Chapter 26 (2) Organized Interests in Texas

The roles of parties and interests Interest groups and political parties are able to foster citizen participation in politics. Do political parties represent the interests of citizens or have they hindered “…the state’s ability to keep pace with today’s rapid changes”?

Interest groups Faction: a group of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, united and actuated by some common impulse of passion or interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community Interest group: an organization of individuals who share a common political goal and are united for the purpose of influencing government decisions Political action committee (PAC): the fundraising arm of an interest group

Roles of interest groups Represent specific public interests –Lobbying: interest group activities aimed at persuading policymakers to support the group’s positions Participation Education Agenda building Provision of program alternatives Program monitoring

Free rider problem A recruiting difficulty groups face because potential members can gain the benefits of the group’s actions whether or not they join Collective good: a good or service that, by its very nature, cannot be denied to anyone who wants to consume it –E.g., Public safety, clean air, national defense

Overcoming the free rider problem Selective incentives: benefits available only to group members as inducements to get them to join –Material benefit: selective incentive in the form of a tangible reward –Solidary benefit: selective incentive related to the interaction and bonding among group members

Overcoming the free rider problem, cont’d. Selective incentives, cont’d. –Expressive benefit: selective incentive that derives from the opportunity to express values and beliefs and to be committed to a greater cause Interest groups use a mix of incentives to encourage group membership

Types of interest groups Economic interest groups: organize to influence government policy for the benefit of members –Corporations and business associations E.g., National Association of Manufacturers, Chamber of Commerce, Tobacco Institute, General Electric –Unions and professional associations E.g., AFL-CIO, Teamsters, AMA, ABA –Agricultural interest groups E.g., American Farm Bureau, Altria, ConAgra

Types of interest groups, cont’d. Equal opportunity interest groups: organize to promote the civil and economic rights of underrepresented or disadvantaged groups –Age E.g., AARP, Children’s Defense Fund –Race and Ethnicity E.g., NAACP, LULAC, AIM –Gender E.g., NOW, EMILY’s List, Eagle Forum –Sexual orientation E.g., GLAD, PFLAG, Log Cabin Republicans

Types of interest groups, cont’d. Public interest groups: organize to influence government to produce collective goods or services that benefit the general public –Environmental groups E.g., Sierra Club, Greenpeace –Consumer groups E.g., Public Citizen, Consumers Union –Religious groups E.g., Christian Coalition, Anti-Defamation League

Types of interest groups, cont’d. Government interest groups: organize to lobby the U.S. federal government to influence national policy –Foreign governments E.g., Japan –State and local governments E.g., National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, U.S. Conference of Mayors –Intergovernmental interests

Lobbying Washington Between 2003 and 2007, the state paid about $1.2 million for lobbying contracts. Over one-third of the Texas budget comes in the form of federal dollars. “If paying lobbyists a million dollars a year to represent the state’s interests would increase federal grants by only 1 percent, this outcome would represent a roughly twenty-fold return on lobbying dollars.”

What Texas Organized Interests Do Grassroots lobbying - attempts by organized interests to influence legislators through public opinion Organized interests supplement campaign contributions by spending money on their own advertising and producing materials such as “voters guides.” Organized interests may provide volunteers to help staff phone banks, stuff envelopes, provide door-to-door campaigning, and other kinds of campaign assistance (“pitching-in”). Astroturf lobbying - a simulation of grassroots support, usually by specialized law firms, involving spending large sums of money to generate the appearance of public support to advance a group’s agenda.

Interest group politics Direct lobbying: direct interaction with public officials for the purpose of influencing policy decisions Indirect lobbying: attempts to influence government policymakers by encouraging the general public to put pressure on them

Lobby Regulation Lobby Registration Act (1957) Texas law does not allow contributions from thirty days before the start of a legislative session to twenty days after the session ends. The Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) regulates the state’s lobbying activities. The TEC is an 8 member board with no more than 4 members from the same party. The Governor appoints four members, and the Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House each appoint two. An executive director is selected by the commission. The TEC meets roughly every two months.

Lobbying Issues in Texas The amounts of money spent by companies and some organized interests indicate their interest in Texas policy. See Table 8.4 on p. 230 for some contract values on lobbying activities in Revolving door - the phenomena of legislators and members of the executive branch moving easily from government office to lucrative positions with lobbying firms. “According to the Center for Public Integrity, between the close of the 2005 legislative session and the start of the 2007 session, eight former legislators became lobbyists, helping Texas lead the nation in lawmakers turned lobbyists with seventy having made the transition. “

Winners and Losers There is debate in the area of organized interests. The pluralist perspective argues that democracy is best practiced when citizens participate through groups. The greater number of organized interests means wider participation and a healthier democracy. Critics (including C. Wright Mills and E.E. Schattschneider) argue that wealthy and powerful interests are better represented. Most Texans don’t hire lobbyists or contribute to an interest group.

Winners and Losers Hyperpluralism is another perspective that holds the view that the system today has evolved beyond simple pluralism. So many narrow interests are represented it makes it difficult to formulate public policy that will serve the broader public interest. Another argument in the area of organized interests is that some interests make it impossible to get rid of a program that is no longer needed because those interests supporting the program wish to protect their own spending.

Winners and Losers “The ability of some groups to effectively organize while others remain unorganized produces clear winners and losers in the state.” “While organized interests often support political parties, there are times when narrow interests will abandon the broader goals of the political parties and divide the parties.”