Chapter 9
I. Interest Groups
A. Proliferation/abundancy
1. Reasons
a. The more variety of interests there are in the country, the more
interest groups there will be.
b. So many “factions”--based on:
i. race
ii. immigrant status
iii. income/occupation
iv. 72 larger religions
c. James Madison predicted that the causes of factions are
“sown in the nature of man”
d. Because there are so many branches of government, a
faction has many
more points of impact in the political
action.
e. Party weakness allows interest groups to influence the
parties themselves, and the government
B. Birth of Interest Groups
1. Grown rapidly since 1960
2. Groups varied in history based on time period
a. 1770s: American independance
b. 1830s and 1840s: Religious groups/antislavery movement
c. 1900-1920s: NAACP, Farmer’s Union, American
Medical Association, etc. Some of the biggest names in
national politics formed at this time.
d. 1960s: environmental, consumer, political reform, etc
3. Four factors that explain emergence
4. “Broad economic developments that create new interests and refine old
ones”
a. Eg. Unions weren’t mas-membership based until the mass prod.
industry
5. Government policy
a. Eg. Wars → veterans: they demand workers benefits, etc, and
6. Stronger leaders, at specific points in history
7. Government undertakes more roles/activities
C. What is an interest group?
1. Interest Groups are organizations that seek to “influence public policy”.
2. Corporations
3. Law firms
4. P.R firms
5. Foundation based $, or government based $
6. Two types: Institutional & Membership
D. Institutional Interest Groups
1. Individuals/organizations that represent other organizations in
Washington
2. Many companies, like General Motors, have firms/offices in the capital
3. Concerns
a. delivering varying things for many different types of institutions
b. because there are so many different types of inst. interest groups
c. “bread and butter issues”
d. government, foundations, universities
E. Membership Interest Groups
1. Many interest groups in America
2. Nothing to take for granted
3. More likely than populations of other countries to join:
a. social
b. busniess
c. professional
d. veterans
e. charitable organizations
f. religious/civic groups
i. related to the fact that there is greater political
efficacy/duty
4. Less likely to join:
a. labor unions
5. Most sympathizers of mass-membership interest groups don’t join
a. the work of the groups affect nonmemebers
b. a sole non member may believe that they won’t have a large
impact
F. Incentives to join
1. Three main incentives (things of value that are associated with joining)
2. Solidary incentives
a. pleasure
b. status
c. companionship associated
d. tend to be ONLY available from face to face contact
e. must organize as local coalitions
f. local chapters within one larger national interest group =
+++++++
i. easier to collect, organize and COLLECT $$$$
3. Material incentives
a. Money
b. grants
c. Services
d. eg. AARP gives lower cost life insurance to members
4. Purposive incentive(s)
a. Purpose of the organization itself
b. appeal of stated goals to attract members
c. crreates the term: Ideological interest groups
d. often controversial
e. research/lawsuits
f. often shaped by the “mood of the times”
g. must generate a lot of publicity
5. When an interest groups purpose, or stated goals help nonmembers, it becomes a public-interest lobby
6. Controversy
a. Often either very liberal or very conservative
7. Staff Influence
a. The interest groups can often portray what the staff
wants more than what the member believe
b. Benefits and issues may not relate to those joined for
material/solidary benefits
G. Interest Groups/Social Movements
1. Social movement = a widely shared demand for change in some aspect
of the social/political order
a. The civil rights movement
b. Environmentalist movement during the 1970s
c. religious movements/nativist movements
d. Feminist Movement → voting rights, and new org.’s (3 kinds)
i. solidary incentives, middle class women with
high education levels
ii. purposive incentives, NOW, NARAL, strong
positions, tackle “divisive” issues, hard to stick to
local level
iii. material incentives, WEAL, obtains grants
from foundations etc.
e. Union movement
i. 1930s, great depression, rapid growth in unions
ii. peaked 1945, since then has fallen pretty
steadily (less industrial production now in the
country)
iii. growth in government workers unions, though
2. Can be triggered by scandal or possibly just a new generation’s coming
of power
II. Funds for Interest Groups
A. Some trouble raising $
B. Three main sources
1. Foundation grants
2. Government grants
a. Federal
b. expanded in 1960s-70s
c. recipients change limited
3. Direct mail solicitation
a. Unique to the modern interest group
b. Using computers, directly mail to specialized audiences
i. from preset lists developed by staff/purchased from other
org’s
c. Eg. common case → 1970
d. raising money via mail costs a lot of money
e. certain techniques to gain $ in mail
i. “teasers” on outside of envelop
ii. arousing emotions
iii. get endorsed
iv. personalize the letter (people’s names)
III. Other Interest Group Activities/Qualities
A. Bias can be a problem
1. Those who are active in the capital are believed to only represent the
rich
2. Because most likely to join an interest group are of upper class
3. organizations that represent businesses or professions are more
numerous and have more funding than those that represent minorities,
consumers, or “disadvantaged”.
