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Chapter 16: Interest Groups
Social capital—the myriad relationship that individuals enjoy that facilitate the resolution of
community problems through collective action.
Civic virtue—the tendency to form small-scale associations for the public good.
I Roots of the American Interest Group System
1. Interest groups—an organized group that tries to influence public policy.
2. Interest group “any group that, on the basis of one or more shared attitudes, makes certain
claims upon other groups in society for the establishment, maintenance, or enhancement
of forms of behavior that are implied by shared attitudes.”
3. Interest groups are differentiated from political parties largely by the fact that interest
groups do not run candidates for office.
4. Pluralist theory—the theory that political power is distributed among a wide array of
diverse and competing interest groups.
5. Disturbance theory—the theory (by David B. Truman) that interest groups form in part to
counteract the efforts of other groups.
a. According to this approach anytime there is a disturbance in a political system, a
group will arise. One wave of groups will give way to another wave of groups
representing a contrary perspective. ( a countermovement)
b. The government in turn should provide a forum in which the competing demands
of groups and the majority of the US population can be heard and balanced.
6. Transactions theory—the theory that public policies are the result of narrowly defined
exchanges among political actors
7. This theory arose out of criticisms of the pluralist approach.
8. Transactions theorists make two contentions:
a. It is not rational for people to mobilize into groups.
b. The groups that do mobilize will represent elites.
9. Neopluralists have found a middle ground, population ecology theory.
10. Population ecology theory—the theory that the life of a political organization is
conditional on the density and diversity of the interest group population in a given area.
11. This theory build on the biological idea that the resources of an ecosystem can only
support a certain number of any one species.
12. Growth occurs in an s curve.
13. Population ecology theorists believe that interest group growth follows a similar pattern
and is constrained by the relative abundance of resources in a particular environment.
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A Kinds of Organized Interests
Public Interest Groups
1. Public interest group—an organization that seeks a collective good that will not
selectively and materially benefit group members.
Economic Interest Groups
1. Economic Interest Group—a group with the primary purpose of promoting the financial
interests of its members.
2. Ex. American Medical Association, AFL-CIO, organizations representing farmers.
3. They exist to make profits and to obtain economic benefits for their members.
Governmental Units
1. State and local governments are becoming strong organized interests as they lobby the
federal government or even charitable foundations for a vast array of state and local
programs.
2. State and local governments may spend a significant proportion of their revenues trying
to win federal earmarks.
3. Earmark—funds that an appropriations bill designates for a particular purpose within a
state or congressional district.
Political Action Committees (PACs)
1. Political Action Committees—federally regulated, officially registered fund-raising
committee that represents interest groups in the political process.
II The Development of American Interest Groups
A National Groups Emerge (1830-1889)
1. It was not until the 1830s as communication improved did the first national interest
groups emerge.
2. Among the first of these groups was the American Anti-Slavery Society founded in 1833
by William Lloyd Garrison.
3. Perhaps the most effective organized interest of the day was the railroad industry.
4. Lobbyist—interest group representative who seeks to influence legislation that will
benefit his or her organization or client through political persuasion.
B The Progressive Era (1890-1920)
1. 1890’s a profound change occurred;
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2. Rapid industrialization, an influx of immigrants, and monopolistic business practices
created a host of problems including crime, poverty, squalid and unsafe working
conditions, and widespread political corruption.
3. The political and social movement that grew out of these concerns was called the
Progressive Movement.
4. In response to the pressure applied by Progressive era groups, the national government
began to regulate business.
Organized Labor
1. The AFL, American Federation of Labor, was created in 1886.
2. 1914 massive lobbying led to the passage of the Clayton Act which was called the Magna
Carta of the labor movement by leader Samuel Gompers.
3. Clayton Act allowed unions to organize free from prosecution and also guaranteed their
right to strike, a powerful weapon against employers.
Business Groups and Trade Associations
1. Trade associations—a group that represents a specific industry.
C The Rise of the Interest Group State
Conservative Response: Religious and Ideological Groups
1. Christian Coalition and the National Rifle Association NRA
Business Groups, Corporations, and Associations
Organized Labor
III What Do Interest Groups Do?
1. Interest groups become active when they believe that government policies threaten or
affect group goals.
2. Interest groups also enhance political participation by motivating like-minded individuals
to work toward a common goal.
3. They are assumed to represent the interests of their members to policy makers at all
levels of government.
4. Downside to interest groups: because they make claims on society, they can increase the
cost of public policies.
5. Interest groups play an important role in US politics b/c
a. In addition to enhancing the democratic process by providing increased
representation and participation, they increase public awareness about important
issues, help frame the public agenda, and often monitor programs to guarantee
effective implementation.
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6. Increasing cause for concern is that fact that the rich and powerful are doing more
lobbying than the poor who need it more.
A Lobbying
1. Most interest groups put lobbying at the top of their agendas.
2. Lobbying—the activities of a group or organization that seeks to influence legislation and
persuade political leaders to support the group’s position.
3. Most politically active groups use lobbying to make their interests heard and understood
by those who are in a position to influence or cause change in governmental policies.
