Interest Groups and Their Influence on Public Policy: An Overview - Prof. J. Decker, Study notes of Political Science

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Lecture 7 Interest Groups Interest Group • A private voluntary association that seeks to influence public policy as a way to protect or advance some common interest Madison and “Factions” James Madison wrote about Factions in the Federalist Papers • “Take in a greater variety of parties and interest [and] you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens…[Hence the advantage] enjoyed by a large over a small republic”-James Madison Majority vs. Minority • Madison uses factions to offset the possible abuses of the majority against the minority • Competing interests can produce balance among various groups and this promotes compromise and regulation • This is the concept of Pluralism Interest Group Democracy: The Pluralist Argument • The pluralist argument: Citizens who join interest groups are simply using a democratic method to articulate what specific policy preferences they have and what policies they may oppose • Pluralists would argue that interest groups strengthen democracy Flaws in Pluralist Heaven • Resource Inequality- Business corporations and professional associations are going to have vast amounts of disposable income that other groups do not have • There are more lobbyists for drug companies in Washington than there are members of Congress. Flaws in Pluralist Heaven • Political Action Committee- An entity created by an interest group whose purpose is to collect money and make contributions to candidates in federal elections. • The wealthier the IG the wealthier and stronger the PAC (generally) Political Action Committees • In the 2003-2004 election cycle PAC’s spent 310 Million Dollars • 64% of that was from Business PAC’s • 16% of that was from Labor PAC’s Flaws in Pluralist Heaven • Access Inequality • Iron Triangles- An enduring alliance of common interest among an interest group, a congressional committee, and a bureaucratic agency Why Interest Groups form in the U.S. • To protect their economic interests • Example: Business organizations • To advance social movements • Example: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for the Civil Rights Movement Why Interest Groups form in the U.S. • To seek government benefits • Example: The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association • To request or respond to government regulation • Example: Sierra Club Types of Interests Represented • Labor organizations • Example: AFL-CIO • AFL-CIO Types of Interests Represented • Farm organizations • Example: National Grange • NG Types of Interests Represented • Specialized groups • Example: Milk producers • MP's Types of Interests Represented • Public Interest Groups • Those that represent or claim to represent the broader base of American society • Example: Common Cause- originally formed to promote governmental regulation in areas of consumer safety, now encompasses a wide variety of causes including election law reform and public financing of elections • CC Types of Interests Represented • Single-Issue Groups • Appeal to a particular principle and belief • Example: National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League • Oftentimes the creation of one groups spurs the creation of a group on the other side of the exact same issue • Example: The National Right to Life Organization • NARAL • NRLC Types of Interests Represented • Ideological Groups • Pursue the liberal or conservative agendas • Example: Americans for Democratic Action American Conservative Union • Adaction • ACU Getting it done • (3) They mediate conflict within their groups • (4) They engage in electioneering • (5) They promote participation in the political process by reinforcing civic engagement (1) Furnishing Information • Can consist of: • Pamphlets, voting guides, notification of up coming legislative votes and elections, can shed light on candidate records,…and more (2) Politicize and Inform • Interest groups can politicize not only issues but groups of people • Ex: Abortion Interest Groups (4) Electioneering • Monetary donations • PAC’s- Political Action Committees- • Pac’s bundle the money of individual citizens and then funnel it into campaigns • (some states cap the amount of money PAC’s can contribute in state elections but Texas does not do this) (4) Electioneering • Grassroots mobilization • Efforts to mobilize the constituents of a legislator to write letters and make calls about an important issue or to mobilize the constituents to vote for or against certain candidates based on their policy stance (5) Promote Political Participation • Interest Groups encourage and facilitate political participation in many ways • Those who join interest groups are much more likely to vote Lobbies • The term lobby can also be attached to a particular interest • Such as the: Tobacco Lobby or the Gun Lobby or the Milk Lobby… So how many lobbyists are there? • Washington lobby= 80,000 people • In addition there are 1,000s of lawyers who work at law firms whose primary function is lobbying • During the 2004 Congressional Session Lobbyists spent ~$3,000,000,000 (Billion) Tactics of Interest Groups (2) Persuading the Public • “educating the public”- doing television commercials, mailers, and work through other mediums to try and convince the public to vote or support one side of an issue or another Berman’s Work • Anti-Peta Site • (Hosted by The Center for Consumer Freedom) • What is The Center for Consumer Freedom? • The CCF was formerly the “Guest Choice” which represented tobacco, restaurant, and alcohol industries . Berman’s Work • Activist cash • CSPIscam.com • fishscam.com • obesitymyths.com • http://sweetscam.com/ Who oppose their views? • The Alliance of American Insurers; the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons; the American Medical Association (AMA); the Arthritis Foundation; the Consumer Federation of America; the Harvard School of Public Health; the Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems; the National Association of High School Principals; the National Safety Council; the National Transportation Safety Board; the Office of Highway Safety for the state of Georgia; Ralph Nader's group, Public Citizen; the CDC; and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Alliances • Interest groups seek to form coalitions with similarly minded interest groups in order to strengthen their position on a specific piece of legislation • Example: Frequent alliances between the National Organization for Women (NOW), the League of Women Voters (LWV), and the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) on women’s issues Tactics of Interest Groups (5) Influencing the Judicial Branch • Contribute money to judicial campaigns (is local and state judicial races but not federal) • Second by pursuing lawsuits Tactics of Interest Groups (6) Influencing Administrators and Co-opting Agencies • Once agencies have dealt with the initial problem they were created to deal with they tend to become more and more reflective of businesses and industry positions on policy Protest Demonstrations • Groups that can’t afford media blitzes can engage in protest demonstrations • Used by Civil Rights activists during the 1960s Tactics of Interest Groups (8) Political Violence • The use of violence for the intended effect of making political changes within a society Political Violence • Use of violence to change political opinions usually on controversial matters • EX: KKK violence on African-Americans • Anti-war groups raids on ROTC offices on college campuses during the Vietnam war • Usually begets negative attention and reactions