4. the more educated are often more wealthy, and are the ones that
would get involved
5. Though wealthy are involved directly, the benefits have an output
effect for many social classes
6. Business groups are often divided among themselves
B. Information
1. Obtaining credible information is the most important tactic for
groups/lobbyists
2. Information is in short supply. Thus it is more valuable
3. Politicians need specialists and groups that have a strong interest in a
certain issue
4. organized, factual, detailed, current, PERSUASIVE info
5. exaggerate, but cannot afford to misrepresent
a. Lobbyists must establish long term connections with politicians
6. Political cues
a. a signal telling the official whatvalues are at stake in an issue
b. who is for/against a proposal
c. how that issue fits into his or her own set of political views
d. informal coalitions based on general pol. ideology
7. Ratings made by interest groups for legislators
a. designed to generate support or opposition to politicians/law
makers
C. Public and New Politics
1. Insider strategy → lobbyists working closely with a few key
members of Congress to exchange info and favors
2. outsider strategy → technology, communication to get news out
immediately
a. grassroots lobbying
b. “generate public pressure directly on government officials”
c. especially with the “issue public” that are interested/active
3. Many legislators only work with interest groups they agree with
(don’t like controversy)
4. Vice versa!
5. Nonetheless, the new strategy leads to more controversy
6. Target those who are undecided
7. Some groups attack those who might be allies
8. A few, very powerful large interest groups
D. Money/PACs
1. $ least effective way to influence politicians
2. Campaign finance reform act 1973
a. limited the donation amounts
b. legalized formation of PACs by companies and org.s
3. Any company, basically, can create a PAC
4. ideological PACs are the most prominent
5. Both parties dependant on PAC $, but Democrats get more
6. typical PAC donations are actually rather small (in the hundreds)
7. ⅓ of the money spend for House candidates
8. Incumbents get more PAC $
E. The Revolving Door
1. politicians from Washington go to work for organizations and
companies as lobbyists, consultants, etc.
2. Makes people worry that it goves private companies a leg up
influencing the govt.
F. Troubles
1. American political landscape has always involved disruptive tactics
a. protest, sit-ins, picketing, violence, etc
b. Part of interest group politics
c. Since 1960s, has become more conventional
2. Government dreads trouble where there is a “no-win” situation
IV. Interest Group Regulation
A. First amendment allows interest groups to have political speeches, etc
B. Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act, 1946
1. Requires groups/individuals seeking to influence laws to register
with the Sec. of the Senate for quarterly financial reports
2. Little effect, especially for “grassroots” groups
C. 1995 lobby act (Congress)
1. Widens the definition of lobbyist
2. Lobbyists must report 2 times a year and give:
a. the names of clients
b. Their income and expenditures
c. The issues they worked on
3. $5,000 limit for PAC donations
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Chapter 9: Interest Groups
I. The Beginning and Importance of Interest Groups
A. Why do we have interest groups
i. The greater more cleavages in society, greater interests exist
ii. The divides of income, occupation and nationality create different interests
iii. The variety of religions, seventy-two approximately, show different
interests
B. The Constitution supports interest groups
i. The power is shared between three branches making arguing points easier
ii. Committees and subcommittees within Congress make way for influence
C. Political Parties are weak
i. The interest groups work directly in the government instead of through
parties
ii. In large diverse cities, interest groups proliferate or rapidly multiply, and
play a large role in policy making.
D. How it all began
i. Madison introduced factions in the Federalist 10 and many historians
compare factions to interest groups.
ii. Interest groups are any organization that seeks to influence public policy.
iii. In 1960s the interest groups boomed, most likely because of the Vietnam
War and the Civil Rights Movement
iv. In the 1770s, there was a demand for American independence.
v. In the1830s and 1840s Americans called for religious associations and the
antislavery movement.
vi. In the 1860s, farmers created interest groups for their growing needs but
limited representation.
E. Popular Interest Groups of the last twenty years
i. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
ii. American Jewish Committee
iii. The Farmer's Union
iv. The National Welfare Conference
II. Interest Groups and Movements
A. Types of Interest Groups
i. Institutional Interests
a) Institutional interests are individuals or organizations representing
other organizations.
b) These are usual lawyers in firms who will represent a variety of
interests
c) Trade or governmental associations also qualify as institutional
interests
d) They do not only represent businesses but governments, foundations
and universities.
ii. Membership Interests
a) Most interest groups come with an incentive or something of value you
cannot attain without joining (the group)
b) Solidary incentives or the sense of status and companionship that
comes with meeting in a group.
c) Material incentives or money or things that have money value.
d) Purposive incentive or the appeal of the goals of the interest group
(the ideal choice)
iii. Ideological Interest groups
a) Interest groups that support controversial ideas
b) They hope their interest in these principles will attract member
iv. Public Interest Group
a) When the goals of the interest group will effect nonmembers.
b) Raising money for orphanages, persuading people to vote or pushing
to change legislature can change nonmembers as well as members of
an interest group.
