1. Chapter 10

2. Interest Groups and the American Political Tradition  Interest group: organized group of individuals who share some goals and want to INFLUENCE public policy (LAWS)  Lobbyists can be employees or volunteers  A threat to the political system or contributors to its proper functioning?  Alexis de Tocqueville  James Madison  Federalist 10: http://wwwlcengage.com/politicalscience/jandahttp://wwwlcengage.com/politicalscience/janda 2

3. Figure 10.1 Investing in Public Policy 3

4. The Roles of Interest Groups  Negative:  Each group pushes its own selfish interests  Positive:  Represent people before their government  Provide vehicle for political participation  Educate members, the public, and elected officials  Highlight new issues through agenda building  Monitor programs important to members 4

5. Figure 10.2 Labor Pains 5

6. How Interest Groups Form  Pluralists view interest groups as positive way to foster discussion about issues  Groups form as needed  However, group organization not always a given  Or ineffective groups may form  Also important to consider how well a group is represented 6

7. Interest Group Entrepreneur  Skills of interest group entrepreneur forming group key  Development of United Farm Workers good example of the importance of leadership  Initial efforts to organize farm workers failed  Cesar Chavez’s efforts and tactics made group a viable force in negotiations for better wages and working conditions 7

8. No Contract, No Wine! 8

9. Who is Being Organized?  Main factors in successful interest group formation:  Presence of adverse change or disturbance  Strong leadership  High socioeconomic level of potential members  Well-to-do, educated, and politically experienced  Not all interest groups have real membership 9

10. Interest Group Resources  MEMBERS -one of the most valuable resources  Pool of potential voters  Source of financial resources  Groups use newsletters and emails to keep membership informed of work  Membership retention key  New members needed to increase resources and influence  Internet important in this effort 10

11. The Free-Rider Problem  Many persons and businesses support a group’s goals but see no need to join  Benefits of a group’s efforts not always limited to that group  Public television and radio  Many times groups offer other benefits only to members  Information and networking 11

12. Lobbyists  Persons who represent the organization before the government and provide information to the membership  Can be full-time employees of the organization or hired on retainer  Important to lobbying success: skill, knowledge, and contacts  Primary job is to pass information on to government officials 12

13. You Got Problems? Call Us 13

14. Political Action Committees  Organization designed to pool contributions from group members  Donations then made to candidates for political office  Can be affiliated with an interest group or corporation, or organized separately  Limited to $5,000 per congressional candidate in each separate election  Contributions in 2008 totaled $413 million from 3,600 PACs 14

15. Largest PACs Name of PACContributions in Last 2- year Reporting Cycle National Association of Realtors$4.0 million International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $3.3 million National Beer Wholesalers$2.9 million American Bankers Association$2.8 million United Parcel Service$2.1 million 15

16. Political Action Committees  PACs pragmatic and adaptable  Want to achieve immediate policy goals  Political scientists have found no direct link between the way members of Congress vote and PAC contributions  Contributions do seem to affect work in congressional committees 16

17. Figure 10.3 Friendship is a Wonderful Thing 17

18. Lobbying Tactics  Tactics depend on stage of process and institution targeted  Three major types of lobbying tactics:  Direct lobbying  Grassroots lobbying  Information campaigns  Groups also use coalitions to influence policymaking 18

19. Figure 10.4 The Tactics of Advocacy 19

20. Politics of Global Change  European Union formed in 1992 by the Treaty of Maastricht  Currently 27 member countries  Purpose is to harmonize economies of member countries  Fragmented government; structure facilitates pluralist system and many interest groups 20

21. Lobbyists Swarm at the European Union 21

22. Direct Lobbying  Personal contact with policymakers  Not directly asking for a certain vote  Lobbyists must provide good data to frame issue in light most positive to their viewpoint  Testifying at public hearings or committee hearings  Legal advocacy, or litigation 22

23. Sanchez Reaches Out 23

24. Grassroots Lobbying  Involves members of an interest group  May include supportive outsiders  Many tactics used, sometimes together with direct lobbying  Letters, emails, faxes, and phone calls  Demonstrations and protests  Direct lobbying by important members  Internet facilitates communication and coordination of efforts 24

25. Tea Party Activists 25

26. An Image That Angered a Nation 26

27. Information Campaigns  Organized efforts to bring an interest group’s viewpoints to the public to gain public backing  Public relations campaigns  Sponsoring research 27

28. Coalition Building Where several organizations band together to lobby  Use resources more efficiently  Usually informal arrangements  Diverse coalitions strongest 28

29. Is the System Biased?  American political system more pluralist than majoritarian  Among Western democracies, U.S. is one of most pluralistic nations  For fairness, all interests in population must be represented and government should listen to the views of all major interests 29

30. Pluralism Worldwide 30

31. Membership Patterns  Public opinion surveys show some sectors of society better represented than others  Bias towards the well-off financially  One survey: “the 10 percent of adults who work in an executive, managerial, or administrative capacity are represented by 82 percent” of organizations involved in advocacy on economic issues 31

32. Citizen Groups  Lobbying organizations built around policy concerns unrelated to members’ vocational interests  Benefits largely ideological and aesthetic  “Public interest” groups  Some groups supported by other sources than their membership  These groups have “free riders” who benefit from programs without directly supporting the organization 32

33. Business Mobilization  Businesses mobilized in 1970s and 1980s when new regulatory agencies established  Business organizations can mobilize both members and their corporations  Much greater resources than citizen groups  Business interests often divided, with one industry facing another 33

34. Figure 10.5 Interest Group Participants 34

35. A Lott of Connections 35

36. Reform  Difficult to eliminate or reduce biases in interest group system  Interest groups are organized way to petition government  If advantages of some groups too great, restrictions can be imposed  Campaign finance reform efforts; restrictions on PACs; disclosure rules for lobbyists  Recent Supreme Court ruling on corporate contributions negates some restrictions 36