1. Interest Groups
Good, bad, necessary?

2. Interest Groups Aka factions or more commonly, “pressure groups”
ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE PURPOSE IS TO SEEK TO INFLUENCE GOVERNMENT POLICY
USED TO CHECK “MAJORITARIANISM”--SITUATION IN WHICH THE MAJORITY GROUP ALWAYS PREVAILS
Categories: single interest, rights and liberties, citizenship, labor, employer-professional, ideological (range of consistent moral positions)

3. Interest Groups—
between people
and
government

4. Why interest groups? SOME ANSWERS: Americans join groups—Tocqueville
Democracy encourages factions
TWO THEORIES:
Pluralism:
Interest groups naturally forming when people are adversely affected by a disturbance.
Groups govern! ANY important government decisions involves multiple interest groups
Pluralists: see interest groups naturally forming when people are adversely affected by a disturbance.
Yet some people who are adversely affected do not organize,which results in the classic “free rider” dilemma.
Elitism:
Society’s elites essentially make the country’s most important decisions in private
They lead the most powerful interest groups, and can act privately as well
Koch Brothers—play the outside game—fund the Tea Party movement

5. What do they do? Interest Groups lobby.
Lobbying is a strategy by which organized interests seek to influence the passage of legislation by exerting pressure on members of the legislature.
Lobbyist can be either full-time employees of the organization, or hired from law firms or public relations firms.
Lobbyist try to convince the policymaker that the lobbyist’s data are accurate and deserve attention.

6. Two Tactics of Lobbying
Get inside government:
In direct lobbying, (astroturf lobbying) a group’s representative have direct contact with policymakers
Lobbyist make personal presentations to officials
Testifying before committees is another direct tactic
Organizations may go to court and litigate
Or…go to the people
In grassroots lobbying, an interest group’s rank and file members try to influence government on issues
Letter writing is one such tactic
Political protests

7. Pluralism at work? Bills and lobbyists for interest groups!
America Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009
1009 different groups want to have input on this bill!
HR 3590 Health Care Reform Bill
1248 groups, including: American Medical Association, AFL-CIO, Susan G Komen for the Cure, Planned Parenthood, Dunkin’ Brands, National Assn. of Rural Health Clinics, Burger King, Center for Reproductive Rights, Chickasaw Nation, Exxon Mobil, Family Research Council, NAACP, Target Corp, United Mine Workers…….
These groups 1) hire lobbyists who 2) pressure legislators and #) provide informative reports and very often, drafts of bills (which will hopefully become laws that favor the interest represented by the lobbyist!)

8. American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, 17 reports 17
Duke Energy lobbyists at work!
111
American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, 17 reports 17
Economic stimulus bill, 12 reports 12
Safe Markets Development Act of 2009, 11 reports 11
Coal Ash Reclamation, Environment, and Safety Act of 20099, reports 9
Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, 9 reports
A resolution recognizing the need for the Environmental Protection Agency to end decades of delay and utilize existing authority under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to comprehensively regulate coal combustion waste and the need for the Tennes, 9 reports 8

9. # of lobbyists for clients
Open Secrets website
Legislators and lobbyist influence
# of lobbyists for clients
# of clients
Cornyn, John R TX S 3 39
$17,850
$45,000
Camp, Dave MI H 2 40
$10,750
$72,750
Murray, Patty D WA 44
$32,800
$59,500
Meek, Kendrick B FL 4 49
$18,900
$50,028
Landrieu, Mary L LA 5 57
$35,800
$67,000

10. IRON TRIANGLES
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INTEREST GROUPS, CONGRESSINAL COMMITTEES, AND ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES FUNCTIONING IN THE SAME POLICY AREA
POLICY NETWORKS
INTERACTION IN A COMMON POLICY AREA

13. INTEREST GROUPS: Problems
Too many interest groups? Hyperpluralism—too many interest groups=government inability to respond, and as a result, everyone’s standard of living is lowered
ACCORDING TO ONE CALIFORNIA STATE OFFICIAL:
ABOUT 90% OF ALL LEGISLATION IS CONCEIVED BY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
5% OF LEGISLATION IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO GOVERNERS, STATE LEGISLATORS, AND GOVERNMENT ITSELF