B. Social Movement
i. A social movement is a widely shared demand for a social or political
change.
ii. These goals do not have to be liberal or positive (like wanting to keep
Catholics and Masons from holding power).
iii. The Environmental Movement
a) In the 1890s, the Sierra Club was created to promote conservation. In
the 1930s, the Wilderness Society and National Wildlife Federation
emerged to save the Earth too.
b) These organizations tend to have more liberal members. The loud,
aggressive activists choose one group while more passive activists opt
for the other.
iv. The Feminist Movement
a) In 1920 the League of Women Voters was created to educate and
organize women for their new right to vote.
b) The League of Women Voters and the Federation of Business and
Professional Women rely chiefly on solidary incentives and enroll
middle class educated women.
c) National Organization for Women and the National Abortions Rights
Action League attract members with purposive incentive and must
take stronger decisions, tackle divisive issues and be more aggressive
than their counterparts.
d) The Women's Equity Action League focuses on specific issues that
target women. They will bring lawsuits aimed at enforcing or
enlarging the legal rights of women in high education and other
institutions.
e) The Feminist Movement also forged the Anti-feminist movement by
pro-life organizations and other groups that do not support similar
rights for males and females.
v. The Union Movement
a) The major union movement was during the Great Depression in 1930.
b) Since then the number of members decreases rapidly to where only
13.5% of workers are unionized.
c) People approve their unions less and therefore no longer to choose to
join them.
d) Many people join unions to keep their benefits and ensure a job.
e) Teachers, government workers and some white collar workers are
most prone to join a union.
vi. Funding Interest Groups
a) Foundation Grants or the money raised by the interest group support
50% or more of an interest groups funds.
b) Federal grants or money given by the government benefit interest
groups, the cities and the states.
 The government will not fund an interest group, but support a
project associated with the group.
 Conservative presidents, like President Reagan, will limit federal
grant funds to harm interest groups which I primarily liberal.
c) Direct mail is when interest groups contact individuals who would be
interested in their cause and fund them.
 Direct mail costs a lot of money, though the rewards can make up
for it.
 To entice readers, the may put an identifiable picture on the
envelope
 Another method is mentioning a common enemy for those who
support the cause
 Endorsement helps in gaining more funds
 Personalizing the letter makes people feel wanted
III.The Controversy With Interest Groups
A. What interest groups do
i. Information
a) They supply credible information to their audience.
b) They become experts in their causes to educate their leaders on what to
do
c) Lobbyists are people who represent interest groups to the government
and deliver their position in hopes of attaining legislature.
 Lobbyists will often give a political cue and tell the official what
values are at stake in how that fits into his or her political beliefs.
 Lobbyists will use insider strategies where they work close with
key members of Congress and meet with them to exchange
information and, sometimes, favors.
d) Interest groups use ratings to generate public support. They can also
be biased.
e) Outsider strategies is the use of the media like television, radio and the
internet to reach citizens asking voters to engage their local Congress
members.
f) Grassroots lobbying is designed to generate public pressure on
government officials.
g) Outside strategies are much more difficult than inside strategies from
the difficult of rousing the public.
ii. Money and PACs
a) In 1973, the government limited the amount of money that any interest
group could give to a candidate for federal office.
b) The government allowed for corporations and labor unions to create
political action committees.
c) PACs raise money for candidates and causes for interest groups and
corporations that legally cannot.
d) PACs are easy to make and can easily influence government with their
money.
e) In some cases, government officials use PACs for money, and PACs
comply in fear that lack of supporting officials would decrease
member contribution.
f) Sometimes government officials create their own PACs. They will
fund other candidates in hopes of the favor being returned.
g) Ideological PACs support ideas rather than a party (such as Gun
control)
 Ideological PACs earn more money than others and usually attain
it from direct mail.
 They support elections less than other PACs because of the costs
of direct mail.
h) Both parties are dependent on PAC money
B. The Problems With Interest Groups
i. Bias
a) Many people think that interest groups support the upper class more.
 They think rich people are more likely to join an interest group
 They believe groups representing businesses and professions raise
more money than groups representing minorities, consumers and
the disadvantaged.
b) Those with higher incomes, higher education and those in professional
jobs are more likely to join an interest group.
 Rich people can afford to supporting
 Educated people understand what they are supporting
 Businesses professionals have the ability to rework the schedule
c) Half the interest groups in 1976 were corporations and one third were
professional and trade associations.
d) In 1976, four percent of interest groups were public interest and two
percent were civil rights and minority groups.
ii. Other problems
a) Interest groups explain inputs or what they do to benefit the cause, but
do not disclose outputs or the results of their contributions.
