We the People, Sixth edition by Benjamin Ginsberg, Theodore J. Lowi, and Margaret Weir

Chapter 11. Groups and Interests

Cartoon Introduction

God is everywhere—even K Street. According to a new study from the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, the number of organizations involved in religious lobbying or religion-related advocacy has increased nearly fivefold since 1970. At least 1,000 people work to extend God's influence in Washington, spending at least $390 million a year in the process. …roughly a fifth of the religious advocacy organizations in Washington push issues of concern to the Roman Catholic community, while a similar proportion represent evangelical Protestant interests; 12% are Jewish.

Interest Group Pluralism

James Madison’s Federalist #10 provides a basis for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of interest group politics in the United States.

“By a faction I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.”--James Madison, Federalist #10

Madison believed that by expanding the number of factions in a society, you could render factions less dangerous to the rights of others or the interests of the community.

Pluralism: the theory that all

interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government, with an outcome of compromise and moderation

Pluralism and Group Theory Many centers of power The group theory of politics comes out of

this view: Groups provide a clear link between people

and government Groups compete No one group is likely to become too dominant Groups usually play by the “rules of the game” Groups weak in one resource can use another.

Elites and the Denial of Pluralism Elitists are impressed by how

insignificant most groups are Real power is held by relatively few

people, key groups and institutions. For them , government is run by a

few big interests looking out for themselves.

The majority of the public has tended to reach the same conclusion.

Elites and the Denial of Pluralism (2) Elitists criticize pluralist theory by

pointing to concentrations of power in a few hands. Not diffusion, but interlocking and

concentrated power centers are the rule Boards, multinational corporations,

corporate elites are the wielders of power

Elites and the Denial of Pluralism (3) Summary of points:

Numerous groups: meaningless. They are very unequal in power

Role of Corporations Interlocking directorates Minor decisions: groups win and lose,

Major decisions :corporate elites always win.

Hyperpluralism and IG Liberalism Interest Group Liberalism and Lowi All IG demands are legitimate and

government must advance them all. In effort to please and appease

every interest, agencies proliferate, conflicting regulations expand, programs multiply and of course budgets skyrocket…

Hyperpluralism and IG Liberalism (2) IGL is promoted by the networks of

“subgovernments” (also called Iron triangles, networks, etc.)

Composed of key interest group leaders interested in policy “X” and the members of the government agency in charge of policy “X” and the members of Congressional committees and subcommittees who handle policy “X”.

All have similar goal: protecting their self-interest…

One Kind of Sub-government

Hyperpluralism and IG Liberalism (3) Problem with the interest group

system is that the relationship between groups and government is too “cozy”. Hard decisions don’t get made. Instead of choosing, an effort is made

to pursue all options simultaneously.Result: policy parlysis.

Hyperpluralism and IG Liberalism (4) In summary:

Groups are too powerful and government tries to please them all.

IGL is aggravated by numerous subgovernments

Trying to please every group results in contradictory and confusing policy.

The Insights of Ornstein and Schmitt

The New World of Interest Politics: 1990

The case of AARP and the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988

The Moroccan Casbah model of interest group interaction: from close door market place to wide open competition.

The structure of modern interest groups: leaders, activists, bureaucrats and the grass roots….

The Insights of Ornstein and Schmitt

The New World of Interest Politics: 1990

The case of AARP and the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988

The Moroccan Casbah model of interest group interaction: from close door market place to wide open competition.

The structure of modern interest groups: leaders, activists, bureaucrats and the grass roots….

The Character of Interest Groups

Interest Groups form:

To increase the chance that their views will be heard

To influence government To represent interests and

encourage political participation

Some interest groups organize because they have a direct economic interest in government policies.

Examples of such business and agricultural groups include:

National Association of Manufacturers American Farm Bureau Federation

Organized labor organizations are important interest groups in Washington politics.

Examples include: AFL-CIO Teamsters International Lady Garment

Workers Union

The Fate Of Labor Unions

Professional associations like

the

American Medical Association

American Bar Association

also try to influence the government.

Some groups, like public interest groups and ideological groups become active not for direct economic interest but for some broader purpose.

Public-sector groups, like the National League of Cities, think tanks, or universities also lobby the government.

Despite the promise of pluralism and the wide variety of interest groups that exist, there are a number of what the political scientist David Truman called “potential interest groups.”

Potential interest groups are those interests in society that lacking group organization, also lack adequate representation in the pluralist system.

Organizational Components

In The Logic of Collective Action, Mancur Olson argued that incentives exist for individuals to shirk their responsibilities to contribute to the public good.

In the area of public policy, where benefits achieved are distributed equally to those who contributed to policy formation and those who did not, individuals have incentives to free ride and let others invest time, energy, and money to getting the policy passed.

Through the provision of selective benefits, interest groups give individuals incentives to join the group.

