Civics and Government - Unit 6
Interest Groups, Public Opinion, and the Media
Interest Groups: An Overview
1) Americans are much more likely to join political and social organizations than people in other countries.
2) Although most political scientist agree that this unique trend has a positive impact on democracy, the political power wielded by these groups sometimes dominates the political process at the expense of individuals and society as a whole.
3) Special interest groups have long been a feature of American political life.
a) Today Americans have organized to pressure all levels of government through interest groups.
b) These groups spend much time and money in organized efforts to influence officeholders to support laws that the groups feel will be beneficial.
4) An interest group is a group of people who share common goals and organizations to influence government.
5) Interest groups come in all shapes and sizes from very liberal to very conservative and everything in between.
6) Lobbyists pursue nearly every imaginable goal from tax credits to fundamental revisions of American political culture.
7) Federalist #10
a) Written by James Madison during the debate surrounding the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
b) Madison referred to “factions” as group of people who are united to promote special interest that were “adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.”
c) Madison explained that removing the causes of factions was not as acceptable as removing their effects.
d) He believed that the U.S. Constitution would be a sufficient safeguard against the potential abuses of these interest groups.
A. Section One: Interest Group Organization
1) Defining Interest Groups
a) They support candidates who favor their ideas, but they don not nominate candidates for office.
b) They influence government officials to support certain policies.
c) Usually concerned with only a few issues or specific problems.
d) They don’t try to gain members with different points of views.
e) Most are organized on the basis of common values, rather than geographic location.
f) National interest groups unite people with common attitudes from every region of the country.
2) The Purpose of Interest Groups
a) Interest groups help bridge the gap between the citizens and the government.
b) Through interest groups, citizens communicate their “wants” or policy goals to government leaders.
c) When lawmakers begin to address the vital concerns of an interest group, its members swing into action.
3) Political Power
a) Interest groups follow the principle of strength in numbers.
b) By representing more than one individual, an interest group has a stronger bargaining position with leaders in the government, but only proportionally.
1) The small the unit of government the greater the impact.
2) At the national level a group representing a few hundred individuals will not have the same impact with a group representing millions of individuals.
c) Organized and equipped with sufficient resources, an interest group can exert influence far beyond the power of its individual members.
4) Leadership and Membership
a) Interest group leaders strengthen the political power of the group by unifying members.
1) Through newsletters, mass mailings, and telephone calls.
a) They act as speakers for the group and try to improve its image on the media.
2) Plan strategy, raising money to run the organization, and the oversee financial decisions of the group.
5) Why Do People Join Interest Groups?
a) Usually, the first reason is to protect or promote their economic self-interest.
1) A labor union works for higher wages and better benefits.
2) Businesses work to ensure favorable tax laws.
b) People join to get their beliefs translated into policy.
c) Social reasons – socializing promotes a group unity that is vital to achieving political goals.
d) Since political decisions are made primarily through competing interest groups, people who do not belong to an interest group are at a disadvantage.
5) Types of Interest Groups
a) Economic Interest Groups
1) Most common type of interest group.
2) Seek some sort of economic advantage for their members.
3) These groups are usually well funded because members willingly contribute money in the hopes of reaping greater political influence and profits.
4) Economic groups work to win private goods(benefits that only the members of the group will enjoy).
5) If there is no private incentive, people might choose not to join (especially if there is a membership fee or dues).
6) There are four main types of economic groups: business groups, labor groups, agriculture groups, and professional associations.
7) Business Interest Groups
a) Business groups are the most common type of interest groups; more than half of all registered lobbyist work for business organization.
b) Some business lobbyists work for a single corporation, lobbying solely for that company.
c) Businesses also form associations with companies from the same industry to promote all of their interests.
1) The American Petroleum Institute works on behalf of oil companies.
2) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce seeks pro-business policies in general, not just policies that might help one industry or one specific part of the economy.
d) Because they are usually well funded, business groups tend to be very influential.
e) They work to promote the interests of private companies and corporations by seeking tax cuts, regulatory changes, and other pro-business benefits.
8) Labor Interest Groups
a) Labor groups represent unions, which work to increase wages and improve working conditions for both skilled and unskilled workers.
b) Individual workers have very little power, but banded together, they can wield significant influence.
c) Labor unions have been a significant part of American economic and political life since the late nineteenth century.
d) The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; the United Food and Commercial Workers International; and the Service Employees International are among the largest and most influential labor unions.
e) The AFL-CIO is an umbrella organization of labor unions that cooperate in order to expand their influence.
f) Labor unions spend much of their time and energy dealing with employers, but they also play a political role.
g) Unions mobilize voters and donate money to help candidates who they feel will benefit workers.
9) Agriculture Interest Groups
a) Represent the interest of farmers.
b) Farmers have been organized for centuries to protect themselves against price fluctuations and other issues.
c) The federal government spends large amounts of money supporting famers an influencing what crops are grown.
d) Not all agriculture groups agree on the same policies.
1) The Farm Bureau – tends to work most closely with large agribusinesses.
2) Farmers Unions and the Grange – tends to work to protect family farms.
e) 3 major groups represent almost 6 million American farmers.
1) American Farm Bureau Federation-speaks for the larger, more successful farmers-closely associated with the federal Department of Agriculture.
2) NFU-National Farmers’ Union-smaller farmers/favors higher price supports for crops and livestock and has supported laws protecting migrant farm workers
3) Patrons of Husbandry (the Grange)
a) More of a social organization.
b) Very outspoken in advocating price supports for crops.
4) Just as important are commodity associations representing groups such as dairy farmers and potato growers.
a) Congressional subcommittees dealing with agriculture are organized around commodity lines.
10) Professional Associations
a) Many professionals have formal organizations that set ground rules for the profession, regulate practices, and promote standards of conduct.
b) Lobby the government on issues related to their profession.
1) The American Medical Association – fights against laws it feels undercut physicians’ autonomy.
2) The National Education Association – lobbies for polices it feels will benefit teachers and students.
b) Non-economic Interest Groups
1) Overview
a) Sometimes call Citizens’ Groups.
b) Interest groups that fight for causes instead of working for material gain.
c) Seek Public Goods (also called Collective Goods) which benefit everyone in society, not just members of the groups.
d) Focus on a variety of Selective Incentives:
1) Purposive Benefits – The emotional and psychological benefits members receive knowing they have contributed to a cause they feel is worthwhile.
2) Solidarity Benefits – The benefits members receive after meeting new people and friends they worked with to promote the cause.
3) Informational Benefits – The educational benefits members receive after having learned more about the issues that matter to them.
2) Four main types of non-economic groups.
a) Public Interest Groups
1) Groups work for the good of the whole society, not just one part of it.
2) Public interest groups often have very different ideas of how to improve society.
3) Examples:
a) Greenpeace works to protect ecosystems around the world and to educate the public about environmental issues.
b) Democracy 21 seeks to strengthen democracy by lobbying for election and campaign finance reform.
b) Single-Issue Groups
1) Work solely on one specific issue.
2) Tend to be strongly driven; composed of members who are passionately committed to a particular cause.
3) The number of single-issue groups has grown greatly.
4) Examples:
a) National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbies against gun legislation.
b) Operation Rescue works to ban abortion.
c) Ideological Groups
1) Have much broader aims than single-issue groups.
2) Group aims are strongly rooted in a particular philosophy.
3) Often work to change cultural norms, values, and prevailing stereotypes.
4) Examples:
a) Conservative ideological groups include the Christian Coalition and the Traditional Values Coalition.
b) Liberal ideological groups include NOW (National Organization for Women) and the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).
d) Government Groups
1) Represent the interests of other governments (state and local).
2) Many cities and states employ lobbyists in Washington, D.C. to act in their interest.
3) Most foreign governments also hire lobbyists to promote their interests in Congress and the White House.
c) Some Major Interest Groups
Category / Type of Group / ExampleEconomic / Business / National Association of Manufactures
Labor / International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Agriculture / American Farm Bureau Federation
Professional Association / American Bar Association
Non-Economic / Public Interest / The League of Women Voters
Single Issue / The Environmental Defense Fund
Ideological / Christian Coalition
Government / National League of Cities
B. Section Two: Affecting Public Policy (Strategies Used by Interest Groups)
1) Overview
a) Organized groups are more effective than unorganized ones.
b) A well-organized group can wage a coordinated campaign that incorporates many different tactics.
c) A well-organized small group often has a bigger impact than a large, poorly organized one.
d) To promote their causes, interest groups hire representatives called lobbyists to make direct contact with lawmakers.
1) Lobbyists employ a number of tactics and offer lawmakers a number of benefits to achieve their goals.
2) Some of these include persuasion, information, material incentives, economic leverage, disruption, and litigation.
e) Others means by which interest groups influence public policy.
1) Interest groups employ television, radio, magazine, and newspaper advertising to create public support for their causes.
2) They may also resort to court action or seek a constitutional amendment to achieve their goals.
2) The Inside Game: Lobbying
a) Interest groups influence government using variants on one of two strategies, the inside game and the outside game.
b) Inside Game
1) Refers to attempts to persuade government officials through direct inside contact.
2) Another term for the inside game is lobbying.
3) Washington is filled with thousand of lobbyists, covering every imaginable issue and viewpoint.
3) The Work of Lobbyists
a) Most interest groups try to influence government policy by making direct contact with lawmakers and other government officials.
b) This process or direct contact is called lobbying.
c) The representatives of interest groups who do this kind of work are called lobbyists.
d) Lobbying is one of the most widely used and effective techniques available to interest groups.
e) Access
1) The key to lobbying is access: To influence an official, one must be able to speak to that official.
