Chapter 6 – Interest Groups

Interest Groups and Lobbyists

• Interest group: an organized group of individuals sharing common objectives who actively attempt to influence policymakers
• Lobbyist: organization or individual who attempts to influence legislation and the administrative decisions of government
• Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville

  • “… in no country of the world has the principle of association been more successfully used or applied to a greater multitude of objectives than in America.”

• Interests groups form to
  • Solve civic problems
  • Establish social relationships

  • Represent economic or political interests

Interest Groups: A Natural Phenomenon

• James Madison foresaw importance of multiple organizations in political system
  • Protects minority views
  • Pluralism
• Two-thirds of all Americans belong to at least one group

Interest groups and social movements

• Interest Groups and Social Movements
  • Demands change in political, economic or social system
  • Movements indicate first signs of discontent
    • Women’s suffrage
    • Civil rights movement
    • Immigrant workers and La Raz
    • Human Rights Campaign
    • Occupy movement

Social Movement Interest Groups

• NAACP
• Human Rights Campaign
• The Urban League
• NOW
• League of United Latin American Citizens
• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
• Why so many?
  • First Amendment guarantees
  • Federal system opportunities
  • Racial, ethnic and religious diversity
• Cesar Estrada Chavez, leader of the farmworker rights movement. He founded the National Farm Workers Association to secure the rights of migrant farmworkers to better wages and living conditions. One of the tactics he used was a consumer boycott against food producers

Why Do Americans Join Interest Groups

• Unorganized or latent interests
  • Collective good
  • Free rider problem
• Solidary incentives
  • Companionship
  • Sense of belonging
  • Association with like-minded people

• Material incentives
  • Economic well-being and opportunities
  • Protect interests regarding government policy
• Purposive incentives
  • Advocate political goals through joint action
  • Advocate social goals through joint action
  • Way to participate in democratic society

Types of Interest Groups

• Economic groups (most common type)
  • Business interest groups
  • Agricultural interest groups
  • Labor interest groups
  • Public-employee unions
  • Interest groups of professionals
  • The unorganized poor
• the percentage of the total workforce that is represented by labor unions has declined precipitously over the last 40 years. Note, however, that in contrast to the decline in union representation in the private sector, the percentage of government workers who are unionized has increased significantly since about 1960

Types of Interest Groups

• Environmental groups
  • National Audubon Society
  • Sierra Club
  • National Wildlife Federation
  • Greenpeace Society

• Public-interest groups
  • Nader organizations
  • Other public-interest groups
    • American Civil Liberties Union
    • League of Women Voters
    • Common Cause
    • MoveOn

• Other interest groups
  • Single-interest interest groups
    • National Rifle Association
    • PETA
    • AARP
  • Foreign governments

What Makes an Interest Group Powerful

• Size and resources
  • Large number of members paying dues = strong financial base (AARP)
  • Some are small in number, but have significant financial resources (Big Pharma)
• Leadership
  • Develop effective strategies
  • Charisma and public image
• Cohesiveness
  • Motivation and commitment of members is key

Interest Group Strategies

• Access to government officials essential
• Direct techniques
  • Lobbying
  • Rating systems
  • Building alliances
  • Campaign assistance
    • Bipartisan Campaign Finance Act
    • Citizens United v. FEC

• Indirect techniques
  • Generating public pressure
    • Use of polls
    • “Climate control”
  • Constituents as lobbyists
  • Unconventional pressure
    • Boston Tea party
    • March on Washington
    • WTO protests

Regulating Lobbyists

• Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act (1946)
• Results of the 1946 Act
  • Defined lobbyist
  • Only full-time lobbyists must register
• Foreign Agent Registration Act (1938)
• Reforms of 1995
  • Lobbyist redefined
  • Stricter registration requirements
  • Semiannual reports
  • Foreign entities must register
  • Excludes grassroots & tax-exempt organizations

• Recent lobbying scandals
  • Jack Abramoff case
  • Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (2007)
    • Tighter requirements (but still loopholes)
    • New rules on congressional gifts and trips

Interest Groups and Representative Democracy

• Middle-and upper-class bias
  • “Elite within an elite” leadership
  • Most powerful: business, union, trade and professional groups
  • Public-interest and civil rights groups may struggle
• More elitist than pluralist
• Interest group influence
  • Not all have equal influence
  • Different combination of resources
  • Public support important
  • Most successful often focus on specific issue

Community Unites with Chicago Teachers’ Union

• Thousands of Chicago teachers rally in Union Park in support of their leaders. The teachers were on strike for the first time in 19 years over a new contract and issues of pay and teacher evaluation