Interest Groups and Lobbying What is an Interest

Interest Groups and Lobbying

What is an Interest Group? • Organized group of individuals that share common goals or objectives • Work to influence policymakers in all three branches of government, and at all levels • Pluralism

Why People Join Interest Groups? • Free Riders – Someone who can obtain the benefits of membership without participation or even joining • Incentives – Solidary incentives – Material incentives – Purposive incentives

Types of Interest Groups • • Economic Interest Groups Environmental Interest Groups Public Interest Groups Special Interest Groups

Public & Special Interest Groups • Public Interest Groups – groups that advocate the interests of the collective, overall community – Nader organizations -- organizations organized under the leadership of consumer activist Ralph Nader • Special Interest Groups – narrowly focused interest groups. – Examples include abortion interest groups and groups that advocate for individuals who share a racial, ethnic or age association

Interest Group Strategies: Direct Techniques • Lobbying – meeting officials and attempting to convince of your position on an issue; Lobbying also entails – testifying before congressional committees – testifying before executive rulemaking agencies – assisting in the drafting of legislation – entertaining legislators – providing information to legislators – assisting in nominating individuals to government posts • Ratings – scoring legislators based on their votes in congress, then making interested constituents aware of those scores • Campaign Assistance – providing workers for political campaigns • Political Action Committees –a committee that raises money and gives donation on behalf of organizations to political candidates or political parties.

Interest Group Strategies: Indirect Techniques • Generating Public Pressure – trying to influence the government by using public opinion on an issue • Using Constituents as Lobbyists – shotgun approach means having large numbers of constituents act in concert by writing, emailing, phoning or sending postcards to a legislator – rifle approach involves having an influential constituent contact a legislator on a particular issue • Building Alliances – forming alliances with other diverse groups who share a policy goal

The Iron Triangle Congressional Committees Interest Groups Executive agencies

Attempts at Regulating Lobbyists • Some regulations on lobbying passed in 1995 -96 include – defining “lobbyist” – requiring lobbyists to register – requiring semiannual reports • Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (2007 BUSH 43) – Quaterly reporting – $10 K spending cap – Earmarks made public • Obama – – – Claimed would not employ lobbyists in administration Limited access to administration officials By 2010, many former lobbyists had administration posts

Decline in Union Membership, 1948 to Present 10

Interest Groups and Representative Democracy • Interest Groups: Elitist or Pluralist? – The existence of interest groups would appear to be an argument in favor of pluralism. – Interest groups are often led by upper-class individuals, which argues for elite theory.

Representation & the Problem of Bias • Do interest groups reflect an upper-class bias? – Those most likely to belong to a voluntary association have higher incomes, college degrees, white collar jobs • Are interest groups the factions Federalist 10 claimed a large republic protected against? – Interest Group Influence • Small group that can have significant access to policymaking • Do not always succeed in their demands; however: – Disproportionate influence thru organization – Lobbying as corruption