Interest groups

AP Government

Interest Groups

A Nation of Interests

Interest Groups

A collection of people who share some common interest or attitude and seek to influence government for specific ends. Interest groups usually work within the framework of government and employ tactics such as lobbying to achieve their

goals.

Movement

A large body of people interested in a common issue, idea, or concern that is of

continuing significance and who are willing to take action. Movements seek to change attitudes or institutions, not

just politics.

The Politics of Influence• The 2004 presidential election featured ads by

interest groups

• Swift Boat Veterans for Truth• Video One• Video Two

• MoveOn• The Media Fund

• Known as “527s” due to their classification in the IRS tax code• Able to raise/spend unlimited amounts of money

as long as the expenditures were independent of the candidates/parties

Interest Groups Past and Present:The “Mischiefs of Faction”

• Faction: A term the founders used to refer to political parties and special interests or interest groups (Federalist Papers)• Madison believed that factions were “united and

actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.”

• He argued that “the causes of faction cannot be removed, and…relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its effects.”

• Pluralism: A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group (Interest Groups)

Types of Interest Groups: Economic Interest Groups

• Business

• Trade and other associations

• Labor

• Professional associations

Union Membership in the United States Compared to Other Countries

Labor Force and Union Membership, 1930-2007

What has happened to their political influence?

Labor• Open shop: A company with a labor

agreement under which union membership cannot be required as a condition of employment• Closed shop: A company with a labor

agreement under which union membership can be a condition of employment• Free rider: An individual who does

not join a group representing his or her interests, yet receives the benefit of the group’s influence

Types of Interest Groups: Ideological or Single-Interest Groups

-Christian Coalition

-NRA

-NARAL

-Club for Growth

Types of Interest Groups: Public Interest Groups

• Unsafe at Any Speed • (1965) Led to seatbelt laws• Founded Public Citizen; “Nader’s Raiders”• Ran for president as Green Party candidate in

1996 and 2000, and as independent in 2004 and 2008

Ralph Nader

Types of Interest Groups: Foreign Policy and Public Sector Interest Groups

Foreign Policy Interest Groups

• Council on Foreign Relations• American-Israel Political Action Committee

Public Sector Interest Groups

• National Governors Association

• National League of Cities

• National Educational Association

Interest Groups: Cohesiveness

Types of members in an organization

Small number of

formal members

People intensely involved with the group

People who are members in name only

Interest Groups: Techniques for Exerting Influence

Publicity, Mass Media, Internet

Direct Contact with Government

Litigation

Campaign Contributions

Forming a Political Party

Cooperative Lobbying

Mass Mailing

Who are the Lobbyists?• Lobbyist: A person who is employed by and acts for an organized

interest group or corporation to try to influence policy decisions and positions in the executive and legislative branches• Revolving door: An employment cycle in which individuals who

work for government agencies that regulate interests eventually end up working for interest groups or businesses with the same policy concern (what problem does this create?)

Who are the Lobbyists?

The Iron TriangleInterest groups

Members of CongressBureaucratic leaders and experts

Issue network: Relationships among interest groups, congressional committees and subcommittees, and the government agencies that share a common concern

Money and Politics

PAC

The political arm of an interest group that is legally entitled to raise funds on a voluntary

basis from members, stockholders, or employees in order to contribute funds to

favored candidates or political parties

Soft Money

Money raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for party-building purposes

Hard Money

Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited

in amount and fully disclosed

Money and Politics• Bipartisan Campaign

Reform Act (2002)• Largely banned party soft

money; restored long-standing prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes• Narrowed the definition of

issue advocacy Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz)., second left, and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc) smile during a news conference following the signing of the BCRA

Total PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates, 1975-2006 (in Millions)

PACs that Gave the Most to Federal Candidates, 2000-2006 (Millions of Dollars)

How PACs and Others Allocated Campaign Contributions to House Candidates, 2005-2006

• January 2010: Supreme Court—the law violates Amendment I

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission