1. Interest Groups and Political Parties
Chapter 7
Interest Groups and Political Parties

2. Interest Groups and Democracy
Why should we care about interest groups?
Are interest groups servants or destroyers of democracy?
Whose interests are served?
Who is and is not represented by an interest group?
Do interest groups have too much, too little, or just enough power/influence over decision-makers?

3. What is an Interest Group?
Organized group of individuals
Who share common goals or objectives
Attempt to influence government policy/policymakers in all three branches of government at every level (national, state, local)
Not a political party, which is a group of activists who organize to win elections, operate the government/hold office, and determine public policy
The heart of pluralist theory
Lobbyist = an individual who attempts to influence policy

4. Why Do People Join Interest Groups?
Solidary incentives – associate with others who share a common interest
Material incentives – seeking economic benefits/opportunities
Purposive incentives – ethical beliefs or ideological principles

5. Interest Groups and You
Can you name an interest group?
What are its goals?
Do you belong to an interest group?
What is its name and why did you join?

6. Types of Interest Groups
Economic = by far the most powerful, the most influential
Environmental
Public Interest
Special Interest

7. Characteristics of Interest Groups
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Characteristics of Interest Groups

8. Economic Interest Groups
Business = Business and trade organizations that attempt to influence government policy to their benefit
Agricultural = Advocate for farm interests; very influential
Labor = Groups that represent working class interests
Public Employee = Groups that represent government employees (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFSCME) and teachers
Professional Associations = Groups that advocate for professional associations (American Bar Association, American Medical Association)

9. Declining Union Membership
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10. So What?
What does declining union membership mean for the power of labor to defend worker’s rights?
How does this impact the power of labor relative to business interests?

11. Environmental Interests
Advocates for pro-environmental policies
National Wildlife Federation
Nature Conservancy
World Wildlife Fund
Sierra Club
National Audubon Society

12. Public & Special Interest Groups
Public Interest Groups – advocates for collective, community interests (Examples: Consumer advocacy groups; Common Cause; CALPIRG)
Single Interest Groups – narrow focus (Examples: abortion groups; racial/ethnic or age associations)
Foreign Governments

13. What Makes an Interest Group Powerful?
Size (numbers)
Resources (organization and money)
Leadership
Cohesiveness

14. Interest Group Strategies
Direct Techniques
Lobbying = meeting officials and attempting to convince them to support your position
testifying before congressional committees
testifying before executive rulemaking agencies
assisting in the drafting of legislation
entertaining legislators
providing information to legislators = one of the most important ways lobbyists make themselves valuable to decision makers
assisting in nominating individuals to government posts

15. Interest Group Strategies (cont.)
Ratings = scoring legislators based on their votes in Congress, then making interested constituents aware of those scores
Campaign Assistance = providing workers for political campaigns
Political Action Committees (PACs)= a committee that raises money and gives donations on behalf of organizations to political candidates or political parties
Political Contributions = the most important form of campaign help from interest groups over the last 20 years

16. Interest Group Strategies
Indirect Techniques
Generating public pressure = trying to influence the government by using public opinion on an issue
Climate control = public relations techniques used to create favorable public opinion
Using Constituents as Lobbyists
Shotgun approach = having large numbers of constituents act in concert by writing, ing, phoning or sending postcards to a legislator
Rifle approach = having an influential constituent contact a legislator on a particular issue

17. Interest Groups and Campaign Money
Political Action Committee (PAC) = group that represents a business, labor union, or special interest group; currently there are more corporate PACs than any other type
PAC contributions
Primarily given to incumbents
$5,000 per election per candidate is upper limit under campaign finance laws
Soft money (money going to parties versus particular candidates)
Outlawed in 2002
Issue advocacy advertising

18.  PAC Growth, 1977 to Present
SOURCE: Federal Election Commission, 2001

19. PAC Contributions to Congressional Candidates, 1986 to 2000
Millions of Dollars
SOURCE: Federal Election Commission, 2002

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Top 20 in

21. Business-Labor split
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22. Why contribute to campaigns?
Why do PACs contribute to political campaigns?
Why do PACs contribute so much more to incumbents?
Why do PACs contribute to both parties at once?

