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Interest Groups Political interest groups pursue two general objectives: 1. They seek new positive benefits to promote the group’s interest. 2. They.

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Presentation on theme: "Interest Groups Political interest groups pursue two general objectives: 1. They seek new positive benefits to promote the group’s interest. 2. They."— Presentation transcript:

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3 Interest Groups Political interest groups pursue two general objectives: 1. They seek new positive benefits to promote the group’s interest. 2. They defend current benefits to protect the group’s interest.

4 Pluralism: Government Citizens Interest Groups Vote for Government Officials Belong to Try to Influence

5 Perception of Interest Groups Is the government run by a few big interests looking out for themselves or is it run for the benefit of the people?

6 Why Join an Interest Group? Americans form associations for various reasons: -- camaraderie -- education -- charitable work -- economic advancement

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8 Political Action Committees (PACs) The reality of campaign financing entering the 1970s revealed a picture of significantly increasing expenditures, corporate influence, and union activity, all sidestepping the intent, if not the letter, of the law. The Federal Election Campaign Act (1971) and Amendments (1974): -- limited individual contributions but permitted the establishment of political action committees -- political action committees were for the “establishment, administration, and solicitation of contributions to a separate, segregated fund” Veterans for a Strong America anti-Obama ad

9 Top Ten PACs in Contributions to Federal Candidates 2012 1. National Association of RealtorsMixed2.8 million 2.National Beer Wholesalers Ass’nMixed2.7 million 3.Honeywell InternationalRep.2.6 million 4.Operating Engineers UnionDem.2.5 million 5.International Brotherhood of Electrical WorkersDem.2.3 million 6.American Ass’n of JusticeDem.2.3 million 7.AT&TRep.2.3 million 8.American Bankers Ass’nRep.2.2 million 9.Plumbers/Pipefitters UnionDem.2.0 million 10.Northrop GrummanRep.1.9 million

10 Top Ten 527 Organizations in Contributions 2012 1. ActBlueDem.11.6 million 2.College Republican Nat’l Comm. Rep.9.2 million 3.Citizens UnitedRep.8.1 million 4.EMILY’s ListDem.7.7 million 5.Service Employees UnionDem.6.2 million 6.Plumbers/Pipefitters UnionDem.4.7 million 7.Gay and Lesbian Victory FundDem.3.8 million 8.GOPACRep.3.3 million 9.New Conservative CoalitionRep.3.0 million 10.Int’l Brotherhood of Electrical WorkersDem.2.8 million

11 Top Spenders on Lobbying Activities, 2011 1. U.S. Chamber of Commerce 66.4 million 2.General Electric 26.3 million 3.National Association of Realtors 22.3 million 4.American Medical Association 21.5 million 5.Blue Cross/Blue Shield 21.0 million 6.Conoco/Phillips 20.6 million 7.American Hospital Association 20.5 million 8.AT&T 20.2 million 9.Comcast 19.3 million 10.Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America 18.9 million 11. National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. 18.5 million 12.Boeing Co. 16.0 million 13.Verizon Communications 15.5 million 14. AARP 15.2 million 15.Lockheed Martin 15.2 million AARP

12 Top Spenders by Industry, 2011 1. Health 376.2 million 2.Miscellaneous Business 354.2 million 3.Finance, Insurance and Real Estate 352.1 million 4.Energy and Natural Resources 289.5 million 5.Communications/Electronics 390.7 million 6.Transportation 178.1 million 7.Ideological/Single Issue 100.7 million 8.Agribusiness 92.7 million 9.Defense 88.9 million 10. Construction 38.0 million

13 Who Gives? 2010 Millions

14 Ethics Reform?? The Daily Show

15 Lobbying The term “lobbying” comes from the place where petitioners used to collar legislators. -- you “hung out” waiting for a legislator to appear Lobbyists are political persuaders who represent organized groups. -- many lobbyists are former legislators (is this a problem?) There are two basic types of lobbyists: -- a regular, paid employee of a corporation, union, or association -- people who are available for hire on a temporary basis

