Interest Groups (12)

Interest Group

An organized group of people that attempts to influence governmental policies

• Organized

• Interested in policy

How are interest groups different than a political party?

Political Party

• Nominate candidates for office

• About winning office and governing, not just about influence

Interest Group

• Focused on a specific issue (or set of issues)

• Endorsing a candidate is a means to getting their way on an issue

• Do not run candidates

Type of Organized Interests

• Structure-based interests, which represent an organization

• Individual-based interests, which, get this, represents individuals

________ people/interests are significantly overrepresented among interest groups.

Wealthy

Interest groups get a bad rep.

We call them “special interests” as if that means they are thwarting the public will. But there is no “public will.” There is not a public consensus on any issue.

(True/False) Interest groups have special rights that you don’t have.

False. They just have organization and numbers.

Things lobbying groups must do that makes illegal lobbying really difficult

They must

• Register with the government

• Disclose their activities

• Keep records of funding sources and spending

Members of Congress must file reports on all $ they receive from interest groups.

Lobbying is much more about _________ than _______.

advocacy ; bribery

Why does lobbying feel like it’s about bribery?

Interest groups have a big impact because of their organization.

Latent interest vs interest groups

Latent interest is unorganized, while interest groups are organized.

Why Fed 10 helped achieve ratification

Federalist 10 calmed fears about tyranny by showing how the Constitution’s structure would control factions, making it safer to unite under a stronger federal government.

• The larger the society, the more factions there will be.

• As factions freely compete with one another, it becomes unlikely that one will manage to dominate the government

Pluralism

The theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in government.

Core claim of pluralism

Like physical forces, societal forces will naturally agitate against each other, influencing policy outcomes in proportion to their popular support

What makes an interest group “work”?

• Attract and keep members

• Financial support

• Leadership and ways to make decisions

• Paid staff or agency to do tasks

The big collective action problem with interest groups

Everyone wants the benefits without showing up

Mancur Olsen’s claim on Collective Action

The larger an interest, the more likely it is to remain latent—that is, the less likely it is to organize effectively

(True/False) Organizing costs are harder for large groups.

True

If you have two latent interests—one with hundreds of thousands of supporters against one with only dozens or hundreds of supporters—the ________ one is more likely to organize into an interest group and speak with a unified voice.

smaller

How to get around the collective action problem

1. Selective benefits

2. Leadership

Selective benefits

Benefits that do not go to everyone but, rather, are distributed selectively to only those who contribute to the group enterprise

Leadership

“Political entrepreneurs” can came with enough passion to sustain the organizational efforts

What can easily fill all four requirements to make an interest group work?

• Attract and keep members

• Financial support

• Leadership and ways to make decisions

• Paid staff or agency to do tasks

Leadership + selective benefits

How have groups organized themselves for action over time?

• PACs can spend money on elections to support their cause

• Churches, especially in the civil rights era

• 1980s: Computerized direct-mail campaigns

• 2000s: Social media

How do interest groups influence politics and policy?

• Inside strategies

• Outside strategies

• Using electoral politics

Lobbying

An attempt by a group to influence the policy process through persuasion of government officials

Lobbying provides __________ and helps fill the __________ _____.

information ; information gap

Inside strategies for lobbying

1. Provide legislators with information

2. Testifying in hearings

3. Revolving door strategies (hiring former staff)

4. Paying for trips and food (though some regulations try to curb that)

5. Using the courts

Using the Courts inside strategy

• Bringing suits on behalf of a group

• Financing suits brought by individuals

• Filing companion (amicus curiae) briefs to an existing court case

How do Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson show interest groups using courts and lobbying?

• Roe (1973): Pro-choice groups used litigation and amicus briefs to establish abortion rights via the courts.

• Dobbs (2022): Pro-life groups used court challenges, amicus briefs, and lobbied to confirm justices likely to overturn Roe.

• Both show interest groups using courts to shape policy and lobbying to influence judges & laws.

Outside strategies

• Going public: how interest groups frame the issue to the public

• Advertising

• Grassroots lobbying—contacting your membership

• Protests

Electoral Politics

• PACs (coordinate with candidates but cap on $)

• Super PACs (can’t coordinate but unlimited $)

• Voter Turnout (elections not won on issues but on turnout)

• Initiatives (variation per state)

What different organized interest groups are there? Give examples.

• Groups that focus on a specific set of issues (AARP)

• Groups that focus on a range of issues but with a specific ideological perspective (Heritage Foundation)

• Alliance of corporations to speak for the industry (US Oil and Gas Association)

• Existing groups that directly lobby (Pfizer)

(True/False) Madison in Fed. 10 differentiates between a latent and organized interest

False. He assumed that all interests would find a way to organize.

An interest group such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, a group of private scientists that advocate for using science to help with pressing social issues, is most likely to fit into which category of interest group?

Public interest group

Which of the following is an example of outsider strategy?

