1. Chapter 11 Political Parties and Interest Groups Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005 American Government 2006 Edition (to accompany the Essentials Edition) O’Connor and Sabato

2. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 What Is A Political Party?  A group of office holders, candidates, activists, and voters who identify with a group label and seek to elect to public office individuals who run under that label.  Consist of three separate but related entities: Governmental party. Organizational party. Party in the electorate.

3. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Evolution of American Party Democracy  Federalists and Anti-Federalists  Hamilton and Jefferson Jefferson’s group (later the Republicans) preferred a federal system with more powerful states. Hamilton’s group preferred strong central government.  No broad-based party organizations existed on either side to mobilize popular support.  Congressional factions primarily governmental party factions

4. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 American Party History at a Glance

5. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 The Modern Era Versus The Golden Age: Is the Party Over?  Social, political, technological, and governmental changes have contributed to party decline since the 1920s. Government assumed functions of party  Printing ballots, conducting elections, providing social welfare services.  1930s social services seen as right not privilege extended in exchange for support.  Flow of immigrants slowed dramatically.

6. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Why Third Parties Tend to Remain Minor  Electoral system Single-member, plurality elections v. proportional representation  A voting system that apportions legislative seats according to the percentage of the vote won by a particular political party  State laws  Democrats and Republicans in state legislatures protect their interests  Public funding rules  News media tendencies  Voter behavior  Can’t win syndrome

7. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Political and Social Changes  Direct primary  Civil service laws  Issue-oriented politics Post-WWII era: rise in education associated with rise to focus on politics in context of specific issues  Civil rights, tax-cutting, environmentalism rather than party labels  Issue politics leads to more ticket-splitting.  Shift from urban to suburban locales Privacy and detachment (hurt party organizers)  Television Emphasizes personalities rather than abstracts like party label

8. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 The Parties Endure  Evolved  Changed form  Have been reliable vehicles for mass participation in a representative democracy Orchestrated the gradual expansion of suffrage in quest of new supporters Some efforts to contract electorate  Southern Democrats and black participation  Flexible and pragmatic  Competitive Of the 30 presidential elections from 1884 to 2004, Republicans have won 17 and Democrats 14. Have bounced back from landslide defeats Contemporary parties are starting to stand for very different pictures of political reality.

9. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 The Functions of American Parties  Mobilizing support and gathering power  Force for stability and moderation  Unity, linkage, and accountability  Electioneering  Voting and issue cue  Policy formation and promotion National party platform

10. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Political Party Organization in America

11. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 What Are Interest Groups?  An organized group that tries to influence public policy  Robert Putnam “bowling alone”  Social capital  Civic virtue

12. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Why and How Interest Groups Form and Maintain Themselves  The Role of Leaders  The Role of Patrons and Funding  The Role of Members Collective good Free rider problem

13. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 The Roots & Development of American Interest Groups  National groups emerge (1830-1889) Communication networks enabled nationalization of groups First were single-issue groups deeply rooted in the Christian religious revivalism  Temperance, Peace, Education, and Slavery Other groups emerged after the Civil War Lobbyists  Interest group representative who seeks to influence legislation that will benefit his or her organization through political persuasion.

14. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 The Roots & Development of American Interest Groups  The Progressive Era (1890-1920) Grew out of concern for impact of rapid industrialization, influx of immigration, monopolistic business practices, crime, poverty, poor working conditions Organized Labor  AFL  Clayton Act: allowed unions to organize free from prosecution and guaranteed their right to strike Business Groups and Trade Associations  Trade Associations: a group that represents a specific industry  National Electric Light Association

15. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 The Rise of the Interest Group State  1960s and 1970s saw a reappearance of the Progressive spirit. Civil Rights Women’s Rights Elderly Poor Consumers Environment  Common Cause and Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen  Conservative Backlash: Religious and Ideological Groups Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority Pat Robertson, the 700 Club and the Christian Coalition National Rifle Association

16. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Conservative Backlash: Religious and Ideological Groups  1978: Rev. Jerry Falwell founded first major new religious group, the Moral Majority  1990: Pat Robertson, The 700 Club and the Christian Coalition  The NRA (National Rifle Association)

17. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 How NRA Membership Has Fluctuated

18. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 What Do Interest Groups Do?  Lobbying The activities of a group or organization that seeks to influence legislation and persuade political leaders to support the group’s position 23 ways for lobbyists and organizations to lobby on the state and national level  Most often they: testify at legislative hearings, contact government officials directly, help draft legislation

19. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Lobbying Congress  Members of Congress targets of lobbyists  Many lobbyists former members Former Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and Robert Mitchell (D-ME) earn well over a million dollars a year as Washington lobbyists.

20. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Lobbying Congress  Today lobbyists try to develop close relationships with members to gain access to the process of policy making. Information is critical.  Lobbyists also work most closely with representatives who are their friends.

21. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Attempts to Reform Congressional Lobbying  Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act, 1946  Lobbying Disclosure Act, 1995 Employs a strict definition of lobbyist Requires lobbyists to:  Register with the clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate  Report their clients and issues and the agency or house they lobbied  Estimate the amount they are paid by each client Makes it easier for watchdog groups to track the lobbying activity

22. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Lobbying the Executive Branch  As the scope of federal government has expanded, so has lobbying of the executive branch Many potential access points Lobbyist seek influence at formation and implementation stages. An especially strong link exists between interest groups and regulatory agencies.

23. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Lobbying the Courts  Can take two forms Direct sponsorship Filing amicus curiae briefs  Brief that informs the court of the group’s policy preferences, generally in guise of legal arguments  Interest groups also attempt to influence who is nominated and placed on the bench.

24. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Grassroots Lobbying  A form of pressure-group activity that attempts to involve individuals who contact their representatives directly in an effort to influence policy  Persuading ordinary voters to act as the group’s advocates

25. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Protest Activities  Some groups resort to more forceful, legal as well as illegal measures to attract attention to their cause. Sometimes violent, illegal protest (Boston Tea Party, Shay’s Rebellion) Civil Rights Movement  Marches with permits legal

26. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 Election Activities  Candidate recruitment and endorsements  Getting out the vote  Rating the candidates or office holders  Political action committees

27. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006 What Makes An Interest Group Successful?  Leaders  Patrons and Funding Person who finances a group or individual activity  Members Free riders: potential members fail to join a group because they can get the benefit, or collective good, sought by the group without contributing to it.