 Interest groups cannot predict if they can continually help the
cause.
 Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
b) Business oriented interest groups divide amongst themselves.
c) Some interest groups will speak for all of the industry (all farmers).
d) Some interest groups will speak only for a certain region (MidAmerica Dairymen)
iii. Revolving Door
a) The revolving door is when people will leave their federal job and will
gain another by becoming a consultant possibly giving federal
information
b) This worries people that the temptation of a great job after leaving the
government will influence decisions while in government
 Lyn Nofziger lobbied the White House after he left on behalf of
various businesses and labor unions.
 Michael Deaver was convicted of perjury when he used his former
government contacts to help the clients of his public relations firm.
c) To balance the revolving door, federal lawyers will prosecute
businesses that violate antitrust laws to gain better jobs at private
firms.
iv. Violent ways of showing distress
a) The Ku Klux Klan using terror, intimidation and murder to scare
against targeted parties.
b) Pro-life blockades of abortion clinics
c) Bombings and shootings
d) Businesses using strong-arm squads against workers
e) Governments hate this type of trouble because if they ignore it, it looks
bad on the government.
C. Regulation
i. The Federal Regulation Lobbying Act which requires groups and
individuals seeking to influence legislature to register with the secretary of
the Senate and the clerk of the House and to file reports.
ii. In 1995, Congress passed a law the restates the obligation of lobbyists to
register but broadened the definition of lobbyist.
a) People who spend at least 20 percent of their time lobbying.
b) People who are paid at least $5000 in any six month period to lobby.
c) Corporations and other groups that spend more than $20,00 in any six
month period on their own lobbying staffs.
d) Lobbyists must also register
 The names of their clients
 Their income and expenditures
 The issues on which they worked
iii. Non-profit organizations are only exempt from taxes if a substantial part
of its activities is not attempting to influence legislation (lobbying).
iv. The campaign finance laws limit to $5000 the amount any PAC can send
on a given candidate in a given election.
a) This decreases the amount a single group can give money.
b) This increased the total amount different groups provide.
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
Chapter 9: Interest Groups
Lobby- to attempt to influence governmental decisions especially legislation.
They are a group with a purpose. In the United States, lobbyists were people who
met members of Congress outside the chamber of the House or Senate to argue
their cause.
I.
The Birth of Interest Groups- In the 1960s and 1970s this was the booming years
for interest groups. The great era of organization building was in the first two
decades of the twentieth century. This twenty-year period was best known and
largest associations with an interest in national politics were formed.
A. The wave of interest group formation in the 1960s led to the emergence of
environmental, consumer, and political reform organizations.
B. These groups do no arise inevitably out of natural social processes.
C. There are four factors to help explain the rise of interest groups.
i.
Broad economic developments that create new interests and
redefine old ones.
ii.
Governmental policy helped create interest groups. For ex. War
creates veterans, who then demand pensions and other benefits.
The men then received a quarter of a billion dollars a year from the
government. With a large amount of money required organizations
to watch over the distribution of money.
iii. Political organizations do not emerge automatically. There must be
leadership. They are often young, caught up in a social movement,
drawn to the need for change, and inspired by some political or
religious doctrine. For ex. The antislavery organizations were
organized and created by the college-educated middle class.
iv.
The more activities government undertakes, the more organized
groups there will be that are interest in those activities.
II.
Kinds of Organizations
1. Interest Group- any organization that seeks to influence public policy. Many
organizations do not have individual members but are offices, corporations, law
firms, etc. There are two different kinds of interest groups.
a. Institutional Interests- are individuals or organization representing other
organizations. For ex. Over five hundred have such representatives in the
capital, most have open offices since 1970
i.
They tend to be interest in bread-and-butter issues of vital concern
to their clients.
ii.
They earn large fees but they are expected to deliver a lot.
iii. They also represent governments, foundations, and universities.
For ex. American council on education claims to speak for most
institutions of high education. The American Public Transit
Association represents local mass-transit systems, and the national
Association of Counties argues on behalf of county governments.
b. Membership Interest
i.
Americans join organizations but they are less likely to join labor
unions. They tend to join religious and civic or political
associations.
ii.
Americans getting together with other citizens engage in civic or
political action reflects, apparently, a greater sense of political
efficacy and a stronger sense of civic duty in the country.
iii.
When Americans were asked what they would to protest an unjust
local regulations. 56% Americans and 34% of British and 13% of
Germans said they would try to organize their neighbors to
petition.
iv.
Most people who are sympathetic to the aims of mass membership
interest groups do not join it. Rational people who value their time
and money would no more join such organizations only if they get
something out of it.
2. Incentives to Join
a. People must be offered an incentive to join mass-membership organizations. .
i.
Incentive- Something of value they cannot get without joining.
There are third kinds of Incentives.
