Chapter Twelve Interest Groups Instructor: Kevin Sexton Course: U.S. Political Systems Southeast Missouri State University

What Is An Interest Group A group of individuals with common beliefs, values and opinions that band together to affect a given area of public policy, without attempting to get their members elected to public office. Some INTEREST GROUPS have broad areas of pubic policy which they attempt to affect (i.e.. AARP, NRHA). AND Some INTEREST GROUPS have smaller, more defined areas of public policy which they attempt to affect (NACHC, AMA, ADA).

Growth of Interest Groups Three Periods of Great Growth of Interest Groups: 1.After the Civil War -- Completion of the transcontinental railroad created a NATIONAL ECONOMY. -- National associations (I.G.s) were then created. -- Grange (agriculture) -- AFLCIO (labor union) 2. During the Progressive Era (1890 to 1917) -- Broad based economic I.G.s created at this time -- National Association of Manufacturers -- NAACP -- American Farm Bureau Federation 3. From 1960 to Largest period of growth in I.G.s -- Broad based economic I.G.s were replaced by more narrowly based I.G.s -- National Soybean Producers -- National Corn Growers Association -- Rocky Mountain Llama and Alpaca Association

Why Do People Join Interest Groups People join a group only if they have the incentive to do so. Those incentives can be divided into three general categories: 1. SOLIDARY – social purposes. -- Eagles Club -- Sorority or Fraternity 2. MATERIAL – economic purposes. -- National Association of Pork Producers -- National Pest Control Association 3. PURPOSIVE – intrinsic purposes. -- Green Peace -- Republican or Democratic Parties

Why People Don’t Join Groups If a person has an incentive not to join a group, most likely they will not join that group (or any group). What would be an incentive a person would NOT TO join a group? GETTING THE BENEFITS OF A GROUP, WITHOUT HAVING TO JOIN THAT GROUP. This is called the FREE-RIDER PROBLEM. The fact that certain benefits can be enjoyed by many people even If they chose not to join a group. i.e. Open Union Shop

Combating the Free-Rider Problem Coercion -- physical force was used to prevent non-Union workers from benefiting from the work that the unions had done. -- i.e. Mel Gibson in The River -- regulating the “industry” in question. -- i.e. Missouri Bar Association, American Medical Association, American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants Selective benefits to “members” -- AARP’s access to low-cost pharmaceuticals and insurance American Medical Association -- Journal of the American Medical Association -- Referral Programs

Categories of Interest Groups According to Allen Hays There are Five General Categories of I.G.s. Those are: 1. Business Groups -- National Corn Growers Association -- American Textile Machinery Association 2. Labor Unions -- AFL-CIO, UAW 3. Professional Associations -- AMA, ABA 4. Intergovernmental Groups -- National Conference of State Legislatures -- National Governors Association -- National Associations of Counties 5. Public Interest Groups -- National Taxpayers Union -- National Audubon Society -- National Federation of the Blind

How Do I.G.s Influence Public Policy Six Primary Activities of Interest Groups: 1.Government Lobbying 2.Grassroots Lobbying 3.Electioneering and PACs 4.Persuading the Public 5.Direct Action 6.Litigation

Government Lobbying DIRECT attempts to influence the decisions of public officials. 1.Provide information to the public officials. Example -- OralHealth3-05.pdfOralHealth3-05.pdf 2. Testify before legislative committees and panels. 3. Draft sample legislation concerning a given topic. These activities are conducted by: 1. Professional Lobbyist (more expensive) or 2. Leaders of I.G.s (less effective)

Grassroots Lobbying Attempting to indirectly influence the decisions of public officials by getting their constituents involved in the process. Showing the public officials that their voters have a strong feeling or position on a given issue. Most, if not all I.G.s provide information and opportunities to contact their public officials about specific issues of importance. i.e. National Rural Health Associations Grassroots Action Center None TECHNICAL example – Missouri State Legislature – Meals on Wheels and Putting a Face to the Program.

Electioneering and PACs Interest Groups as a whole cannot contribute to political campaigns or specific candidates. WHY NOT? Example: AARP has 35 million members. Do all 35 million agree on all political issues? Did all 35 million join as a political activity? For this reason laws have been passed to ensure the membership dues of unwilling members were not spent on political activities they did not support. In order to be politically active I.G.s must create a Political Action Committee (PAC)

Persuading the Public This is similar to Grassroots Lobbying, it is usually focused on a particular issue and is designed to influence public opinion Not Public Policy. A good example would be the TV ads that the pharmaceutical companies are running highlighting their medications. At the end of the commercial they highlight their indigent drug program Another example would be the Ad Campaigns that some groups run. Remember the “GOT MILK” commercial, or the “Pork, The Other White Meat” campaign. They also persuade the public by providing education to the public about their issues: i.e. NRA at the District Fair M.A.D.D. at the Schools

Direct Action Not used as often as it has been in the past. When we think about these activities we are talking about: Protests Boycotts Marches on Washington or Jeff. City

Litigation When an interest group can’t affect public policy in any of the other methods, they will attempt to get the courts to weigh in on the issue. We see this a lot with the environmental groups, but we also see it with other groups such as the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice groups. Many interest groups will get involved in cases even when They are direct litigants in the cases. Amicus curiae briefs – “friend of the court”

How influential are Interest Groups? We have seen a shift in the way Public Policy is made. In the past is was said that a series of IRON TRIANGLES existed around certain areas of public policy. Congressional Commitees Executive Department A few Powerful I.G.s These three groups influenced all major policy issues. If you wanted to affect policy you needed to be in one of these groups. Today we speak of this process as being made up of ISSUE NETWORKS, with many different groups floating in and out of the process depending on the specific issue.