Interest -1Ch.7
- Groups
The existence of interest groups represents a fundamental dilemma for the U.S. political system. Interest groups work to gain advantages for themselves at the expense of the larger population. Indeed, James Madison warned that factions would go as far as to suppress the rights of others to achieve their objectives. Yet, interest groups are a manifestation of liberty; curbing interest groups means curbing freedom. Interest groups do play many positive roles. Among other things, they represent people before their government. One troubling aspect of interest group politics has to do with the nature of this representation. Some segments of society (particularly the wealthy, the well educated, and businesses) are more likely to be represented by lobbying organizations than are other constituencies. This inequity is also manifested in the resources available to groups. The development of citizens groupsorganizations built around policy concerns unrelated to members vocational interestsprovides some opportunities for these inequities to be remedied, but the less educated and the poor are still under-represented in a system that provides advantages to business groups. In recent years, we have observed an upsurge in the number of interest groups. The most troubling aspect of that growth is the increasingly significant role political action committees, or PACs, play in financing congressional elections. The greatest portion of PAC contributions comes from corporate PACs. Critics charge that PACs gain undue advantage from the access they gain with contributions. They argue that PACs exacerbate the inequities in U.S. society. Defenders respond that PACs are a way in which people can participate in politics. Moreover, shouldnt people have the freedom to join together with other like-minded Americans to promote the candidates they believe in?
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Interest groups and the U.S. political tradition A. An interest group can be defined as an organized body of individuals who share some political goals and try to influence public policy. B. Do interest groups contribute to the proper functioning of democracy, or are they a threat to democracy? 1. Alexis de Tocqueville, in Democracy in America, suggested that the ease with which Americans form organizations is a reflection of a strong democratic culture. 2. In Federalist No. 10, James Madison warned, however, of the dangers of factions. a) He noted that the causes of factions were sown in the nature of man. b) He believed eliminating factions was a mistake because that would restrict liberty. Rather, relief from factions should come from controlling their effects. C. Interest groups play many roles in the U.S. political system. 1. Representation: Interest groups represent their constituents before government. 2. Participation: Interest groups facilitate peoples participation in politics. 3. Education: Interest groups help to educate their members, the public at large, and government officials. 4. Agenda building: News issues are brought onto the political agenda through interest group advocacy. 5. Program monitoring: Lobbying organizations keep track of how programs are working in the field and try to persuade government to take action when problems become evident. How do interest groups form? A. Pluralists such as David Truman see interest groups forming naturally when people are adversely affected by a disturbance. 1. Yet, some people who are adversely affected do not organize. 2. Herbert Gans The Urban Villagers tells the story of Bostons West Enders, who did
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not effectively organize to stop the bulldozing of their neighborhood. Political scientist Robert Salisbury argues that the quality of leadership is a key determinant of successful interest group formation. 1. He sees an interest group leader as an entrepreneur who must convince potential members that compelling reasons exist to join the organization. 2. The development of the United Farm Workers Union seems to support Salisburys thesis. Many previous efforts to organize the workers had failed, despite the real need for representation that these poor people had. Cesar Chavezs inspired leadership seemed to make the difference and led to the successful formation of the United Farm Workers Union. C. Who is being organized is also an important force affecting group formation. The wealthy and the well educated are more likely to form and join lobbies. (see Figure 7.1) What resources are available to interest groups? A. One of the most valuable resources a group can have is a large and politically active membership. 1. Business, professional, and trade associations have an easier time holding on to members than citizen groups do. 2. A citizen group must rely largely on ideological appeals. Many try to attract new members through direct mail. 3. One problem interest groups have in attracting members is the free-rider problem. Nonmembers can obtain the public policy benefits of the organizations lobbying even though they pay no dues. 4. Many people join interest groups anyway. Some join for the selective (nonpolitical) benefits or because they realize that if everyone decides to let George do it, it wont get done. B. Lobbyists can be either full-time employees of the organization or hired from law firms or public relations firms. 1. The typical interaction between a lobbyist and a policymaker is the transmission of information from the lobbyist to the official. 