INTEREST GROUPS

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INTEREST GROUPS
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What Are Interest Groups?

• Interest Group (special interests) is an
  organization of people with similar policy goals
  that tries to influence the political process to
  try to achieve those goals.
• Interest groups try to influence every branch and
  every level of government.

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The Roots and Development of American Interest
Groups

• Interest groups have been part of the American
  political landscape since the countrys founding.
  
• James Madison in Federalist 10 argued for a
  proliferation of groups so that no one group
  could get hegemony over the other groups.
• The open nature of the American government
  invites organized political participation.

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The Roots and Development of American Interest
Groups

• National Groups Emerge (1830-80)
• Progressive Era (1890-1920)
• Organized Labor the American Federation of
  Labor (AFL) (1886)
• Business and Trade Associations The National
  Association of Manufacturers (NAM) (1895)
• The Rise of the Interest Group State (1960s and
  1970s)
• Religious and Ideological Groups
• Business Groups, Trade and Professional
  Associations
• Organized Labor

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Interests and Representation

• Not all interests are equally well organized
  consumer/producer groups
• Some groups have special advantages
• Some groups not organized democratically

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Types of Interest Groups

• Sectoral groups - represent a sector of the
  economy
• Institutional groups - defend interests in policy
  decisions
• Promotional groups - organize around an idea or a
  point of view

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What Do Interest Groups Do?

• The most common and effective interest group
  technique is lobbying or seeking to influence and
  persuade others to support your group's position.
• Lobbyists are hired by businesses, foreign
  countries, trade associations, and anyone else
  wanting their voice heard on policy matters.
• A Lobbyists is someone whose task it is to
  influence legislation or policymaking.

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PAC - Political Action Committee

• A nonparty group that solicits contributions from
  its members and uses the money to influence the
  outcome of elections

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PACS - Con

• Pressure to make contributions
• undue influence on public officials
• funds go disproportionately to incumbents
• corporate and business most numerous
• hurt political parties

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PACS - Pro

• help finance the cost of elections
• increase knowledge of members and public
• encourage voting and participation
• links the public with its representatives
• a right protected by the First Amendment

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Interest Groups Techniques

• Direct Techniques
• Lobbying
• Private meetings
• Testifying
• Drafting Legislation
• Social Occasions
• Providing Political Info
• Supplying Nomination suggestions

• Indirect Techniques
• Generating Public Pressure
• Groundswell of public pressure
• Use Constituents as Lobbyists
• Building Alliances with other groups

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Lobbyists

• A lobbyist must be honest and truthful if he or
  she wants to remain effective.
• Access to lawmakers is critical and if a lobbyist
  gets a reputation of being untruthful or
  disingenuous legislators doors will close.
• Of course, lobbyists put their group's position
  in a favorable light but good lobbyists will also
  make lawmakers aware of the downsides of a bill
  and the arguments on the other side as well.

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What Makes an Interest Group Successful?

• In general three factors tend to lead to interest
  group success
• Leaders having a prominent leader aids in the
  reputation of the group and enhances a group's
  ability to attain its goals.
• Patrons and Funding funding is critical.
  Without money, it is hard to get your message
  out.
• Members a group must have members to be
  successful. Organizing members allows for
  strength in numbers and pooling of financial
  support.

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Social Movements

• A social movement is a group of people who
  ordinarily have little power but challenge the
  state power in loosely organized ways, usually
  through disruption and sometimes violently.

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Pluralism and its Critics

• Pluralist theory argues that interest group
  activity brings representation to all.
• Interest groups compete and counterbalance one
  another.

• Three criticisms of pluralism are
• It gives short shrift to those who are not
  organized.
• It fails to deal with the fact that some
  interests have more power than others.
• It seems to leave no room for consideration of
  transcendent national interests.

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Hyperpluralist Theory

• Hyperpluralist argue that when interest groups
  become so powerful that they dominate the
  political decision-making structures they render
  any consideration of the greater public interest
  impossible.

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Neocorporatism

• It is a system in which all interests are
  organized and the government deals directly with
  all affected interests at all stages in the
  making and administration of policy.

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Criticism Interest Groups

• Interest Groups have been criticized for
• Ignoring the wider interest of society
• Producing confusion and deadlock in Congress
• Generating so much emotion that they make
  reasoned discussion difficult
• Having too much influence

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Important Points to Think About

• Interest Groups
• Promote interest in public affairs
• Provide useful information
• Serve as watchdogs
• Represent the interest of Citizens