 Solidary incentives- are the sense of pleasure status, or
championship that arises out of meeting together in small groups.
Such rewards are extremely important, but because they tend to be
available only from face-to-face contact, nation interest groups
offering them organize themselves as small units.
 Material incentives- money or things, and services readily valued
for monetary terms. For ex. Farm organizations have recruited
many members by offering a wide range of services.
 Purposive Incentive- the appeal of their stated goals, to recruit
members. Say if the goals will also benefit people who do not join,
individuals who do join will have to be those who feel passionately
about the goal, who have a strong sense of duty or the cost of
joining is so small that they are indifferent to joining or not.
ii.
Ideological interest groups- organizations that attract members by
appealing to their interest in a coherent set of controversial
principals.
b. A public interest lobby- whether the public will benefit but at least the group
members think they are working selflessly for the common good. This will be
attained and will principally benefit nonmembers.
c. Conservatives also have adopted the public-interest organizational strategy.
Associations run by liberals there are two kinds.
i.
Those that engage in research and lobbying
ii.
Those that bring lawsuits designed to advance their cause.
d. Members that rely on purpose incentives, appeals to deeply controversial
purposes that are shaped by the mood of the times. For ex. When an issue is
peaking, the media and such organizations can grow rapidly. To remain a
motive stay in the public, they develop good contacts with the media and issue
dramatic press releases about crises and scandals.
3. The influence of the Staff-Many issues affect different members differently. If the
members joined to obtain solidary or material benefits, they may not care at all
about many of the issues with which the organization gets involved.
a. The interest group may reflect more what the staff wants than what the
members believe.
i.
III.
A survey of white members of a labor union showed that 1/3 of
them believed that the desegregation of schools, housing, and job
opportunities had gone too fast- 1/5 thought it had gone too slow.
As a result, the union staff aggressively lobbied Congress for the
passage of tougher civil rights laws, the members stayed in the
union for reasons unrelated to civil rights- giving the staff the
freedom to pursue its own goals.
Interest Groups and Social Movements- Interest groups tend to arise out of
social movements.
a. Social movement- a widely shared demand for change in some aspect of
the social and political order.
i.
The social movement need not have liberal goals. For ex. In the
nineteenth century, there were various natives’ movements that
sought to reduce immigration to the country out of public office.
ii.
No one is certain why social movements arise.
iii. A social movement may be triggered by a scandal.
1. The Environmental Movement
a. Its purpose of a movement is to increase the value of some people attach to
purpose incentives. Then new interest groups are formed that rely on these
incentives. For ex. In the 1930s conservation became popular and the
Wilderness Society and the National Wildlife Federation took form.
b. The smallest of these organizations tend to have the most liberal members.
c. A movement may create many organizations that are most passionately
aroused people will be the fewest in number. Therefore they are small but
vociferous.
d. The more numerous and less passionate people will gravitate toward more
moderate; less vociferous organizations- tend to be larger.
2. The Feminist Movement- There is several feminist movements. Each brought new
organizations and some that have endured to the present. For ex. The League of
Women Voters was founded in the 1920s to educate and organize women for the
purpose of using effectively their right to vote.
a. Each organization will strive to find some incentive that will sustain it over
the long hand.
b. There are three kinds of feminist organizations.
i.
Those that rely on chiefly on solidary incentives, enroll middle-class
women with relatively high levels of schooling and to support those
causes that command the widest support among women. For ex. Both
the league of Women Voters and the Federation of Business and
Professional Women supported the campaign to ratify the Equal
Rights Amendment. They had stake in avoiding issues and tactics that
would divide their membership.
ii. There are women’s organizations that attract members with purposive
incentives. For ex. Both The National Organization for Women and
the National Abortion Rights Action League are two of the largest
groups that rely on purposes, causing them to take strong positions,
tackle divisive issues, and employ militant tactics.
 They are controversial therefore within the group they argue
whether they have gone too far or not and those who want to steer
clear.
iii. The caucus that takes on specific issues that have some material
benefit to women. For ex. The Women’s Equity Action leagues rely on
membership dues for financial support. This obtains grants from
foundations and government agencies.
c. The feminist movement has caused an anti-feminist movement.
3. The Union Movement- Social movements leave behind organizations that
continue to fight. These organizations must struggle to stay active. Ex. Labor
unions.
a. During the Great Depression, a major union movement has occurred led
by sympathetic administration in Washington.
b. However, since then union membership has decreased. This decline was
caused by several factors.
i.
There has been a shift in the nation’s economic life away from
industrial production and toward service delivery. From strong to
weak.
ii. There has also been a decline in popular approval of unions. This was
held to see whether workers in a plant want to join a union.
iii. The social movement that supports unionism has faded.
c. Unions will keep fighting because they can rely on incentives rather than
purposive ones.
d. Unions composed of government workers are becoming the most
important part.