2) Given how busy members of Congress and other government officials often are, getting access poses a major challenge.
3) Sometimes a lobbyist can only get two or three minutes of the official’s time, so the lobbyist must be prepared to make the pitch very quickly.
f) Persuasion and Information (The number one activity of lobbyists).
1) Lobbyists work to persuade government officials.
2) Lobbyists offer arguments, evidence, and research to support their groups’ positions.
3) Many government officials do not have the time to research issues themselves so they rely on information form trusted interest groups and lobbyists to keep them informed and up to date.
4) One of the most important ways that lobbyists make their case is by providing a member of Congress with facts and data about the policy they want.
5) The information lobbyists provide legislators comes in many forms – pamphlets, reports, and statistical and trend data.
g) Material Incentives
1) Although persuasion is a key part of lobbying, interest groups also provide some material incentives to government officials.
2) Laws limit government officials from taking gifts, but they can still be wined and dined.
a) In this process of lobbying legislators, a lobbyist might end up paying for lunch or giving the lawmaker something else of value.
b) House and Senate rules place limitations on gifts.
1) Senators and their staff cannot accept any gift (including meals and entertainment) of more than $50 from a lobbyist.
2) The Senate and the House also have $100 limits on gifts from any single
source.
c) Lobbyists can hold informational seminars for officials, flying them to places such as the Florida Keys or a golf resort to educate them about issues.
4) Who are Lobbyists? (As defined by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995)
a) An advocate who is employed or retained by a client
b) An advocate who more than one contact for the client
c) An advocate that spends more than 20% of his/her time serving the client
5) Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
a) The goal of the Act was to make sure that all lobbyists were registered.
b) The activities of the lobbyists could be monitored, thus preventing illegal influence (bribes and favors) given to members of the U.S. Congress.
c) There has been a rapid growth in the number of lobbyists (approximately 37,000) with annual expenditure on lobbying activities of roughly $2.2 billion dollars.
6) Profile of Lobbyists.
a) Many are former government officials who already have contacts in friends in government.
b) Lobbying has proved to be an attractive second career for many members of Congress.
1) Former government officials, especially high-ranking ones, can often earn large salaries by working as lobbyists.
2) These officials are often in great demand as lobbyists because they know many people in government and can get access easily.
c) Lobbyists are often lawyers or public relations experts.
d) Understanding the government and how it works is vital for a lobbyist to be successful and effective.
7) Lobbying the Legislative Branch
a) Legislators realize that lobbyists tend to be biased in presenting data / information.
b) A lobbyist who grossly misrepresents the facts runs the risk of losing a legislator’s trust and permanently losing access to him or her.
c) Lobbyists provide information in congressional testimony.
1) Usually when Congress is considering a bill, lobbyists are invited to testify because of their expertise.
d) Drafting Bills
1) Besides providing information to lawmakers, lobbyists and interest groups might help write bills.
2) Many well-organized interest groups have research staffs that help members of Congress draft proposed laws.
3) Studies have shown that interest groups and their lobbyists draft parts of or entire bills for almost fifty percent of all legislation.
8) Lobbying the Executive Branch
a) Although some lobbyists have direct access to the president, most have access only to the lower levels of the executive branch.
b) Interest groups particularly target regulatory agencies that have the ability to set policy affecting commerce and trade throughout the country.
c) Some scholars have claimed that lobbying of regulatory agencies has resulted in agency capture, effectively handling control of the agency over to the industry it was intended to regulate.
9) Lobbying the Judicial Branch
a) Interest groups work to influence courts in a number of ways.
1) File amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs – presenting an argument in favor of a particular issue being litigated.
2) Sometimes interest groups file lawsuits against the government or other parties.
3) The American Civil Liberties Union makes extensive use of the courts to advocate positions of importance to them.
10) The Outside Game: Public Pressure and Electoral Influence
a) Overview
1) Interest groups run publicity campaigns to win public support for their policies and put pressure on public officials.
2) Interest groups use a wide variety of technique in their effort to influence policy makers.
3) Interest groups playing the outside game often rely on grassroots activism and electoral strategies to achieve their goals.
b) Grassroots Activism
1) Consists of mobilizing large numbers of people to achieve the interest group’s goal.
2) By mobilizing thousands (or millions) of voters, an interest group can demonstrate to government officials that the public strongly supports its particular cause.
3) Most grassroots activists rely on a number of tactics to achieve their goals.
a) Rallies and marches: Bringing together thousands of people generates excitements and determination among supporters.
b) Letter writing campaigns: Interest groups often encourage members to write to their senator or member of Congress, seeking to demonstrate their influence through the number of letters sent.