What Are Interest Groups?

• An Interest Group (special interests) is an organization of people with similar policy goals that tries to influence the political process to try to achieve those goals.

• Interest groups try to influence every branch and every level of government.

The Roots and Development of American Interest Groups

• Interest groups have been part of the American political landscape since the country’s founding.

• James Madison in Federalist #10 argued for a proliferation of groups so that no one group could get hegemony over the other groups.

• The open nature of the American government invites organized political participation.

The Roots and Development of American Interest Groups

• National Groups Emerge (1830-80)• Progressive Era (1890-1920)

– Organized Labor – the American Federation of Labor (AFL) (1886)

– Business and Trade Associations – The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) (1895)

• The Rise of the Interest Group State (1960s and 1970s)– Religious and Ideological Groups

– Business Groups, Trade, and Professional Associations

– Organized Labor

What Do Interest Groups Do?• The most common and effective interest

group technique is lobbying or seeking to influence and persuade others to support your group's position.

• Lobbyists are hired by your college or university, businesses, foreign countries, trade associations, and anyone else wanting their voice heard on policy matters.

• A lobbyist is someone whose task it is to influence legislation or policymaking.

Interest Groups TechniquesDirect Techniques:• Lobbying

– private meetings– testifying– drafting legislation– social occasions– providing political

information– supplying nomination

suggestions

Indirect Techniques:• Generating Public

Pressure– groundswell of

public pressure– using constituents

as Lobbyists– building alliances

with other groups

Honest Lobbyists• A lobbyist must be honest and truthful if he or

she wants to remain effective.

• Access to lawmakers is critical and if a lobbyist gains a reputation for being untruthful or disingenuous legislators’ doors will close.

• Of course lobbyists put their group’s position in a favorable light, but good lobbyists will also make lawmakers aware of the downsides of a bill and the arguments on the other side as well.

Top Lobbying Expenditures

What Makes an Interest Group Successful?

In general three factors tend to lead to interest group success:

1. Leaders – Having a prominent leader aids in the reputation of the group and enhances a group’s ability to attain its goals.

2. Patrons and Funding – Funding is critical. Without money, it is difficult to get your message out.

3. Members – A group must have members to be successful. Organizing members allows for strength in numbers and pooling of financial support.

Interest Group Ratings of Selected Member of Congress

Pluralism and its Critics

• Pluralist theory argues that interest group activity brings representation to all.

• Interest groups compete and counterbalance one another.

• Three criticism of pluralism are1. It gives short shrift to

those who are not organized.

2. It fails to deal with the fact that some interests have more power than others.

3. It seems to leave no room for consideration of transcendent national interests.

Hyperpluralist Theory

Hyperpluralists argue that when interest groups become so powerful that they dominate the political decision-making structures they render any consideration of the greater public interest impossible.

Criticism of Interest Groups

Interest Groups have been criticized for– ignoring the wider interest of society

– producing confusion and deadlock in Congress

– generating so much emotion that they make reasoned discussion difficult

– having too much influence

Important Points to Think About

Interest Groups • promote interest in public affairs

• provide useful information

• serve as watchdogs

• represent the interest of citizens