2. What the lobbyist is trying to do is to convince the policymaker that the lobbyists data are accurate and deserve more attention than presented those by opposing lobbyists. C. Political action committees (PACs) pool contributions from group members and donate those funds to candidates for office. (see Figure 7.1) 1. Two types of PACs have shown the greatest growth in numbers: a) Corporate PACs. b) Nonconnected PACs (ideological PACs formed solely for channeling funds). 2. For most PACs, the primary goal of their contributions is to gain access to incumbents. 3. The role of PACs in financing elections has become the most controversial aspect of interest group politics. a) Critics charge that the money contributed leads to influence and that in a democracy influence should not be tied to money. b) Defenders argue that PACs provide a way for people to participate in politics. Lobbying tactics A. In direct lobbying, a groups representatives have direct contact with a policymaker. 1. Lobbyists make personal presentations to officials. 2. Testifying before committees is another direct tactic. 3. Organizations may go to court and litigate. B. In grass-roots lobbying, an interest groups rank-and-file members, and possibly others outside the organization, try to influence government on some issue. 1. Letter writing is one such tactic. 2. Political protests are sometimes held, but it is hard for a group to rely on such action because sustaining the anger and energy of large numbers of participants is difficult. C. Information campaigns are organized efforts to gain public backing by bringing the
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groups views to the publics attention. Public relations may involve advertising in newspapers (which is very expensive), sending speakers to meetings, or disseminating pamphlets or fact sheets. 2. Sponsoring research is another way interest groups press their cases. 3. Some groups publicize the voting records of Congress. Some publish indexes of how members of Congress voted on issues of critical importance to the group. D. In recent years Washington lobbies have adopted high-tech resources such as e-mail, faxes, the World Wide Web, and so forth, speeding up the process of communications with their members and with each other. E. Coalition building takes place when several groups join together in a lobbying campaign. V. Evaluating bias A. Lobbying must be evaluated through the pluralist and majoritarian frameworks. 1. Lobbying reinforces the pluralist definition of who has power in policymaking. 2. However, because elections are majoritarian, the party in power tends to have more say in policymaking. 3. One problem is membership biassome types of people (the middle and uppermiddle classes) are far better represented by organized interest groups. 4. Lower-income people tend to be represented by issue-oriented lobbies whose members are not poor but whose policy positions address the problems of the poor. B. Citizen groups are those that have no economic self-interest in the policies they pursue. 1. Common Cause, for example, pushes for good government legislation. 2. Public interest groups can be liberal or conservative. C. The number of business lobbies has increased significantly. (see Figure 7.2) 1. Both the number of trade associations and the number of corporate offices located in Washington, D.C., have risen sharply. 2. The growth of federal regulation is one reason the number of business lobbies is growing. VI. The issue of access A. While government officials may limit access by certain interest groups, other officials, with differing ideologies, keep the door open. B. However, all forms of access are not equally useful to interest groups, and some groups have better access over time. VII. Reform A. Putting limits on interest groups without limiting fundamental freedoms is difficult. B. More recently, Congress has required disclosure of all campaign contributions so the sources can be identified. C. In 1995 Congress passed a law requiring lobbyists to register and to file semiannual reports disclosing their clients, the amount of money they spent on lobbying activities, and the amount of money they were paid. D. Reformers have called for reducing the role of PACs in financing elections. 1. The controversy over PACs reflects the tension between the principles of freedom and equality. 2. Critics charge that PACs reinforce, if not expand, the inequities between rich and poor. 3. But PAC supporters counter that people should have the right to join with others who think as they do and support the candidates they do. E. In 2002 wide-reaching reforms were enacted to eliminate soft money donations to national parties in federal elections. These were in effect for the first time in the 20032004 election cycle. Two results were quickly apparent. 1. In the 2004 election a lot more money flowed through new 527 organizations. a) 527 organizations are tax exempt, and are regulated by the IRS rather than the FEC. b) PACs can run ads that advocate a candidates election or give up to $5,000 to a candidates campaign.
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While a 527 cannot give money to a candidates campaign or run ads saying elect or defeat a particular candidate, they can spend unlimited amounts of money on independent advertising that shows candidates in a positive or negative light. d) Example: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ran highly effective ads attacking John Kerrys war record in 2004. e) Eliminating soft money contributions to national parties simply shifted the funds elsewhere. We saw presidential candidates going outside the federal funding system during the primaries to raise unlimited funds on their own, far in excess of the spending limits if they had used government-matching funds.