Chapter 12 Interest Groups -...

48
Chapter 12 Interest Groups AP Government

Transcript of Chapter 12 Interest Groups -...

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Chapter 12 – Interest Groups

AP Government

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Interest Groups

• An organized group of individuals or organizations that makes policy-related appeals to government is called an interest group.

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Why Interest Groups Form?

Interest groups form

• To increase the chance that their views will be heard

• To influence government

• To represent interests and encourage political participation.

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Types of Interest Groups

• Economic

• Public

• Government or Public Sector

• Religious

• Civil Rights

• Ideological

• Single Issue

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Some interest groups organize because they have a direct economic interest in government policies.

Examples of such economic interest groups include:

• American Public Power Association

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce

• National Association of Manufacturers

• American Farm Bureau Federation

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Organized labor organizations are important economic interest groups in Washington politics too.

Examples include:

• AFL-CIO

• The International Brotherhood of Teamsters

• SEIU (Service Employees International

Union)

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Professional associations also try to influence the government:

–American Medical Association

–American Bar Association

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Some groups, like public interest groups and ideological groups, become active not out of direct economic interest but for some broader purpose.

Public-sector groupslike the National League of Cities, think tanks, and universities also lobby the government.

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Federalist 10 and Pluralism

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Interest Group Pluralism“By a faction I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are 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.”

—James Madison, Federalist 10

James Madison’s Federalist 10 provides a basis for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of interest group politics in the United States.

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Federlist 10 – James Madison

Because “the latent causes of faction … are sown in the nature of man,” Madison argued that institutional arrangement must be erected to control the effects of factional politics.

Madison believed:

• Balancing the conflicting interests of different factions was the most reliable way to control the negative effects of factional politics.

• Increasing the number and variety of factions actually aided the pursuit of the public good.

• Less likely to dominate political process is large with diverse interests.

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Following Madison, mid-20th century pluralists argued that interest group politics was a major strength of American government and society.

Pluralism is the theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government. The outcome of this competition is compromise and moderation.

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Pluralist Theory

• Interest groups are important to democracy

– Allow people to organize to change policies.

• Hundreds of interest groups compete for influence

– No one group will dominate others.

• Groups put up a fair fight

– No illegal activities to surpass other groups.

• Groups are equal in power

– Each have different resources to their disposal.

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Pluralists argued that Interest Groups

• Represent many diverse interests in society

• Provide expert information and perspectives that improve policy making.

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Critics of pluralism argued that interest groups

• Represent “special interests” – do not reflect the broader will of the people or

the public good

• Over represent the wealthy in society

• Provide self-serving and biased information that warp policy making.

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Elite Theory• Hundreds of interest groups

– Only a select few have any real power.

• Interests of only a handful of elites, usually business people, are almost always favored over other interests.

• Policy battles won by smaller interests are usually minor.

– Power mostly with large multinational corporations.

• System of elite control

– Maintained by a well-established structure of interlocking policy players.

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Hyper Pluralist Theory• Interest group liberalism:

• Sub Governments, or iron triangles, form around a specific policy areas. These are composed of

– an interest group

– a federal agency

– any legislative committees or subcommittees that handle the policy area.

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Hyper Pluralist Theory

• By avoiding having to choose between policy initiatives, government creates conflicting policies that waste time and money.

• Groups have too much political influence

– they usually get what they want.

• Competing sub governments (iron triangles) only add to the confusing regulations.

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Pluralists and their critics are united in their belief that interest groups are

Plentiful

Powerful

Influential

in American politics.

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Explosion in Interest Groups• Civil rights and Anti-

Vietnam War movements activists

• Form their own interest groups called the new politics movement.

• Groups include Common Cause, Sierra Club, and NOW

• 1970s and 1980s

– Technological factor contributing to the rise and success of new interest groups was computerized direct-mail campaigns.

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Logic of Collective Action

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The Logic of Collective Action, Mancur Olson argued about collective action

Incentives exist for individuals to shirk their responsibilities.

Individuals have incentives to “free ride” and let others invest time, energy, and money to getting policies passed.

Solution to Collective Action problem –provide benefits

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The Logic of Collective Action

Enhancing Democracy

“Evils” of factional politics

Interest groups (however problematic) are a fixture of American politics.

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Collective Action Principle

• Mancur Olson -

– Collective action most successful among wealthy business owners.

