1. Interest groups
Chapter 8

2. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
8.1 Outline how interest groups have developed over time 8.2 Identify the types of interest groups that have evolved 8.3 Describe activities interest groups engage in 8.4 Analyze what balances out power among interest groups 8.5 Assess what makes an interest group successful
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

3. Interest Groups and Politics
What Are Interest Groups?
Group of citizens who share a common interest
Try to influence public policy to benefit members
Proactive and reactive groups
interest groups:
Groups of citizens who share a common interest—a political opinion, religious or ideological belief, a social goal, or an economic characteristic— and try to influence public policy to benefit themselves.
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

4. Interest Groups and Politics
The Right to Assemble and to Petition
Right of association in First Amendment
Framers fearful of factions
Right of petition
Lobbying
right of association:
Right to freely associate with others and form groups, as protected by the First Amendment.
faction:
Defined by Madison as any group that places its own interests above the aggregate interests of society.
right of petition:
Right to ask the government for assistance with a problem or to express opposition to a government policy, as protected by the First Amendment.
lobbying:
Act of trying to persuade elected officials to adopt a specific policy change or maintain the status quo.
Key Questions
Why do you think Americans like to join organizations? How does this tendency relate to American political culture?
Do you think interest groups are divisive and polarizing? Or do they bring citizens together? Can you give examples to support your opinion?
Have you ever signed a petition? What was it for?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

5. Interest Groups and Politics
Citizens have been using their right to petition to influence government since the earliest days of the democracy. Here female lobbyists in the late nineteenth century are trying to persuade members of Congress in the Marble Room of the U.S. Capitol. Although women did not yet have the right to vote, they still went to Washington to make their voices heard on issues that were important to them.
Source: The Granger Collection, New York
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

6. Interest Groups and Politics
The History of Interest Groups
Citizens opposed to slavery
Women’s suffrage
Trade associations during Industrialization
Labor unions
Prohibition
Today, grassroots movements
unions:
Interest groups of individuals who share a common type of employment and seek better wages and working conditions through collective bargaining with employers.
Grassroots movement:
Group that forms in response to an economic or political event but does not focus on only one issue.
Key Questions
How did interest groups work to end slavery? How long did it take women’s suffrage groups to accomplish their goal?
Are groups representing manufacturers and corporations more or less powerful than citizens’ interest groups? Do groups balance out each other?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

7. Interest Groups and Politics
Prohibition was enacted by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution in Here a restaurant owner in New York City makes it clear that no alcohol is sold on the premises. Prohibition was hard to enforce and was ultimately repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution in 1933.
Source: Imagno–ullstein bild/The Granger Collection, NYC
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

8. Types of Interest Groups
Economic Interest Groups
Trade and Professional Associations
Individuals who share similar jobs
Corporations
Unions
Protect workers through better wages/working conditions
Strength in the strike
Declining membership
economic interest group:
Group formed to advance the economic status of its members.
Key Questions
What are the professional associations in the career field you are thinking of now? Are they worth joining?
Do you know any union members? Are you a union member, or would you join a union?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

9. Percentage of Wage and Salary Workers with Union Membership, 1983-2013
Figure 8.1
Private sector union membership has been declining over time, while public union membership has increased.
Notes: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Data for 1990–93 have been revised to reflect population controls from the 1990 census. Beginning in 2000 data reflect population controls from census 2000 and new industry and occupational classification systems. Beginning in 2000 private sector data refer to private sector wage and salary workers; private sector data for earlier years refer to private nonagricultural wage and salary workers.
Percentages are based on the percentage employed.
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

10. Unions with the Largest Membership 2014
Table 8.1
Source: National Education Association, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, American Federation of Teachers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union,
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

11. Types of Interest Groups
Ideological and Issue-Oriented Groups
Citizens’ groups
Single-issue groups
ideological interest groups:
Groups that form among citizens with the same beliefs about a specific issue.
citizens’ groups:
Groups that form to draw attention to purely public issues that affect all citizens equally.
single-issue groups:
Groups that form to present one view on a highly salient issue that is intensely important to members, such as gun control or abortion.
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

12. Types of Interest Groups
Foreign Policy and International Groups
Groups That Influence Foreign Policy
AIPAC
Groups That Advocate International Aid and Support for Human Rights
Nongovernmental organizations
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs):
Organizations independent of governments that monitor and improve political, economic, and social conditions throughout the world.
Key Questions
How do ideological interest groups contribute to polarization?
Should governments seek to solve hunger, disease, and other worldwide social problems? Or should private charities play this role?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

13. What Interest Groups Do
Inform
Interpret how policy will affect their mission
Lobby
The Lobbyists
Lobbying Strategies
Inside strategy
Outside strategy
Grassroots strategy
Key Questions
When interest groups gather and disseminate information, are they performing a public service? Or do they do it just to advance their own cause? If so, is there anything wrong with that?
inside strategy:
A strategy employed by interest groups to pursue a narrow policy change and influence legislators directly rather than using a wider grassroots approach.
Key Question
Why is the public perception of lobbyists so negative?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

