Interest Groups

1
Interest Groups

• Chapter 7

2
Interest Groups

• Interest groups are organized groups of
  individuals sharing common objectives, who
  actively attempt to influence policy.
• Madison in the Federalist Paper 10 believed that
  interest groups would discourage the formation of
  an oppressive majority rule.
• The First Amendment - freedom of speech and
  assembly protects interest groups.

3
Broad Social Movements

• The Womens Movement led to the creation of
  interest groups such as the National Organization
  of Women (NOW)
• The Civil Rights Movement created groups such as
  the National Association for the Advancement of
  Colored People

4
Types of Interest Groups

• Economic Interest Groups - the largest category
  includes
• Business groups such as American Manufactures
  Association.
• Labor groups such as the United Auto Workers
• Professional Associations such as the American
  Medical Association.

5

• Environmental Interest groups such as Green Peace
  or the Sierra Club
• Public interest groups focus on overall interests
  of community. For example, Ralph Naders group
  worked to make cars safer, Common Cause works to
  make government more responsive, and Mothers
  Against Drunk Driving to make teen drivers safer.

6
Why People Join

• Solidarity incentives- The desire to associate
  with others with the same interests (e.g. Audubon
  society for birds)
• Material incentives - refers to economic benefits
  of membership (e.g. American Association Retired
  Person gives insurance and travel benefits)
• Purposive incentives - people agree to main
  purpose such as human rights or environmental
  protection (e.g. Amnesty International)

7
What makes a group powerful?

• Size - e.g. American Federation of Labor
• Resources - e.g. US Chamber of Commerce
• Leadership - National Rifle Association

8
Lobbying

• Lobbying - an organization or individual who
  attempts to influence legislation
• 1965 Lobbying Act - defines lobbyist. Lobbyists
  must register with the government and report
  lobbying efforts
• 1995 Law banned gifts from Lobbyists to
  legislators

9
Political Action Committees

• Many interest groups have Political Action
  Committees (PACs) that contribute to political
  candidates.
• Corporations and labor unions create political
  actions committees, too.
• There are over 4,000 PACs contributing money to
  issues and candidates

10
Super Pacs

• The 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court Decision
  allows unlimited contributions to Super Pacs.
• These Super Pacs are not to be directed by a
  candidate, although they may run political ads on
  behalf of a candidate

11
Indirect Techniques

• Not all interest group activity is directly
  related to lobbying legislators and campaign
  contributions to candidates
• Interest groups may also be involved in indirect
  techniques, including demonstrations, letter
  writing, and political advertising

12
Concerns

• Many people may benefit from interest groups but
  do not participate in their activities.
  Essentially they get a free ride from the work
  that interest groups do.
• Interest groups may also exert influence beyond
  their actual numbers, and in some cases engage in
  illegal or unethical behavior