The Key to the Door of American
Politcs
Interest Groups
Question
• Does it matter if some sections of
society are poorly represented?
• What is a lobbyist?
• How does a Lobbyist differ from a
Interest Group?
Definitions
• Lobby – Groups who seek to influence
public policy, generally employees of
associations who try to influence the
Executive and legislative functions. An
example is the Ford Motor Company
• Interest Group – Associations of
People who come together on the basis
of shared attitudes to try and influence
public policy
An Interest Group, wanting a limit on
cheese in Cheeseburger
www.theonion.com
Research Task
• Find out about the Legislative
Reorganisation Act (1946) and how the
number of groups has increased
• Produce a Case Study on the National
Rifle Association and the different
reasons for membership
The NRA
Question
• How do Interest Groups differ from
political parties?
Types of American Interest Group
• Institutional or Protective Groups
– i.e. American Medical Association
• Self interested and seek to defend the
position of their members. They
possess substantial economic power
• Membership or Promotional Groups
– i.e. the American Civil Liberties Union
• Primarily concerned with propaganda
and are offering a benefit to society
Institutional Groups
• Seek to represent other organisations
and groups
• American Business Conference,
National Association of Manufacturers
• US Chamber of Commerce represents
hundreds of groups across America
• The American Federation of LaborCongress of Industrial Organisations
(AFL-CIO) is the US equivalent of the
TUC
Membership Groups
• Represent individual Americans rather than
organisations and groups
• Americans are more likely to join social,
charitable, civic, political and religious
groups than EU counterparts, but less likely
to join T.U.’S
• Single issue groups – Mothers Against Drink
Driving (MADD), American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU)
• Common gender or race issues (National
Organisation for Women (NOW) or the
National Association of advancement for
Colored People (NAACP)
Types of Pressure Group
Business Groups
Agricultural Groups
Ideological and
Single Issue Groups
Public Interest Groups
Labour Groups
Professional Groups
Task
• Using a Sheet of A3
• Take one of these types of Pressure
Group
• Produce
• a) a Presentation to the class on your type
of group, including an information sheet
• b) Similar to last years task produce a
poster advertising an example of a
Pressure Group within your type
Task
• What are the functions of an Interest
Group?
• What is their raison d’etre?
Functions of an Interest Group
Representative
Programme Monitoring
Participation
Education
Agenda building
Task
• What are the methods a Pressure
Group may use?
Methods used by Pressure Group
Electioneering
Litigation in the courts
Ideological and
Single Issue Groups
Lobbying
Publicity
Organising grassroots
activities
Political Action Committee
• A PAC is an organisation whose
purpose is to raise funds on behalf of
candidates
• Incumbent house members receive the
most money ($176m in 2002 midterm, compared to $29m for
challengers)
• National Assoc. of Realtors gave
$3.8m, American Federation of
Teachers $4m
Research task
• How effective are PAC’s?
• Is lobbying a more effective method?
Lobbyists
• Lobbyists are integral to the US system
• Provide accurate, detailed information
to those who need it
• PG information helps Legislators take a
stance on a range of bewildering issues
• PGs often have offices in Washington
DC to make access easier – ‘The K
Street Corridor’
How effective are Lobbyists
• Some PGs publish a list of how often an
individual has voted for their policy
• Being ranked as ‘Very Liberal’ or ‘Very
Conservative’ could also have the opposite
effect on voters
• Every 2 years the League of Conservation
Voters (LCV) publish a list of the top 12
worst Senators or Congressmen’s voting
record on environmental issues (The dirty
dozen)…..in 2000 out of 9 Congressmen, 6
were defeated at the next election.
Publicity
• Publicity is aimed to educate people
• TV advertising is called ‘Issue
advertising’ i.e. insurance companies
launching a campaign to kill off
Clintons Healthcare reforms
• US Term Limits Group – Attempt to
defeat long serving members in
Congress, accounted for Tom Foley, the
then speaker of the house
More issues
• The Food and Drink Administration
tried to ban saccharin due to possible
links with cancer – The Calorie Control
Council (linked with Coca-Cola) ran a
campaign denouncing the claims
www.caloriecontrol.org
Task
• Can you think of other methods of
Publicity?
• Public Policy Journals – circulated to
Congress, Senior White House Staff,
executive agencies and departments
What about these?
Promo Videos
• A campaign for Congress
To tighten laws on production of
Veal meat
Grassroots Activities
• What are they?
• Postal blitz on Congress
• Marches and Demonstrations
• Supreme Court lobbying – partic. On
big issues - abortion, School Prayers
I’m in there somewhere!!