– Small group of privileged individuals.

• Lower class groups depend on political parties

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Selective Benefits

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Types of Selective Benefits

Interest groups give individuals incentives to join the group through the provision of selective benefits.

• informational benefits

• material benefits

• solidary benefits

• purposive benefits

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Types of Selective Benefits • Informational benefits

– Most widespread – information offered by conferences, training programs, newsletters to dues paying members. Educational benefits.

• Material benefits – Economic Groups

– Measured monetarily like special services, money

• Solidary benefits

– Friendship and networking opportunities.

• Purposive benefits

– Appeal of purpose of interest group. Christian Right is an example.

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The Institution Principle: Institutions routinely solve collective action problems.

Institutional arrangements provide for a division of labor, rules regarding decision making, and checks on the powers of political actors and institutions.

These routines and structured relationships enable cooperation that alleviate impediments to collective action.

The obstacles to overcoming the collective action problem are not insurmountable. By building a strong organization, interest groups can offer individuals powerful incentives to join groups and contribute to the collective good.

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Influence of Interest Groups

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Interest Group InfluenceInterest groups seek to

• Influence the creation and implementation of policy in the legislative and executive branches

• Influence the interpretation of policy in the courts

• Shape public opinion regarding policy

• Influence the outcomes of elections.

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Strategies of InfluenceContemporary interest groups seek influence over policy makers through a mix of “inside” strategies and “outside” strategies.

Inside strategies include:

• lobbying

• influencing administrative rule-making

• litigation

Outside strategies include:

• influencing election outcomes

• affecting media coverage

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Interest Groups – Going Public

• Grassroots lobbying campaigns played an important role in battles over presidential appointments to the Supreme Court.

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Regulation of Interest Groups

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Direct Lobbying

• Lobbying – attempt by a group to influence the policy process through persuasion of government officials.

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Lobbying Legislation

• 1946 Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act

– defines lobbyist

• 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act

– requires all organizations employing lobbyists to register in Congress.

– Disclose

• whom they represent

• what they are lobbying for

• how much they are paid.

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Electoral Politics• Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (1974)

– Limits campaign contributions and requires that each candidate or campaign committee provide

• Name, address, occupation, principal business for each person donating at least $100

• A political action committee is a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns.

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Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

• Passed in 2002

• Eliminated unrestricted soft-money donations

• 527 committees

– Named after tax code – run by former party officials

– Allowed to engage in political spending as are issue advocacy groups.

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Source: Center for Responsive Politics, “Top PACs” (http://www.crp.org/pacs/topacs.asp). Based on

incomplete 2007-2008 election cycle including moneys reported to Federal Election Commission as

of October 29, 2007.

PAC Contributors to Federal Candidates, Top 10 (2007-08)

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6

American Association for Justice

Credit Union National Association

AFSCME

Laborers' Union

National Beer Wholesalers Association

AT&T

Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union

American Bankers Association

International Brotherhood of Electrical

Workers

Operating Engineers Union

PA

C

Millions of Dollars

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When interest groups are able to place their representative directly on congressional staffs, these individuals are seen as “stealth lobbyists.”

Interest groups “lobby” legislators in efforts to shape policy as it is being made.

Interest groups also seek to cultivate access to officials in the executive branch to influence administrative rule making and the details of policy implementation.

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Interest Group Actions

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Interest Groups• Most interest groups try to maintain good

relations with both political parties.

• “Microsofted” – demonized by the public and Congress. Need extensive lobbying efforts.

• Exerting influence on Congress requires the interest groups to constantly cultivate easy and constant access to decision makers.

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Interest groups hire lawyers to influence the judiciary.

Sometimes groups are litigants in lawsuits.

Often groups submit amicus curiae briefs giving their perspectives on cases to which they are not a party.

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Interest groups seek to influence public opinionby

– Developing media strategies and advertising (known as going public)

– Mobilizing citizens at the grass roots. (Mass Mobilization)

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Grassroots Lobbying

• Phony grassroots mail campaigns from people are used to try and influence Congressmen on a particular issue is known as Astroturf lobbying.

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Initiatives• A process by which citizens may petition to place

a policy proposal on the ballot for public vote.

• First promoted by Populist in the late nineteenth century.

• Most initiatives today are sponsored by interest groups to circumvent legislative opposition.