4. Table 16.2 p. 581—there are least 23 legal ways for lobbyists and organizations to
influence policy at the state and national level.
Lobbying Congress
1. Lobbyists try to develop close relationships with senators and House members in an
effort to enhance their access to the policy-making process.
2. A symbiotic relationship between members of Congress, interest group representatives,
and affected bureaucratic agencies often develops.
3. In these Iron Triangles and issue networks (discussed in ch9) congressional
representatives and their staff members, who face an exhausting workload and legislation
they frequently know little about, often look to lobbyist for information.
4. Lobbyist work most closely with representatives who share their interests.
5. A lobbyist’s effectiveness depends largely on his or her reputation for fair play and
provision for accurate information.
6. Many people who work on Capitol Hill retire to become lobbyists
Lobbying the Executive Branch
1. Efforts have increased to lobby the executive branch as it has tried to have more of an
effect on legislation.
2. An especially strong link exists between interest groups and regulatory agencies.
Lobbying the Courts
1. Generally interest groups lobbying for the courts can take two forms:
a. Direct sponsorship
b. Filing of amicus curiae briefs.
2. Litigation and efforts to influence the outcome of judicial nominations to the federal
courts are not the only ways that interest groups lobby jurists.
3. It is becoming increasingly common for interest groups of all persuasions to pay for trips
for judges to attend “informational conferences” or simply to interact with judges by
paying for club memberships and golf outings.
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Grassroots Lobbying
1. Grassroots lobbying is a form of interest group activity that prompts individuals to
contact their representatives directly in an effort to affect policy.
2. In essence, the goal of many organizations is to persuade ordinary voters to serve as their
advocates.
Protests and Radical Activism
B Election Activities
Candidate Recruitment and Endorsements
1. Candidate recruitment is often key for attracting women and minority candidates.
(endorsements are just as important)
Getting Out the Vote
Rating the Candidates or Office Holders
Political Action Committees
1. PACs contributions are not tax deductible, PACs have contributors who write checks
specifically for the purpose of campaign donations.
2. PAC money plays a significant role in the campaigns of many congressional incumbents,
often averaging over half a House candidate’s total campaign spending. PACs generally
contribute to those who have helped before and who serve on committees or
subcommittees that routinely consider legislation of concern to that group.
IV What Makes Interest Groups Successful?
1. Historically, corporate interests often prevail over the concerns of public interest groups
such as environmentalists.
2. All interest groups have one thing in common: they all want to shape the public agenda,
whether by winning elections, maintaining the status quo, or obtaining favorable
legislation or rulings from Congress, executive agencies, or the courts.
3. Phenomena that contribute to a particular groups’ successes.
a. Leaders
b. Patrons and funding
c. A solid membership base
A Leaders
1. Most successful groups, especially public interest groups are led by charismatic
individuals who devote most of their energies to the cause.
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2. Leaders must find ways to attract members.
B Patrons and Funding
1. All interest groups require adequate funding to build their memberships as well as to
advance their policy objectives.
2. Patron—a person who finances a group or individual activity.
3. Charismatic leaders often are especially effective fundraisers and recruiters of new
members.
C Members
1. Organizations have three types of members:
a. Top—leaders, small number who devote their energies to a single group.
b. Second tier is involved psychologically as well as organizationally. They are the
workers of the group.
c. Bottom tier rank and file members who do not actively participate.
2. People who belong to groups are often higher educated and have more money
3. People who belong to groups usually belong to more than one.
4. All groups provide some collective good—something of value that cannot be withheld
from a nonmember of a group, for example, a tax write-off or a better environment.
5. Downside is a free rider problem—potential members fail to join a group because they
can get the benefit, or collective good, sought by the group without contributing the
effort.
6. The bigger the group the greater the free rider problem.
7. Factors that help groups overcome the free rider problem:
a. Members representing other groups or institutions are much more likely than
individuals to value efforts to obtain collective goals.
b. Once a policy environment appears to threaten existing rights, many individuals
come to realize those threats and join groups in exchange for only collective
benefits.
8. Small groups often have organizational advantage because in a small group any
individual’s share of the collective good may be great enough to make it rational for him
or her to join.
9. Patrons often eliminate the free rider problem for public interest groups. They make the
cost of joining minimal because they contribute much of the group’s necessary financial
support.
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V Toward Reform: Regulating Interest Groups and Lobbyists
1. 1995: Lobbying Disclosure Act: employed a strict definition of a lobbyist: (one who
devotes at least 20 percent of a client’s or employer’s time to lobbying activities.)
2. It requires lobbyist to:
a. Register with the clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate
b. Report their clients and issues and the agency or house they lobbied
c. Estimate that amount they are paid by each client.
3. Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007—lobbying reform banning gifts to
members of Congress and their staffs, toughening disclosure requirements, and increasing
time limits on moving from the federal government to the private sector.
Key Words:
Civic virtue, collective good, disturbance theory, earmark, economic interest group, free rider
problem, Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, interest group, lobbying,
lobbyist, patron, pluralist theory, political action committee (PAC) population ecology theory,
public interest group, social capital, trade association, transactions theory.