Litigation in the Courts
• The Courts interpret the law AND the
Constitution
• Therefore the court is an ideal place for
an Interest Group
• Brown Vs Board of Education was
brought by the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP)
More examples
• The ACLU brought – Allegheny County
Vs American Civil Liberties (1989) –
banned religious Christmas displays in
publicly owned shopping malls
• Reny Vs ACLU (1997) – Declared the
1996 Common Indecency Act was
unconstitutional therefore Congress
could not ban pornography on the
internet.
Research task
• Look at the impact of Interest Groups
on the following:- Try and find a case
study
• Civil Rights for African Americans
• Environmental Protection
• Women’s Rights
• Abortion Rights
• Gun Control
• Health
Impact on Congress
• Direct contact with Congressman and
senior members of their staff
• Contact with Congressional
Committees
• Organise Direct mailshots, phone or email blitzes – Most likely to oocur just
before an important vote
• Publication of voting records
• Fundraising for candidates and media
advertising
Impact on the Executive
• Maintenance of strong ties with
relevant executive agencies
• Interested in business, transport,
communications and the environment
• Also links with ‘producer groups’
seeking protection, funding, subsidies
or price guarantee mechanisms
(Monopolies)
Impact on Judiciary
• Remember amicus curiae?
• Briefings on particular cases,
presenting ideas in briefings, before
the oral discussion.
• Been effective in civil rights cases,
abortion and 1st amendment rights
Regulation on Pressure Groups
• Read amendment One – What does it
say?
• What about the Federal Regulation of
Lobbying Act (1946)?
• Requires lobbyists to register with the
Clerk of the House of Representatives
if they were spending money to help or
hinder the passage of a bill
Abscam
• The Congressional Scandal as Arab Interests
attempted to bribe leading Congressmen –
made more groups register
• Congress in the 1990s expanded the
definition of an Interest Group, therefore
making more register
• Also banning gifts to members
• Completely useless legislation as has not
controlled Interest Gp activity with the
Executive.
Task
• Can you think of any arguments for
and against Interest Groups?
Arguments for IG’s
Arguments against
IG’s
Provide useful info
Revolving Door
syndrome
Order to policy debate Iron Triangle
syndrome
Make Govt.
Inequality of Groups
accountable
Special Interest vs
Public Interest
Buying influence
Direct Action
Revolving Door Syndrome
• Interest Groups and Companies employ
people specifically to lobby Congress
• Problem is the majority of these people are
former Congressmen or Congressional staff
members
• People walk out of the political door and
walk back in as a Washington lobbyist –
although must wait 1 year!
• Unfair as they exploit knowledge and
contacts – making a pot of cash in the
mean-time
• Plus Congressmen may favour a particular
IG whilst in office, hoping for a job when
they leave
Facts
• In 1998 there were 128 former
members of congress now working as
lobbyists
• This is 12% of all people who had left
Congress since 1970
• President of the World Federalist
Association – John Anderson
represented Illinois for 20 years,
before an unsuccessful Presidential bid
in 1980 (3rd party candidate)
The Iron Triangle
Interest Groups
Congressional
Commitees
Relevant Government
Department or agency
The Iron Triangle cont….
• Or the Cosy triangle as some call it
• Guarantees policy outcomes which benefits
all 3 parties involved
• Par example, The ‘Veterans iron Triangle’
• On one side the IG’s – Disabled American
Veterans, American Legion
• On another side Veterans affairs committees
of House and Senate
• On the 3rd side Department of Veterans
Affairs
• In areas such as Defence and agriculture the
Iron Triangle is sooo strong it forms a subGovernment
Inequality of groups
• Power of big Business far outweigh
power of environmentalists
• Battle between NRA and Handgun
Control inc. is unequal
• The tobacco industry spent $64 million
on lobbying in 1998
Buying influence
• In 1999 $1.45bn spent on lobbying
and continues to grow at 7.3% / year
• 2002 – Mid-termsm PACs donated
$215m to House candidates and $60m
to Senators
• On average a quarter of a billion is
spent in just one mid-term election
Direct Action
• On a slightly different level to us Brits
• Includes Shootings, Bombings and
murders conducted around abortion
clinics by pro-life groups in the 1990s
• Bombing of the Federal Government
building in Oklahoma in 1995, by Tim
McVeigh (subsequently executed)
Oklahoma 1995
Winning photo of 1995 Pulitzer
Prize
Revision Questions
• Describe the different types of Interest
Group found in the US
• Explain the main functions of an
Interest Group
• What methods do Interest Groups use
to further their aims?
• Explain the impact Interest Groups
have had in 4 policy areas
• Explain how Interest Groups are
regulated
Key Terms
• Revolving Door Syndrome
• Iron Triangles
• Pluralism
• Competing Elites
• Atomisation
• Direct Action
Exam Questions
• Examine the claim that Interest Groups
are undemocratic and work for narrow
goals in the US system
• Are Interest Groups too powerful?
• Have Interest Groups become more
important than political parties in US
politics?