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AmericanGovernment and

Politics Today

Chapter 7

Interest Groups

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Interest Groups: A Natural

Phenomenon In Democracy in America, Alexis de

Tocqueville wrote ...in no country of theworld has the principle of association beenmore successfully used or applied to agreater multitude of objectives than inAmerica.

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Interest Groups

If de Tocqueville was amazed at how associationshad flourished in the United States in 1834, hewould be astounded at the number of associations

today. Why have interest groups been so successful inthe United States?

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Why Do Americans Join

Interest Groups? Free rider problem. This is the difficulty

interest groups face in recruiting memberswhen the benefits they achieve can begained without joining the group.

Solidarity IncentivesMaterial Incentives

Purposive Incentives Retaining members

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Economic Interest Groups

Business interest groups (U.S. Chamber ofCommerce)

Agricultural Interest Groups (American Farm

Bureau Federation) Labor interest groups (American Federation of

Labor and the Congress of IndustrialOrganizations (AFL-CIO) )

Public Employee Unions (American Federation of

State, County and Municipal Employees)

Interest Groups of Professionals (American BarAssociation)

The Unorganized Poor

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What Makes an Interest

Group Powerful? Size and Resources Leadership

Cohesiveness

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Interest Group Strategies

Direct TechniquesLobbying

Publishing the voting records of members ofthe legislatureBuilding alliancesCampaign assistance

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Interest Group Strategies

(cont.) Indirect Techniques

Generating public pressure

Using constituents as lobbyistsUnconventional forms of pressure (marches,

rallies, and demonstrations)

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Regulating Lobbyists

The Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act(1946) required that individuals ororganizations that receive money for thepurpose of influencing national legislationmust register as a lobbyist or lobbyingorganization, and registered lobbyists mustmake public quarterly reports about all

lobbying activity. The Act was ineffective, however, as only

full-time lobbyists had to register.

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The Reforms of 1995

In 1995, Congress overhauled the lobbyinglegislation. The new legislation includesthe following provisions.A lobbyist is a person who spends 20 percent

of the time or more lobbying Congress or theexecutive branch.

Lobbyists who earn $5,000 or more must

register within 45 days of making contact witha member of Congress.

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The Reforms of 1995

Detailed reports must disclose the nature ofthe lobbying business twice a year.

Subsidiaries of foreign companies based inthe United States, must register aslobbyists.

Tax-exempt organizations and religiousorganizations are exempt from these

requirements.Recent Lobbying Scandals: Jack Abramoff

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Interest Groups and

Representative Democracy Interest Groups: Elitist or Pluralist?

The existence of interest groups would

appear to be an argument in favor ofpluralism. However, interest groupsare often led by upper-classindividuals, which argues for elite

theory. Interest Group Influence

Even the most powerful groups do notalways succeed in their demands.

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Questions for Critical Thinking

How have labor interest groups traditionallysought to influence policy?

Should foreign interest groups be banned, giventhat the interests of U.S. citizens frequently areintertwined with foreign interests (asemployees, for example)?

What kind of incentive would motivate you to

participate in an interest group? What are theincentives for the people that you know who areactive in interest groups?