Special Interest
Groups – Lobbyists and PACS
Barrons – Chp 14
Interest Groups
• Different classifications
• Economic
• Occupational
• Environmental
• Minority
• Main role: influence public policy and the policy makers through
lobbying efforts, formation of PACs and legal action
• Take place w/in the context of a pluralist, hyperpluralist, and elite
society
Group Theory (chp 1)
• Pluralism
• Different factions vying for control of the policy agenda
• result: no single group emerges, forcing the groups to compromise
• Centrist position is achieved
• Elite (class)
• Upper economic class strata of society controls the policy agenda
• Controls the linkage institutions of government
• Hyperpluralism
• There are so many strong groups and factions that the government can no longer function
Interest or Linkage Groups
Public or private affiliation or committee with a goal of disseminating the
memberships viewpoint
• attempts to persuade public policymakers to respond to the groups
perspective
• Goals carried out by special interests – lobbyists and PACS
• Differences between political parties and interest groups
• IG’s don’t nominate candidates for political office
• Function is to influence office holders, not to gain office, therefore
there only responsible to their narrow constituency
• Anyone can join interest groups, with similar attitudes and goals
Interest or Linkage Groups
• Criticisms and advocates of interest groups
• Advocates: additional check and balance to the legislative system
• Critics: partly responsible for gridlock, gain access to officials as a
tradeoff for political contributions
• Interest groups – internal function of attracting a keeping a viable
membership
• Accomplish by making promises to their membership – “we will succeed in
our political goals”
• Will benefit the political, economic, or social needs of the members
Interest or Linkage Groups
Different linkage groups compete with one another in a manner that is
consistent with pluralist theory
• competition among groups is healthy, clarifies information prevents
anyone group from dominating
• Critics of Elite Theory
• Power is concentrated by the largest and richest organizations
• Unequal nature of the power of groups
• $ talks, large groups have the most influence
Interest or Linkage Groups
• Madison – Federalist 51: factions….. Principal task of government is to
regulate the various interests
• Led to his development of the separation of powers
• Three branches
• State & Federal
• Formation of political parties became an additional balance
• de Tocqueville, “in no country in the world is the principle of association
been more successfully used then in America".
• Examples of interest groups: suffragettes, prohibitionists, labor unions. -NAACP, AFL-CIO.
• The number of interest groups has grown as well as the size, become
specialized.
Economic and occupational, energy and environmental, religious racial
gender and ethnic, political professional NIdea logical.
Interest or Linkage Groups
• The number of interest groups has grown as well as the size, become specialized.
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Economic and occupational,
energy and environmental,
religious
Racial, gender and ethnic,
political professional
ideological.
Interest or Linkage Groups
• Most groups have headquarters in Washington DC.
• They hire lobby lobbyists to make contacts with senators and representatives.
• Get their views placed on political agendas through the following techniques:
• testifying at congressional hearings,
• contacting government officials,
• providing research information,
• sending letters to their members,
• trying to influence the press,
• suggesting and supporting legislation,
• hiring lobbyists,
• giving senators and representatives feedback from constituents,
• making contributions through PACs,
• taking congressmen on trips or to dinner,
• endorsing candidates & working on campaigns.
Interest or Linkage Groups
Use their expertise to give elected officials additional information related
to problems.
Their agendas are known.
Lobbyist: the primary instrument for fostering special interest groups goals
to policymakers.
To be successful they use the following techniques:
• knowing the issues inside and out as well as the people involved,
• understanding the goals of the group,
• being truthful with the people they deal with,
• working closely with the interest group that hired them,
• keeping the people are trying to convince in their corner,
Interest or Linkage Groups
PACs-raise money from the special interest groups constituents, make
contributions to political campaigns.
The amount of money is skyrocketed sense the federal election campaigns
acts (FECA) were passed in the early 70s.
The amount of money spent on house and senatorial candidates in 2006
over 800 hundred million dollars