Interest Groups

1
Interest Groups

• They cause all of our problems.
• They are us.

2
We complain about the special interest groups.
What are they?

• Interest Group Any private organization or
  association that seeks to influence public policy
  as a way to protect or advance some interest.
• Faction Madisons term for groups or parties
  that try to advance their own interests at the
  expense of the public good.

3
The Pluralist View

• Madison concluded that the evil of factions
  could provide a republican remedy for a
  republican problem.
• Modern pluralist political scientists do not see
  interest groups as a problem they see them as an
  essential tool of democracy. They equate interest
  groups with elections or public opinion.tools of
  democratic representation.

4
Interest Group Formation Some Possible
Explanations.

• Disturbance theory A theory offered by political
  scientist David B. Truman that locates the
  origins of interest groups in changes in the
  economic, social, or political environment that
  threaten the well-being of some segment of the
  population.
• In other words, something happens and people
  react.

5
Interest Group Formation, continued

• Diversity of Interests This is the pluralist
  view restated. We are a diverse society, so
• Rules of the Game Our system of government
  contributes to the formation of interest groups.
  Freedom of speech, separation of powers,
  federalism, and other elements of our government
  encourage participation in the policy-making
  process.

6
Interest Group Formation, continued

• The Growth in Government Simply put, the more
  government does, the more its business causes the
  formation of interest groups who favor or oppose
  its actions.
• Incentives Some social scientists argue that
  people join groups to obtain selective
  benefits discounts, group-rates, business
  contacts, etc. If someone can get the benefits
  without joining, he may become a free rider.

7
What Interest Groups are Represented?

• First, well divide all interest groups into two
  main categories
• Private Interest Groups, and
• Public Interest Groups

8
Private Interest Groups

• Well then divide private interest groups into
  three main categories
• Business organizations
• Professional organizations, and
• Labor organizations

9
Public Interest Groups

• Sometimes called citizens groups, they advocate
  public policies that they believe are in the best
  interest of everyone, not just their fellow group
  members.
• Civic Virtue tendency to engage in actions that
  promote the public good.
• There has been a great upsurge in the number of
  these groups in the last 30 or 40 years. From our
  Interest Group Formation options, do any
  explanations look better than others as reasons
  for this increase?

10
Ideological or Religious Interest Groups

• How would you classify conservative, liberal,
  Christian, Jewish, or other ideological or
  religious based interest groups.
• Are they public interest groups or private
  interest groups?

11
What Interest Groups Do

• Interest groups may try to influence public
  policy by working inside or outside the political
  system.
• Well call this The Inside Game and the Outside
  Game.

12
The Inside Game

• Efforts by groups to influence policy by directly
  persuading public officials to act or not act.
• Lobbying Gaining access to and attempting to
  influence public policymakers.
• The Inside Game can include lobbying
• Congress and state legislatures
• The Executive Branch at both levels
• The Courts---(amicus curiae briefs)
• Local government has to be included in this
  list.

13
The Outside Game

• How would a group influence public officials
  without even coming into contact with them?
• Grass-Roots mobilization motivating others to
  get involved creating a cause.
• Mobilizing Membership
• Organizing the District
• Shaping Public Opinion
• Getting Involved in Campaigns and Elections

14
Solutions that cause problems

• Campaign finance reform in the 1970s led to the
  creation of Political Action Committees (PACS)
• Limiting the power of PACS was among the goals of
  McCain-Feingold, the recent campaign finance
  reform law. It led in part to the creation of the
  new breed of PACS such as Swift-boat Veterans for
  the Truth in 2004.

15
Power in the hands of a few

• Capture A situation in which a regulated
  industry exercises substantial influence over the
  government agency regulating it.
• Iron Triangle An enduring alliance of common
  interest among an interest group, a congressional
  group, and a bureaucratic agency.
• Interest Group Liberalism A theoretical regime
  in which interest groups help formulate and carry
  out governmental policies. This suggests that
  business may want to be regulated. Dont throw
  me in the briar patch