Chapter 6 Interest Groups

1

• Chapter 6 Interest Groups
• Have become very popular in recent years because
  of issue advocacy
• This is where a group spends unlimited money
  and creates ads that cannot use words like vote
  for
• The framers called them factions
• We just learned last chapter that we are a nation
  of groupssometimes these groups organized and
  that is an example of interest groups
• AARP
• NAACP
• Sometimes, these groups start as movements (large
  group of people that take an issue and act on it)

2

• There are specific types of interest groups
• Economic Interest Groups (guess what they deal
  with)
• Business Coke, McDonalds, Ford, Microsoft, etc
• Trade and Other Associations not really unions
• National Association of Realtors
• Labor- Unions
• VERY popular in the 1930s-1970s
• Two types
• Open shop- union membership cannot be required
• Closed shop- union membership may be required of
  employment
• Teamsters, AFL, CIO
• Typically back Democratic Party Candidates
• Professional Associations
• America Medical Association
• National Education Association

3

• Ideological or Single-Issue Interest Groups
• NRA, PETA, ACLUthey take one issue and run with
  it
• Public Interest Groups
• These groups goal is to help the American (or
  world) public as a whole
• Greenpeace and some tax-exempt charities are
  examples
• Foreign Policy Interest Groups
• Deal with foreign policy and interest
• American-Israel Political Action Committee
• Government and Government Employee Interest
  Groups
• Many cities and states have lobbyists and hire
  lobbyist to present them
• Another group is the nation Governors Association
• Other Interest Groups
• Fall into other category
• VFW, Nationality groups, etc

4

• Characteristics and Power of Interest Groups
• SIZE AND RESOURCE
• Mostly deals with money and manpower
• COHESIVNESS
• Members are usually one of three types
• Full-time, paid, formal leaders of group
• People intensely involved in the group, attend
  meetings, pay dues, and lots of work
• Members in name only (this is sometimes tricky
  for politicans)
• LEADERSHIP
• Sometimes makes or breaks a group (are they
  reaching out to all members?)

5

• TECHNIQUES
• Publicity and Mass Media Appeals
• TV ads, signs, word of mouth,
• Mass Mailings
• Now being done by email
• Influence on rule makings
• Everything done in Congress is place in the
  official document called the Federal Registers
• Well, groups see this and put pressure on
  agencies to ensure regulations are being carried
  out
• Litigation
• Lawsuit
• Election Activities
• Ads, voting campaigns, money

6

• Forming a Political Party
• Green Party is a good example
• Cooperative Lobbying
• Two groups work together to get something done

• INFLUENCE OF LOBBYIST
• Lobbying is when you try to influence public
  officials
• Called lobbyist because they use to stand in the
  lobby of the Capitol
• VERY POWERFUL some companies spend millions on
  lobbyist
• Lobbyist dealing with different groups
  networkedit is called an iron triangle

Congressional Committees
Interest Groups
Government Agencies (departments)
7

• MONEY AND POLITICS
• PACs (Political Action Committees) have become
  the financial arm of interest groups
• They are legally able to get money on a
  voluntary basis from members, employees, etc
  and take that money and use it for campaign
  contributions
• THEY HAVE BECOME INCREDITBALLY POWERFUL with over
  4000 PACs working right now
• They use most of their money and give it to
• Incumbents
• Committee chairs
• Party leaders
• Both parties (majority and minority)

8

• McCAIN-FEIDGOLD BILL
• The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 was
  passed
• Called the McCain-Feingold Bill
• Raised individual limits to a candidate from
  1000 to 2300 (2008) per election cycle
• Raised individual limits to a party from 20,000
  to 28,500 per election cycle
• Left PAC limit the same (5,000)
• Banned most forms of soft money to political
  parties
• However, soft money has moved to 527 groups and
  have seen their impact increase

9
The Difference between a PAC and a 527 A PAC can
accept no more than 5000. It can give up to
5000 to a candidate, and can run ads saying
whatever it wants. A 527 group can accept an
unlimited amount of money, but it can't give
money directly to a candidate, coordinate with a
candidate, or run ads that say "vote for" or
"defeat" a particular candidate. But, these
groups run ads that are far more damaging to
candidates that what most PACs run. And many
campaign consultants and staff have moved between
candidate campaigns and 527 groups, making the
claim that they don't coordinate pretty
questionable.
McCain-Feingold really it only banned political
parties from raising soft money One of the big
critiques of the bill at the time it passed was
that soft money would simply move from the
parties to these outside 527 groups. The
proponents of McCain-Feingold thought this
wouldn't happen because politicians would no
longer be asking for the money.