IV.
Funds for Interest Groups- groups have trouble raising money but membership
organizations have more trouble because they rely on appeals to purpose. To raise
more money than members supply in dues, lobbying organizations have turned to
three sources; foundation grants, government grants, and direct-mail solicitation.
a. Foundation grants- Public lobbying groups found that 1/3 of them received
half or more of all their funds from foundations grants.
i.
Many of these organizations were law firms that really had no
members at all. For ex. The Environmental Defense Fund is
supported almost entirely by grants from foundations as the
Rockefeller Family Fund.
ii. Conservative foundations gave money to conservative publicinterest groups.
b. Federal Grants and Contracts- Money is given to support a certain project
that the organization has undertaken. For ex. The National Alliance of
Business received $20m in 1980 for its summer youth job programs. This
money helps support the organization as a whole and thus press Congress
for policies it favors.
i.
V.
VI.
Most public-interest groups pursue liberal policies. The Regan
administration became interested in saving money by reducing
grants to interest groups and was interest in cutting back on money
being spent to lobby for liberal causes. “de-fund the left”
c. Direct Mail- This unique technique against the modern interest group is
used both to raise money and to mobilize supporters.
i.
They use computers, membership interest groups can directly
specialized audiences identified form lists developed by the staff.
ii.
Letters can be tailor-made, to appeal to upper-income residents.
iii. The Common Cause, one of a liberal organization created and
maintained direct-mail solicitation.
iv.
Raising money by mail costs money. To bring in more money than
it spends, the interest groups are required to write a letter that will
galvanize enough readers to send a check. There are several
techniques in achieve checks.
 Put a teaser on the outside of the envelope separating it from a junk
mail.
 Arouse emotions
 Have the endorsement of a famous name
 Personalize letter by instructing the computer to insert the
recipient’s name into the text.
The Problem of a Bias
a. Many observers believe that the interest groups reflect an upper-class bias.
There are two reasons for this.
i. Well off people are more likely than poor people to join and be active in
interest groups
ii. Interest groups represent business and the professions are more numerous
and better financed than organizations representing minorities,
consumers, or the disadvantaged.
b. People with higher incomes, those who went schooling and those in
professional or technical jobs were more likely to belong to a voluntary
association than people with the opposite characteristics.
c. Higher income people can afford more organizational memberships than lower
income ones.
d. Farmers of the lower income, have a great deal of influence especially when it
comes to blocking a bill. But it is difficult for them tog et the Congress to
approval a bill that they want to pass because of the political weakness that
reflects the decline in the number of farmers and thus the number of legislators
who must take their interests into account.
e. How bias is bias? Most of the major conflicts in American Politics over foreign
policy, economic affairs, environmental protection or equal rights for women
are conflicts within the upper middle class.
The Activities of Interest Groups- The key to political influence may be the
ability to generate a dramatic newspaper headline, mobilize a big letter-writing
campaign, stage a protest, file a suit in federal court, or quietly supply information.
1. Information- Every lobbyist and every academic student is supplying credible
information.
i. Information is valuable to busy legislators and bureaucrats because
information is short supply.
ii. Legislators in particular must take positions on numbers of issues that
cannot be experts.
iii. The information they provided is detailed, specific, up-to date that
Politian’s need.
iv. Lobbyists gather and present their information in an organized, persuasive,
and factual manner. They exaggerate but few can afford to misrepresent
the fats or mislead a legislator because almost every lobbyist must
develop and maintain the confidence of a legislator over the long term.
v. The value of the information is greatest when the issue is fairly narrowinvolving only a few interest groups or a complex economic or
technical problem.
vi. Public officials not only want technical information but also political cues.
 Political cue- a signal telling the official what values are at stake in
an issue-who is for, who against a proposal and how that issue fits
into his or her own set of political beliefs.
 Rating- Political cues that interest groups making of legislators.
 Both political information and political cue now arrive in the
offices of politicians at a faster rate than before due to fax
machines and the internet.
2. Public Support: The Rise of the New Politics-Without media, lobbyists used
insider strategy, working closely with a few key members of Congress,
meeting them privately to exchange information and sometimes favors.
a. Insider strategy is no longer used by outsider strategy is. The newly
individualistic nature of Congress has made this useful and modern
technology. Technology can link interested citizens in various locations
across the country and public opinion polls can be done by telephone.
b. Grassroots lobbying- is central to the outsider strategy. This is to generate
public pressure directly on governmental officials. Modern technology
made it useful for specific issue publics.
c. Interest groups will work primarily with legislators whom they agree. Their
target is the undecided or wavering legislator or bureaucrat. He or she can
persuade to legislator by commissioning public opinion polls, stimulating
local citizens to write letters.
d. Most lobbying organizations cultivate the goodwill of government officials.