• Lobbying

• Negotiating with key decision makers

• Litigating court cases

• Contributing to political campaigns

Contributing to political campaigns

One of the more famous quotations in political science is E. E. Schattschneider’s statement that “[t]he flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent.” What did Schattschneider mean by this?

Interest group politics tends to favor business and corporate interests.

• A lot of this has to do with the free-rider problem and which groups find it easier to overcome it.

Why does the notice and comment process—authorized in the Administrative Procedure Act—matter to interest groups?

It allows interest groups an opportunity to influence the implementation of laws by federal agencies.

A very large number of interest groups would suggest a more _________ society.

pluralistic

What are some actual restrictions or conditions imposed by the government on lobbying practices?

• Trade associations must disclose the proportion of dues that go toward lobbying

• Lobbyists are not allowed to give members of Congress gifts worth more than $50

• Lobbyists must disclose the amounts and sources of small campaign contributions “bundled” into large contributions

• Interest groups are required to disclose the funds they use to rally voters

The root of interest group activity in the United States can be found in which of the following?

• The Bill of Rights

• Supreme Court precedent

• Congressional statutes

The Bill of Rights

What kind of strategies will an environmental group like the Sierra Club use to influence policy making?

Both insider and outsider strategies

What is the primary reason that the number of interest groups grew rapidly in the 1880s and 1890s?

The national government expanded its involvement in regulating commerce.

As championed by late-19th-century Populists, the ballot initiative takes laws proposed by ________ and brings them to ________ for a vote.

citizens ; citizens

What is the general term used to describe attempts by a group to influence the policy process through persuasion of government officials?

Lobbying

(True/False) Interest groups face a collective action problem because any of the government policies they want to change are collective goods.

True

What are some accurate statements about initiatives?

• Most initiatives today are funded by interest groups

• Initiative campaigns can cost millions of dollars

(True/False) Interest groups invest more heavily in electoral politics than in lobbying.

False

What statements about groups’ attempts to mobilize citizens are accurate?

• Mobilization attempts are most successful in local elections

• Groups are regularly able to mobilize their targeted citizens

• Being directly contacted by a campaign changes one’s likelihood of voting

How did the new social and political movements in the 1960s affect the development of interest groups?

• They helped lead to the creation of new groups focused on social behavior and public policy

• They created a generation of professionals and intellectuals who saw themselves as a political force

• They helped expand the categories of issues that groups organized around

(True/False) The US Chamber of Commerce and the American Farm Bureau Federation are examples of individual-based interests.

False

What are true statements about lobbyists?

• They help build legislative coalitions

• They often draft legislation

• They testify at committee hearings

• They are often former staffers or members of Congress

Sort the following activities into whether they are more characteristic of interest groups or of political parties.

• Focus on who has control of the government

• Take positions on narrow policy area

• Try to influence the policies of government through lobbying

• Run candidates in elections

• Parties

• Interest

• Interest

• Parties

What are accurate statements about PACs relating to the chapter about interest groups?

• PACs can contribute directly to candidates

• Contributions from PACs make up a moderately large proportion of House incumbent fund-raising.

The following terms are often confused: ___________ are most concerned with influencing the policies of government on a policy area, ___________ are most interested in influencing who gets elected, and ___________ are most interested in the personnel of government, often directly running individuals for political office.

interest groups ; political action committees ; political parties

(True/False) Business political action committees can use their companies’ treasury accounts to pay for political campaign contributions.

False. Business PACs have to rely on voluntary and limited donations from employees for fundraising.

What are some different functions that interest groups perform?

• Lobby policy makers

• Educate their members

• Monitor government programs

• Engage in electioneering

Interest groups may use __________ in mass-circulation magazines, newspapers, and television to improve their standing in the community at large, whereas ___________ occurs when a group uses its resources to generate letters by marketing firms, that appear as though they came from constituents.

advertising ; Astroturf lobbying

Groups will often try to influence popular opinion on an issue by ____________. Sometimes this takes the form of ____________, in which the group will try to mobilize its supporters to contact government officials in support of the group's position.

going public ; grassroots lobbying

What sorts of activities will interest groups do to attract members?

• Offer commercial discounts

• Host networking events

• Reinforce the group’s purpose

You are a lobbyist for a university that is hoping Congress will increase its federal support for the school. Explain the best case scenario to boost spending, and then work your way down to the worst case scenario.

• Large lobbying budget and the director’s legislator is on the relevant committee

• Small lobbying budget and the director’s legislator is on the relevant committee

• Large lobbying budget and the director’s legislator is NOT on the relevant committee

• Small lobbying budget and the director’s legislator is NOT on the relevant committee

Place the following types of organizations in order from most common to least common.

• Professional association

• Business association

• Blue-collar union

• Business association

• Professional association

• Blue-collar union

Why are campaign finance regulations so permissive?

The Supreme Court has struck down multiple attempts to regulate campaign finance.