Types of Selective Benefits

Informational benefits Material benefits Solidary benefits Purposive benefits

Insert Table 11.1 Here

Pluralists argued that interest groups:

Represent many diverse interests in society

Provide expert information and perspectives that improve policy-making

IG Rate the Members of Congress

Critics of pluralism argued that interest groups:

Over-represent the wealthy in society

Provide self-serving and biased information that warp policy making

Olson’s law of large groups

Insert Figure 11.1 here

The Proliferation of Groups

The expansion of government has helped spark the proliferation of interest groups, both those in favor of new government activities and those opposed.

A second factor explaining the growth in interest groups is the emergence of the new politics movement and public interest groups.

New politics movement: a political movement

made up of professionals and intellectuals for whom the civil rights and anti-war movements were formative experiences

Public interest groups:groups that claim to serve the general good rather than their own interest

A third factor explaining the rise of interest groups is the growth in recent years of conservative interest groups like:

the Christian Coalition the National Taxpayers Union the National Federation of Independent

Business

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Do you agree with pluralists that the proliferation of interest groups is a good thing?

How do interest groups overcome the collective action problem?

Which groups do you think have a more difficult time overcoming the collective action problem, public interest groups or economic interest groups? Why?

Strategies: The Quest for Power

Contemporary interest groups seek influence over policy makers through a mix of inside strategies and outside strategies.

Inside strategies include: Lobbying Influencing administrative

rule making Litigation

Outside strategies include: Influencing election

outcomes Affecting media coverage

Insert Figure 11.2 here

Some interest groups lobby legislatures to affect public policy.

Sometimes lobbyists engage in cross-lobbying by trying to organize one another to affect public policy.

Some groups attain enough access to achieve actual involvement in the government decision-making process.

Who Lobbies

Types of Access

iron triangle: the stable, cooperative

relationship that often develops between a congressional committee, an administrative agency, and one or more supportive interest groups

Corridoring: working to gain

influence in an executive agency

Capture:an interest’s acquisition of substantial influence over the government agency charged with regulating its activities

Insert Figure 11.3 here

Interest groups sometimes pursue a legal strategy to achieve their policy aims.

Either as parties to legal suits or by submitting amicus curiae briefs, interest groups seek to affect court decisions.

Interest groups also seek power by mobilizing public opinion:

Going public Institutional advertising Movement politics Grassroots mobilization

Politics & Popular CultureCelebrities increasingly play important roles in garnering media attention and mobilizing public support for political causes.

Examples of celebrity politics on the left and the right include: Charlton Heston’s leadership

of the NRA Bono’s championing of debt

relief in Africa

Actor Michael J. Fox played an important role in shaping the debate over stem cell research in the 2006 Senate races in Missouri and Maryland.

Using Electoral Politics Finally, interest groups seek to influence the outcome of elections:

Through political action committees (PACs), groups contribute money to candidates.

By mobilizing their members, groups can deliver volunteers and votes to campaigns.

Interest group-affiliated PACs have grown in number and influence in the last quarter-century of American politics.

The Federal Election Commission estimates that PACs spent $77.8 million in 1977-78.

By 1989-90, PAC spending had increased to $357.5 million.

In 2003-04, PAC spending reached $915.7 million.

Insert Figure 11.4 here

The Problem of Reform?

In addition to financial support through PACs, interest groups also influence elections by delivering volunteers and activists to candidates’ campaign efforts.

Groups like the Christian Coalition, the NRA, and the National Federation of Independent Business are likely to contribute to the Republican cause whereas organized labor has supplied Democrats with volunteers and activists for decades.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

How do interest groups’ efforts to compete increase the costs of participating in group politics?

Is lobbying an abuse of the policy-making process, or is it an appropriate way to represent societal interests?

Does interest group involvement in the electoral process promote or thwart the democratic will?

Clicker QuestionsAccording to the authors, the explosion of

interest group activity in the United States has been the result of the:

A. concomitant growth in the power of U.S. political parties.

B. increasing importance of the election as a linkage institution.

C. expansion of the role of government. D. decline of public interest groups.

Clicker QuestionsIn grassroots lobbying, interest groups:A. deal directly with just junior members of

Congress. B. file suits in state and local courts. C. deal directly with lower-level

bureaucrats. D. attempt to involve the general citizen

and voter.

Clicker QuestionsThe theory that competition among

organized interests will produce a balance with all the interests regulating one another is:

A. Elite TheoryB. PluralismC. SocialismD. Machiavellian Theory

Clicker QuestionsInterest groups were heavily involved in the

recent Michigan Affirmative Action cases. Some groups sponsored the lawsuit, others filed amicus curiae briefs for both sides. All of these groups would be using which interest group tactic?

A. Tort reformB. Judicial reviewC. LitigationD. Going public

Clicker QuestionsLobbyists are often likely to be: A. Former union membersB. Former government employeesC. Former members of CongressD. B and C