3. Money and PACS- money is the least effective way by which interest groups
advance their causes.
a. Before interest groups would use money to buy influence in Congress but
the campaign finance reform law in 1973 changed that. The law has two
effects.
i.
It restricted the amount that any interest could give to a candidate
for federal office
ii.
VII.
It made it legal for corporations and labor unions to form political
action committees PACS that could make political contributions.
iii. Some members of the congress have created their own PAC’S,
organizations to set up to raise money form individual donors to
favored political allies in and out of congress.
iv.
Almost any organization, corporation, labor union, trade
association, public-interest lobby, citizens group can form a PAC.
v.
The increase of Pac’s have increased in a fastest rate than business
or labor PAC’S.
vi.
The money has opened a door. Contributions influence how
legislators behave on the committees on which they serve thus
shaping the way in which they respond to arguments and the facts
on which they reply.
4. The “Revolving Door”- people leave jobs in the federal government to take
more lucrative positions in private industry.
a. People worry that this door is giving private interests a way of improperly
influencing government decisions.
b. Federal officials use his or her government position to do something for a
corporation in exchange for a cushy job.
c. Ex-federal official’s uses its personal contacts to get favors for private
parties then the public interest may suffer.
5. Trouble
a. Politically, disruption and violence has been used.
b. Why and under what circumstances disruption occur? Making corruption is
not the last resort of extremist groups; it is now accepted of ordinary
middle-class citizens as well as the disadvantaged.
c. Meanwhile, governmental officials find themselves in a no-win situation.
They cannot ignore the disruption or else they will be accused for being
insensitive, unresponsive, and arrogant.
Regulating Interest Groups
a. Interest groups cannot be abolished because of the First Amendment.
i. Therefore, in 1946 Congress passed the Federal Regulation of Lobbying
Act, which requires groups seeking to influence legislation to register
with the secretary of the Senate and the clerk of House and to file
quarterly financial reports.
b. In the late 1995 unanimously passed a bill that tightened up the registration and
disclosure requirements. This law restates the obligation of lobbyists
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Interest Groups
1. Explaining Proliferation
a. The more cleavages there are in a society, the greater the variety of interests that
will exist.
b. The American constitutional system contributes to the number of interest groups
by multiplying the points at which such groups can gain access to government.
c. The weakness of political parties in America may help explain the number and
strength of our interest groups.
2. The Birth of Interest Groups
a. Their inception
i. 70% of interest groups were established in 1960.
ii. During the 1770s many groups arose to agitate for American
independence.
iii. During the 1830s and 1840s the number of religious associations
increased sharply and the antislavery movement began.
iv. In the 1860s trade unions based on crafts emerged in significant
numbers, farmers formed the Grange, and various fraternal organizations
were born.
b. The great era of organization building
i. First two decades of twentieth century
1. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers,
the NAACP, Farmer’s Union, the Urban League…
c. The fact that associations in general, and political interest groups in particular,
are created more rapidly in some periods than in other periods suggests that these
groups do not arise inevitably out of natural social processes.
d. The rise of interest groups
i. Broad economic developments that create new interests and redefine old.
ii. Government policy itself helped create interest groups
iii. The more activities government undertakes, the more organized groups
there will be that are interested in those activities.
iv. Political organizations do not emerge automatically, even when
government policy permits them and social circumstances seem to
require interest groups.
1. They are often young, caught up in a social movement, drawn to
the need for change, and inspired by a political or religious code.
3. Kinds of Organizations
a. An interest group is any organization that seeks to influence public policy.
b. Institutional interest
i. Individuals or organizations representing other organizations.
ii. Just what they are expected to deliver, however, varies, with the diversity
of the groups making the organizations.
iii. Usually represent business firms, but also represent governments,
foundations, and universities.
c. Membership interests
i. America is a nation of joiners.
ii. This proclivity of Americans to get together with other citizens to engage
in civic or political action reflects a greater sense of political efficacy and
a stronger sense of civic duty in this country.
iii. Membership won’t determine an organization’s success or influence.
d. Incentives to join
i. Solidary incentives
1. The sense of pleasure, status, or companionship that arises out of
meeting together in small groups.
2. National interest groups offering them have to organize
themselves as coalitions of small local units, so its members can
be kept busy with local affairs while the national staff pursues
larger goals.
ii. Material incentives
1. Money, or things and services readily valued in monetary terms.
iii. Purpose incentives
1. The purpose of organization – the appeal of group’s stated goals
to recruit members.
2. Organizations that attract members by appealing to their interest
in a coherent set of controversial principles are sometimes called
ideological interest groups.
3. When the purpose of the organization, if attained, will
principally benefit nonmembers, it is customary to call the group
a public-interest lobby.
4. Membership organizations that rely on purposive incentives,
especially appeals to deeply controversial purposes, tend to be
shaped by the mood of the times.
