Chapter 11: Interest Groups

Objectives:

1. Explain what an interest group is, and identify the main factors that led to their rise in America.

   1. An interest group is a group that shares a common political goal and attempts to influence public policy. The main factors that led to their rise in America include broad economic developments, government policy, and the emergence of social movements. Broad economic developments, such as industrialization, created new interests and redefined old ones. Government policies, such as those passed in the 1930s that allowed unions to go on strike, provided the infrastructure for these groups to form and gain power. Social movements, such as the anti-slavery organizations of the 1830s and 1840s, provided leadership and organization to many interest groups. Finally, the more the government does, the more interest groups will arise or expand in order to influence public policy.

2. Detail the various types of interest groups in America, and explain the types of people who join interest groups.

   1. There are four main types of interest groups: institutional, membership, ideological, and public-interest. Institutional interest groups are organizations that represent other organizations, and they typically focus on vital concerns of their clients. Membership interests are groups of people who come together due to their shared beliefs, and they often seek to take civic or political action. Ideological interest groups are organizations that attract members by appealing to their specific interests, while public-interest lobbies are groups that promote policies that benefit nonmembers. People join interest groups for several reasons. Solidary incentives are the sense of pleasure, status, or companionship that arise out of being in an interest group. Material incentives are money or readily valued goods, while purposive incentives are the appeal of an interest group’s stated goal. However, there are certain biases in interest groups. Organizations that represent business and the professions are much more better financed than organizations representing minorities or the disadvantaged.

3. Summarize the ways interest groups relate to social movements.

   1. Interest groups and social movements are closely related and often interact with each other. Social movements are collective challenges to existing social structures and cultural norms. They often emerge from the grassroots and have the potential to affect a wider audience than interest groups alone. Interest groups often form as a result of a social movement. For example, the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s was instrumental in the formation of several environmental interest groups, such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Similarly, the feminist movement of the same period gave rise to a number of feminist interest groups, such as the National Organization for Women and the National Women's Political Caucus. Interest groups can also play an important role in social movements. They can provide organizational support, technical advice, and financial resources to help a movement gain momentum and reach its goals. For example, unions were essential in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, providing material assistance and public support. Similarly, interest groups were key players in the labor movement of the early twentieth century, providing organizational skills and legal expertise to help workers achieve their

4. Explain the various ways interest groups try to influence the policymaking process.

   1. Interest groups play a major role in influencing the policymaking process by utilizing various strategies. One way they do this is through lobbying and providing information to policymakers. This information is often specialized and not easily accessible to the general public. Interest groups also serve as political cues for legislators, with some interest groups providing ratings of legislators based on their voting history. Another way interest groups influence the policymaking process is through earmarks, which are essentially special provisions attached to bills that outline how federal activities should be used. Finally, interest groups also employ what is known as an outsider strategy in order to generate public pressure directly on government officials. This typically involves a large-scale campaign to rally public support and pressure government officials to take a certain stance on an issue. All of these strategies demonstrate how interest groups can have a significant influence on the policymaking process.

5. Describe the ways in which interest groups’ political activity is limited.

   1. Interest groups play an increasingly important role in the American political system, but their political activity is limited in certain ways. The First Amendment protects the right of the people to engage in political speech, including through interest groups, but this right is not absolute. The federal government and state governments have enacted laws that regulate the activities of interest groups. At the federal level, all registered lobbyists must disclose their client list and expenditures. In addition, Political Action Committees are subject to limits on the amount of money they can contribute to candidates or campaigns. States and cities may also have their own laws regulating interest groups.

Factors of The Rise of Interest Groups:

• Broad economic developments that create new interests and redefine old ones
• Government policy helped create interest groups.
  • For example, wars create veterans, who in turn demand pensions and other benefits.
  • Workers had a hard time organizing as long as the government prevented strikes. After Congress passed laws in the 1930s that banned this, that allowed unions to go on strikes.
• Political organizations need someone to exercise leadership, and oftentimes these leads are found in social movements.
  • For example anti slavery organizations were created in the 1830s and 1840s by enthusiastic young people influenced by a religious revival sweeping the country.
• The more the government does, the more interest groups will arise or expand and try to influence public policy.
  • Ex: after the Patriot Act was enacted the DHS was created, private companies were specializing in work related to security and counterterrorism. New lobbies quickly formed to represent these firms.

Kinds of Organizations:

• Institutional interests: individuals or organizations representing other organizations.
  • Tend to be interested in vital concerns of their clients.
• Membership interests: individuals who subscribe to an interest groups because they share the same beliefs
  • Getting together for civic or political actions reflects a greater sense of political efficacy.
• Incentives to join:
  • Solidary incentives: sense of pleasure, status, or companionship that arises out of being in an interest group
  • Material incentives: money or readily valued goods
  • Purposive incentive: the appeal of an interest group’s stated goal
  • Organizations that attract members by appealing to their interest are called ideological interest groups
  • If the purpose benefits nonmembers, then the group is a public-interest lobby.
• Interest groups in Washington have an upper class bias
  • Well of people are more likely than poor people to join and be active in interest groups
  • Interest groups representing business and the professions are much more better financed than organizations representing minorities or the disadvantaged.

Interest Groups and Social Movements:

• Social movements can be triggered by a disaster, a dramatic and widely publicized activists of a few leaders, or the coming of age of a new generation.
• The environmental movement is a good example of how a social movement gives rise to interest groups formed from reliance on purposive incentives.
• Feminist movement:
  • Some rely on solidary incentives, which enroll upper and middle class women.
  • Some attract members with purposive incentives.
  • Some take on issues that have material benefits for women.
• The union movement:
  • Started during the Great Depression and a sympathetic administration in Washington led to a rapid growth in union membership
  • However union membership has fallen steadily.
  • Caused due to a shift in the nation’s economic life away from industrial production and toward service delivery.
  • Unions still persist because most can rely on incentives other than purposive ones to keep them going.

The Activities of Interest Groups:

• Lobbying and providing information:
  • Supplying credible information to policymakers about the consequences of a particular piece of legislation
  • The information is not always easily accessible, and instead it is highly specialized.
  • Many business groups and trade associations lobby because they are seeking private goods.
  • Lobbyists are much more influential on narrow niche bills which are far from the spotlight.
• Giving political cues to legislators.
  • Liberal legislators may look to see whether typical liberal interest groups (NAACP, Farmers Union, AFL-CIO, etc) favor a proposal.
  • Conservative legislators may look to see whether typical conservative interest groups (NRA, Chamber of Commerce, Americans for Constitutional Action, etc) favor a proposal.
  • These cues are made by ratings that interest groups make of legislators, based on a legislator's voting history.
• Earmarks:
  • Lobbying organizations figured out that clients would pay for information about how to convert some bit of federal activity to their benefit.
  • Amid criticism, in 2011 Congress agreed to ban earmarks.
• Public support:
  • Outsider strategy is designed to generate public pressure directly on government officials

Regulating Interest Groups:

• Interest Group activity is a form of political speech protected by the First Amendment - it cannot be lawfully abolished or curtailed.

• All registered lobbyists must publicly divulge their client list and expenditures.

• Legal limits on PAC contributions.

• States and cities have their own laws regulating interest groups.

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