23. Regulating Lobbyists Provided for public disclosure
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946
Provided for public disclosure
Failed due to lack of enforcement mechanism
United States v. Harriss (1954) confirmed its constitutionality

24. Regulating Lobbyists, (cont.)
reforms
“Lobbyist” = anyone who spends 20 percent of his/her time lobbying members of Congress, congressional staffs, or executive branch officials
Requires lobbyists to register with the Secretary of the House or clerk of the Senate
Requires semiannual reports on the nature of lobbying activities

25. Discussion Why are interest groups important in US politics?
In what ways do interest groups support democracy?
In what ways might they subvert it?
Are some interest groups too powerful?
Should lobbyists be more closely regulated?
How might this be done without violating civil liberties?

26. What is a Political Party?
A group of activists who organize to win elections, operate government, and make public policy
Distinct from interest groups, which don’t seek office

27. Functions of Political Parties in the U.S.
Recruiting candidates for public office
Organizing and running elections
Presenting alternative policies to the electorate
Accepting responsibility for operating government
Organized opposition to the party in power

28. Parties in U.S. History 1789-1812 – Creation of parties
– Personal politics
– National two-party rule
– Post-Civil War period
– Progressive era
1932-present – Modern era

30. Structure of the American Political Party
National Party Organization
National Convention (including a national chairperson and a national committee)
State Party Organization
State Conventions and Committees
County Committees Precinct and Ward Organizations (including active, paid, and unpaid workers) Party Members (those who vote the party ticket)
Local Party Organization

31. Our Two-Party System
Two-Party system = a political system where two parties have a reasonable chance of winning
“Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the…”
Other parties: Green, Reform, Libertarian, Socialist Workers, Communist, Socialist, States Rights Democrats/Workers World, Natural Law, and Social Labor Party

32. The Three Faces of Party
Party-in-the-electorate = members of the general public who identify with a political party or who express a preference for one party over the other
Party organization = formal structure and leadership of a political party, including election committees; local, state and national executives; and paid professional staff
Party-in-government = elected and appointed officials who identify with a political party

33. Core Supporters Democratic core Republican core
lower SES (income, education) groups; African Americans; union members; Jews; individuals with less than high school education; college grads with a postgraduate education; women
Republican core
higher SES groups; college grads with no postgraduate education; professionals; businesspeople

34. Democrats and Republicans
Democrats = More likely to approve social-welfare spending, government regulation of business, measures to improve status of minorities and elderly
Republicans = More supportive of private enterprise; believe federal government should be less involved in social programs

35. Which Party Is Better?
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36. Why Two-Party System Endures
Historical foundations = sectional/regional and class politics
Dichotomous nature of early American conflict
Political socialization and party identification
Commonality of views among Americans
Winner-take-all electoral system
plurality voting in single member district elections
State and federal laws favoring two party system

37. Party Identification
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38. Minor Parties in the U.S.
Most successful have been splinter parties that broke from a major party
Bull Moose Progressives (from Republicans)
Dixiecrats (States Rights) Party (from Democrats)
American Independent Party 1968 (from Democrats)

39. Minor Parties in the U.S., (cont.)
Minor parties’ platforms often adopted by major parties
Sometimes minor party candidates can have an impact on the outcome of an election
Nader and Gore in 2000
Roosevelt and Taft in 1912

40. Minor Parties in the U.S., (cont.)
Current minor parties:
Libertarian Party
Reform Party
Green Party
Natural Law Party
Other parties (Communist, Socialist, Socialist Workers, etc.) are really “minute,” too small to be minor

41. Discussion How do political parties link citizens to government?
Can you imagine democracy without parties?
Why has party identification declined?
Is the two-party system undemocratic?
Would American politics be different if proportional representation were used?
Would it be more democratic?
Would it be less stable?

42. Hot Links to Selected Internet Resources
Book’s Companion Site:
Wadsworth’s Political Science Site:
The Internet Public Library:
Democratic National Committee:
Republican National Committee: