INTEREST GROUPS
A.) Pluralist theory of interest groups in
American politics
B. How and why interest groups form:
overcoming the collective action problem
C. Interest Group Techniques for Influencing
Govt.
A.
INTEREST GROUPS: PLURALISM
PLURALISM
--Pluralist theory derived from Federalist 10
--For some, both a descriptive and normative
theory
--Assumptions of pluralism
 CRITIQUES OF PLURALISM
 1.) US system makes it far easier for minority
groups to block change than for majority groups
to make change
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INTEREST GROUPS: PLURALISM CONT’D
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2.) Not all groups have resources in proportion
to their size
“The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus
sings with a strong upper-class accent.” E.E. Schattschneider
3.) Pluralism only applies to issues and
disputes that actually make it onto the public
agenda
 4.)****Pluralism assumes that if there is a
common interest, a group will form around it
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INTEREST GROUPS: THE COLLECTIVE ACTION
PROBLEM
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THE RETURN OF THE COLLECTIVE ACTION (or
“FREE RIDER”) PROBLEM
---The larger the group, and the more non-excludable the
benefit, the worse the problem
HOW REAL-LIFE GROUPS SOLVE THE FREE RIDER PROBLEM:
1.) Offer members “selective benefits”
a.) Material benefits (ex. AARP)
b.) Social benefits (ex. Sierra Club)
c.) Purposive benefits
2.) Risk-Taking Interest Group Entrepreneurs
INTEREST GROUPS
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OVERCOMING THE COLLECTIVE ACTION
PROBLEM CONT’D
3.) Very wealthy “Patrons”—individuals,
foundations, corporations----the govt. itself can be an interest group
patron! Ex. 1960s War on Poverty emphasis
on “community action”
4.) Decentralized/federated structure
HOW INTEREST GROUPS TRY TO INFLUENCE
GOVT.
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I. THE ELECTORAL STRATEGY: electing like-minded politicians,
and/or providing incentives for incumbents to be more
supportive
A.) Political Action Committees (PACs)
---where they came from
---why they expanded after the FECA law
---ways to legally get around contribution limits
B.) Less Regulated Forms of Financial Support
----independent spending
----issue advocacy: avoiding the “magic words”
----------Citizens United v. FEC (2010) Supreme Court decision
HOW INT. GRPS. TRY TO INFLUENCE GOVT.
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C.) Other methods of electoral support:
endorsements, GOTV, personpower, voter guides
II. THE LEGISLATIVE STRATEGY
A.) Inside (or direct) lobbying
---what lobbyists provide (highly specific political and
technical info)
---what lobbyists are asking for (not just voting “yea” or
“nay” on legislation)
B.) Grassroots (AKA outside or indirect) lobbying
---mobilizing their membership
---media campaigns
HOW MUCH IMPACT DO INT. GRPS. HAVE? DO
THEY “OWN” WASHINGTON?
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Why it’s difficult for PSCists to prove one way or
the other
1.) The problems of spurious correlation and multiple
causation---int. grps. to lobby and finance already supportive
legislators
2.) Group influence may be strongest where it’s hardest to
observe
----committee rather than floor behavior
----”private benefits” earmarks, or pressure on regulatory
agencies
----relatively small number of undecideds
CONGRESS: THE BASICS
WHAT THE CONSTITUTION SAYS
 1.) Bicameralism
a.) House/Senate differences in structure
--how equal state rep. affects policy
--how other differences affect policy
b.) House/Senate differences in function:
treaties, impeachment, confirmations
 2.) Powers of Congress as a whole:
enumerated and implied
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CONGRESS: PARTIES & PARTY LEADERS
STRUCTURES THAT HAVE EVOLVED SINCE
CONSTITUTION
 1.) Additional H-S Differences
 2.) Parties and Party Leadership
 ----a.) The party caucuses
----b.) House: Speaker, Majority Leader,
Majority Whip, Minority Leader, Minority Whip
----c.) Senate: Majority Leader, Minority Leader,
Majority Whip, Minority Whip
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CONGRESS: PARTIES
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Different Possible Roles for the Minority Party
Productive Accommodationist,
Nemesis/Obstructionist, Presidential Lieutenants
POSSIBLE REASONS FOR CURRENT PARTY
POLARIZATION IN CONGRESS
1.) House Districts are mostly “safe” for one party--few moderate districts
2.) Primary elections and the radicalization of the
partisan “base”
3.) New media?
4.) Aggressive party leadership?
CONGRESS: COMMITTEES
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3.) Committees
FUNCTION: legislation, investigation, oversight
“Congress in committee is Congress at work”--Woodrow Wilson
ASSIGNMENT OF MEMBERS TO COMMITTEES: key role of party
leaders, deciding committee ratios, processing member
requests (based on member goals)
APPOINTING COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS
1.) Pre-1970s: dominant seniority system
2.) Post-1970s: seniority and party loyalty
POWERS OF THE CHAIRPERSON
CONGRESS: THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
1.) Bill Sponsorship and Co-Sponsorship
 ---why bill drafting (and reading!) is difficult
 2.) Referral to Committee
 3.) Committee Hearings
 4.) Committee Markup---if successful, followed
by committee reporting bill to whole chamber
 5a.) From Committee to Floor: House
 ---Importance of House Rules Committee:
schedules, regulates debate, amendments
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CONGRESS: THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
--Open, closed, and restrictive special rules
 5.b.) From Committee to Floor: Senate
---Why minority leader is more involved
 ---The ever-present danger of filibuster; cloture
(60 votes) is the only way to stop it
 ---Unanimous consent agreements used to
restrict debate and amendments voluntarily
 6.) What happens on the floor: debate,
amendments, final passage vote
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CONGRESS: THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
7.) Resolving differences between the House
and Senate
 ----The Conference Committee
 ----post-Conference final votes
 8.) Presidential Signature or Veto
 ---2/3 of both chambers needed to override
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CONGRESS: REPRESENTATION
The possible tension between representation
and legislation
 Different possible representative roles
 ---Delegate
---Trustee
 ---Advocate for “fair share” of fed. spending
(pork barrel)
 ---Ombudsman (casework)
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CONGRESS: REPRESENTATION
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The Process of Creating House Districts
1.) Census determines how many districts each state
will have
2.) State governments determine where district
boundaries should be
3.) When the Federal Courts might intervene
a.) Population inequality (Wesberry v. Sanders, 1964):
one person, one vote
b.) Racial/ethnic discrimination
Is partisan gerrymandering legal? So far, yes…..
PRESIDENCY: FUNCTIONS AND POWERS
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CREATION BY THE FOUNDERS
1.) How many executives? (Head of State v. Head of
Government)
2.) Vaguely defined powers/functions: Commander in Chief,
veto, State of the Union
3.) Implied powers: oath of office, “take care” clause
POWERS/FUNCTIONS ADDED AND STRETCHED OVER THE
YEARS
1.) The Mt. Rushmore gang: Washington, Jefferson, Jackson,
Lincoln, TR
2.) Delegation by Congress to the Pres, and to exec agencies
3.) General acquiescence by the Courts, with occasional limits
placed (Truman,Nixon, George W)
THE MODERN PRESIDENCY
 The
Impact of Franklin d.
Roosevelt (FDR)
---legislator-in-chief
 ---expansion of exec branch and pres. Staff
(EOP)
---responsibilities as Dr. New Deal and Dr. Winthe-War set precedents for future prez
 ---personal relationship with public
 ---Eleanor’s role
THE MODERN PRESIDENCY
INFORMAL v .FORMAL POWERS
1.) Formal powers
 ----The veto: threatened more than used
----The C-in-C power in an age of terror
----Executive orders: pres. directives, usually
pertaining to exec branch, having the force of
law
----Executive agreements: treaties that don’t
need ratification
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THE MODERN PRESIDENCY
2.) Informal Powers – the Power of Persuasion
 ---Persuading elites
a.) Arguments (e.g. signing statements)
b.) Bargaining and horse-trading
 ---Persuading the public
a.) Maintaining popularity
b.) “Going public” campaigns on particular
issues
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PRESIDENCY: RESOURCES THAT ENHANCE
SUCCESS
1.)
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Public approval (popularity)
Gallup (nonspecific) question
Effects of economy, “rally events,” honeymoons,
scandals
2.) Perceived election mandate
Presidents with: Reagan 1980, LBJ 1964
Presidents without: Bush 2000, Clinton 1996
3.) Control of Congress by President’s party
---unified government doesn’t guarantee success
---divided government doesn’t rule out success
PRESIDENCY: RESOURCES THAT ENHANCE
SUCCESS
 4.)
Unacceptability of status quo
---but it’s hard to solve problems
proactively
 5.) Foreign v. domestic policy
 6.) “Windows of opportunity”
THE INSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENCY
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FROM THE OUTSIDE IN
1.) Cabinet Secretaries and Departments
----Secretary’s dual role: advisor and CEO
----The problem of “capture” or “marrying the natives”
2.) The Executive Office of the President (EOP)—focus
on POLICY expertise
Includes Office of Management and Budget (OMB),
and the 3 policy councils (National Security, Economic,
Domestic)
THE INSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENCY
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3.) The White House Office (as seen on TV)
Includes--a.) Chief of Staff
b.) Press Secretary
c.) Director of Communications
d.) Legislative Affairs
e.) White House Counsel
FEDERAL JUDICIARY (TO BE INSERTED AFTER
ANDREW FLETCHER’S MATERIAL)
Review of civil v. criminal cases
 US “adversarial” system
 Reasons why courts (including Supreme Court)
might dismiss or refuse to hear cases
1.) Plaintiff’s lack of standing
2.) Lack of ripeness
3.) Mootness
 4.) “Political question”
 Plea bargains help reduce caseload
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FEDERAL JUDICIARY
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HOW JUDGES DECIDE: DIFFERENT THEORIES
1.) The legal (traditional) model
---Importance of precedent (stare decisis)
---Original intent, plain meaning, “living Constitution” (spirit not
letter)
---Weaknesses of legal model
2.) Attitudinal model---currently popular in PSC
---Explains Bush v. Gore?
3.) Strategic model---gaining in popularity
----Taking Congressional preferences into account
----The influence of solicitor general and/or amicus curiae
FEDERAL JUDICIARY
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THE APPOINTMENT PROCESS
1.) District Courts – tradition of “senatorial courtesy”
2.) Appellate Courts – becoming more controversial
3.) The Supreme Court
a.) Judiciary Committee hearings: why judges seldom
give straightforward answers
b.) Media and interest group campaigns
c.) Recent controversial or failed nominations
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THE END!!!!!
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