16 Lobbying In addition to trying to influence legislators: -- they are important sources of information -- they can help politicians with political strategy for getting legislation through (or blocking it) -- they can help formulate campaign strategy and get the group’s members behind politician’s reelection campaign -- they are a source of ideas and innovations

17 Lobby Group Registrations, 2011 Total = 23,677

18 Spending on Lobbying, 2011 Total = $3.28 billion

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22 Electioneering In addition to their role in financing campaigns, interest groups participate in numerous other ways. -- recruiting interest group members to run for office -- issuing official group endorsements -- providing volunteer labor to participate in campaign work -- sending delegates to state and national party conventions to influence the party platforms

23 Super PACs Super PACs came into existence in 2010 when federal court decisions found that limitations on both corporate and individual contributions is an unconstitutional violation of the 1 st Amendment. -- a PAC that is allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions, individuals and associations -- the most important difference between a PAC and a Super PAC is in who can contribute and in how much they can give -- candidates can accept up to 5K per election from a PAC; they cannot accept money from corporations, unions and associations -- for Super PACs there is no limit on who contributes or how much they can contribute but they cannot work in conjunction with the candidate they are supporting Romney Super PAC ad

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25 Impact of Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

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28 The Top Super PAC Spenders in 2012 (Millions) Republican Democrat

29 Creating Public Pressure Protest Demonstrations -- Tea Party movement; immigration reform; gay marriage Political Violence -- animal rights groups like the Animal Liberation Front; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

30 Types of Groups Some groups are organized for a single-purpose while others lobby on a whole range of issues. Single-Issue Groups: -- Women’s Suffrage Association -- National Pro-life Alliance -- Pro-choice America Multi-Purpose Groups: -- the League of Women Voters -- American Association of University Women -- National Organization of Women (NOW) -- Business and Professional Women’s Association

31 Types of Groups Business Groups -- the most numerous and most potent of America’s interest groups -- concerned with labor laws, tax laws, interest rates, environmental regulation, trade policies, and government contracts -- oil companies favor off-shore drilling but worry about environmental regulations -- banks are concerned with financial regulatory reform -- Chamber of Commerce -- National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Professional Associations -- doctors, lawyers, realtors and other professionals form associations to advance their interests -- AMA is concerned with limiting the amount of money that a judge can award in medical malpractice law suits; ABA is opposed to this

32 Types of Groups Labor Unions -- not as important a political force as they used to be -- in 1970, more than 25% of the labor force belonged to a union; today it is less than 12% -- right to work laws inhibit union organizing -- some employers aggressively resist union organizing (Wal-Mart) -- largest union is the AFL-CIO -- other large unions are American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Teamsters Union, the United Mine Workers Union, and the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) -- favor government policies that make it easier for unions to organize; increase in the minimum wage; better working conditions

33 Types of Groups Agricultural Groups -- influential on farm issues at the national level and in state legislatures in farming states -- largest unions are the American Farm Bureau and the National Farmers Union -- there are also associations representing specific farm interests (e.g., National Milk Producers Union) -- desire government loan guarantees, crop subsidies, and the promotion of farm exports) Racial and Ethnic Minority Rights Groups -- most ethnic minority groups have formed their own interest group -- NAACP; LULAC; AIM (American Indian Movement) -- desire equality before the law; representation in electiver and appointive office; freedom from discrimination; economic advancement

34 Types of Groups Citizen Groups -- organizations created to support governmental policies that they believe will benefit the public at-large -- Common Cause; Sierra Club; ACLU Advocacy Groups -- organizations created to seek benefits of behalf of groups who are in some way incapacitated or otherwise unable to represent their own interests -- Alzheimer’s Association; Children’s Defense Fund; American Cancer Society Cause Groups -- organizations whose members care intensely about a single issue or small group of related issues -- AARP; NOW; National Right to Life Committee; Pro- Choice America

35 Numbers and Types of Groups

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