5. Because of their need to take advantage of a crisis atmosphere,
public-interest lobbies often do best when the government is in
the hands of a hostile administration, not sympathetic to their
views.
e. The influence of the staff
i. If the members joined to obtain solidary or material benefits, they may
not care at all about many of issues with which the organization gets
involved.
ii. In such cases what the interest group does may reflect more what the
staff wants than what the members believe.
4. Interest Groups and Social Movements
a. A social movement is a widely shared demand for change in some aspect of the
social or political order.
b. Whatever its origin, the effect of a social movement is to increase the value some
people attach to purposive incentives.
c. The environmentalist movement
i. In the 1890s, as a result of the emergence of conservatism as a major
issue, the Sierra Club was organized. In the 1930s, conservatism once
again became popular and the Wilderness Society and National Wildlife
Federation began.
ii. The smallest of these organizations tend to have the most liberal
members.
d. The feminist movement
i. Movements have sparked in the 1830s, 1890s, 1920s, and 1960s. Each
period has brought into being new organizations, some of which have
endured to the present.
ii. Three types of feminist Interest roups:
1. Those that rely chiefly on solidary incentives, enroll middleclass women with relatively high levels of schooling, and tend to
support those causes that command the widest support among
women generally.
2. There are women’s organizations that attract organizations that
attract members with purposive incentives. Because they rely on
purposes, they must take strong positions, tackle divisive issues,
and employ militant tactics.
3. The caucus that takes on specific issues that have some material
benefit to women. Rather than relying on membership dues for
5.
6.
7.
8.
financial support, it obtains grants from foundations and
government agencies.
e. The union movement
i. The major urban union occurred in the 1930s, when the Great
Depression, popular support, and a sympathetic administration in
Washington led to a rapid growth in the union membership.
ii. By 2000, 13.5% of all workers were unionized.
1. A shift in the nation’s economic life away from industrial
production. (Unions strong here)
2. Toward service delivery. (Not many unions here)
Funds for Interest Groups
a. Foundation grants
b. Federal grants and contracts
c. Direct mail
The Problem of Bias
The Activities of Interest Groups
a. Information
b. Public Support: the rise of new politics
c. Money and PACs
d. The revolving door
e. Trouble
Regulating Interest Groups
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Chapter 9
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Reasons for the Abundance of Interest Groups
A. Diversity in income, occupation, race, religion create varied opinions and interests
B. Separation of powers, federalism, and representative government allow for more
opportunities for lobbyists to voice opinions
C. Weak political parties
1. Parties work to please interest groups
Origins of Interest Groups
A. 1960s and 70s saw large increases in interest groups, mainly for environmental causes led
by Ralph Nader
B. The Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s sparked many issues for which interest groups
were created
1. Grange, Chamber of Commerce, NAACP
Rise of Interest Groups
A. A growing industrial economy produced problems for farmers and underpaid/mistreated
workers
B. Congress passed pro-union laws after the Depression
C. Social incentives related to religion and civil rights
1. Antislavery; religion vs. science
D. Increased federal power leads to more local opposition
Types of Interest Groups
A. Institutional
1. Have representatives or lawyers in Washington
2. Have very clear objectives
3. Represent businesses, foundations, state governments
B. Membership
1. Supported by donations from the people
2. Americans are more active in political interest groups than most other
democracies
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
3. Many reap the benefits of an interest group without joining it, that is, once laws
are passed in its favor
4. When driven by purposive incentives, they are short lived unless they keep the
interest of the media
C. Incentives
1. Solidary incentives
a. The positive feeling of accomplishing things with/being part of a group
of like-minded people
2. Material incentives
a. Monetary gain
b. Other products/services/assistance
3. Purposive incentives
a. Accomplishing idealistic goals
D. There are much more wealthy members of interest groups than lower class members
1. The interests of the wealthy are better represented, and can pass laws easily
Social Movements
A. Environmentalism
B. Feminism
C. Unions
Funding
A. Foundation grants
1. Money granted from privately owned organizations
B. Federal grants
1. Increased in the 1970s, restricted in the 80s
2. Supports specific projects that interest groups undertake
C. Direct Mail
1. Contributions from individual citizens
Activities
A. Research and education
1. Lobbyists must present legislators with accurate information in a persuasive
manner
B. Representation in the media and towards the public
1. Lobbyists provide political cues
a. Inform legislators of consequences and benefits of possible plans of
action
2. Ratings
a. Gaining public support for a cause
C. PACs
1. Began in 1973 when restrictions were placed on financing campaigns
2. Designed to contribute money to political parties and candidates
3. Ideological PACs have raised the most money
Lobbying Restrictions
A. As of 1995, lobbyists must report who they work for, their financial history, and the work
they did to Congress
B. Lobbying is limited, for if too much lobbying is done, an interest group will lose its taxexempt status, for it would no longer be considered a non-profit organization