million.
• 2000
• 528.9 million.
• 2004
• Receipts
• George W. Bush 367,228,801
• John F. Kerry 328,479,245
• Overall 880.5 million.
• .
• 2008
• Obama 730 million spent http//www.opensecrets.o
  rg/pres08/
• McCain 333 million spent
• FIRST BILLION DOLLAR PRESIDENTAL ELECTION

40
Money and Politics

• A. Role of political action committees(PACs)
• 1. PACs link tow techniques of influence
• a. Giving and other political aid to
  politicians
• b. persuading office holders to act or vote
  the right way on issues.
• 2. PACs are categorized by the type of interst
  they represent

41
B. The Growth of PACs

• 1. The committee on Political Education(COPE)
  model for most PACS
• 2. The 1970s brought a near revolution in the
  role and influence of PACs as a result of reforms
  increase from 150-1970
• to over 4,000 today

42
C. How PACs invest their

• 1. Main influence is in their contribution to
  candidates
• 2. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
  limits PACs to 5,000 per election or 10,000 per
  election cycle individuals have limit of 2,000
  per candidate per election
• 3. Through bundling their contributions, PACs
  increase their clout with elected officials

43
The Effectiveness of PACs

• 1. Depends on the context in which money is
  given and received
• 2. Significant relationship between PACs and
  outcome of elections
• 3. PACs can help friendly incumbents with soft
  money contributions
• soft money-unlimited contributions that go for
  party-building activities

44
Curing the problem of factions 200 years after
Federalist 10

• A. Americans fears about the power of faction
• 1. The struggle among factions is not a fair
  fight
• 2. The interest group battle leads to great
  inequities because lower-income people are
  grossly underrepresented

45
Fears contin

• 3. Single-issue groups have led to incoherent
  policies, waste, delays, inability to plan and
  react quickly
• 4. The role of interest groups in elections has
  made incumbents more secure and enhanced the
  power of interest groups
• 5. Safeguarding the value of liberty, but also
  threatening equality

46
B. Federal and state regulation

• 1. Federal legislation, 1925 Federal Corrupt
  Practices Act and the 1946 Federal Regulation of
  Lobbying Actnot effective
• 2. FECA-Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
• 3. Problems with FECA include the soft money
  loophole and ineffective FEC

47
Regulations contin

• 4. Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995-definition of
  lobbyist was expanded to include part-timers,
  whose who deal with congressional staff/executive
  branch agencies, and those who represent
  foreign-owened companies and foreign entities.
• 5. Clinton signed into law legislation expanding
  disclosure requirements on issue ads(freedom of
  speech issues involved)

48
Regulations contin

• 6. Issue advocacy ads/soft money very important
  in competitive elections

49
C. The Effects of Regulation

• 1. Increased the number and importance of such
  groups increased PACs, especially corporate PACs
• 2. PAC money goes to incumbents(committee
  chairs, party leaders)
• 3. Disclosure of how politicians fund their
  campaigns is issue, also their personal finances