14. Top Spenders on Lobbying, 2013
Table 8.2
Source: Adapted from Center for Responsive Politics, “Lobbying: Top Spenders, 2013,” accessed August 20,
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

15. What Interest Groups Do
Source: Lisa Werner/Alamy
Peaceful protests are frequently an effective way of voicing opinion on an issue. This gathering was organized to show opposition to fracking.
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

16. What Interest Groups Do
Campaign Activities
501(c)(3) organizations exempt from federal tax
Political Action Committees (PACs)
Buckley v. Valeo decision increased growth
Critics say disproportionate influence over legislators
Running issue ads
501(c)(3) organizations:
Tax-exempt groups that are prohibited from lobbying or campaigning for a party or candidate.
political action committees (PACs):
Groups formed to raise and contribute funds to support electoral candidates and that are subject to campaign finance laws.
Key Questions
Are issue ads fair or unfair? Are they informative or “disinformative”?
Key Questions
Should there be limits on how much money interest groups can contribute to campaigns? Why or why not?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

17. Top 20 PAC Contributors to Candidates 2013-2014
Table 8.3
Source: Center for Responsive Politics, adapted from data released by the Federal Election Commission, Accessed August 20, 2014
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

18. The Impact of Interest Groups on Democratic Processes
Natural Balance or Disproportionate Power
Olson argued difficult to keep effective
Dahl’s pluralist view
Mills power elite
Narrow focus elicits sense of illegitimacy
Special interests has negative connotation
pluralist:
View of democratic society in which interest groups compete over policy goals, and elected officials are mediators of group conflict.
special interests:
Set of groups seeking a particular benefit for themselves in the policy process.
Key Questions
Do you think interest groups form from the bottom up or from the top down?
Do interest groups bring people into the democratic process, or do they strengthen some voices at the expense of others?
Do interest groups balance out each other the way that Madison thought they would?
Key Question
What distinguishes a legitimate interest from an illegitimate interest?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

19. The Impact of Interest Groups on Democratic Processes
Self-Service or Public Service
Auto manufacturers blocked government- mandated fuel standards
Interest groups tend to talk over each other
Open or Closed Routes of Influence
Iron triangle
Issue networks
Revolving door
iron triangle:
Insular and closed relationship among interest groups, members of Congress, and federal agencies.
issue network:
View of the relationship among interest groups, members of Congress, and federal agencies as more fluid, open, and transparent than that described by the term iron triangle.
revolving door:
Movement of members of Congress, lobbyists, and executive branch employees into paid positions in each other’s organizations.
Key Questions
Name two or three interest groups that you think have a lot of power in American politics. Do you agree or disagree with their positions?
Do you think the military-industrial complex exists today?
How does government prevent corruption among government officials?
Key Questions
Is government responsive to interest groups? Are interest groups responsive to the people?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

20. Fuel Economy Standards
Over time, the government has steadily increased the standards for fuel economy for cars and trucks. The numbered boxes indicate times when the federal government has taken action to regulate fuel economy.
Figure 8.2
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

21. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Iron Triangle
Figure 8.3
The iron triangle is a policy-making structure that includes congressional committees, federal agencies, and interest groups.
© Cengage Learning.
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

22. The Impact of Interest Groups on Democratic Processes
Source: Michael Reynolds/Epa /Landov
In a prime example of the revolving door, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) who was a conservative leader in the Senate, left office during his term to lead the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, reportedly for a much higher salary.
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

23. Characteristics of Successful Interest Groups
Leadership Accountability
Iron law of oligarchy
Membership Stability
Selective Benefits
The Free Rider Problem
The Economic and Political Change Problem
iron law of oligarchy:
Theory that leaders in any organization eventually behave in their own self-interest, even at the expense of rank-and-file members; the larger the organization, the greater the likelihood that the leader will behave this way.
selective benefits:
Benefits offered exclusively to members of an interest group.
public goods:
Goods or benefits provided by government from which everyone benefits and from which no one can be excluded.
free rider problem:
Problem faced by interest groups when a collective benefit they provide is so widespread and diffuse that members and nonmembers alike receive it, reducing the incentive for joining the group.
Key Questions
Identify two interest groups with an enduring voice in American democracy.
How do groups perpetuate themselves at the expense of their mission? Can you give an example?
Would you join an interest group for its material benefits? Its solidary benefits? Its expressive benefits? What would make you decide to join?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

24. Characteristics of Successful Interest Groups
Financial Stability
Internet makes fundraising easier
Membership dues
Creation of not-for-profit business (AARP)
Influence in the Public Sphere
Quoted in the press
Testifying before Congress
Key Questions
Imagine an AAYP, an American Association for Young People. What would it lobby for? What benefits would it offer?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

25. Interest Groups and Democracy
Collective Voice
Methods to influence policy
Direct lobbying
Media campaigns
Legal challenges
Grassroots organizing
Express wide-ranging views
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

26. Battle Over Wisconsin Budget Bill
Click picture to view video
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

27. Video Discussion Questions
What specific interest groups are represented by the protestors?
Should states meet pension commitments for public employees, even if they must borrow from other programs?
When are public demonstrations a successful strategy?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.