Chapter 16
Interest Groups
I.
II.
What Are Interest Groups?
i. Social capitalii. Civic virtueiii. Interest groupiv. Disturbance theoryA. Kinds of Organized Interests
i. Public interest groupsii. Economic interest groupsiii. Governmental unitsiv. Political action committeesv. Single-issue interest groupsvi. Multi-interest groupsvii. Profiles of selected interest groups (Table 16.2)The Roots and Development of American Interest Groups
i. James Madison and factionsA. National Groups Emerge (1830-80)
i. Women’s Christian Temperance Unionii. Lobbyistiii. Role of business interestsB. Progressive Era (1890-1920)
i. Progressive movementii. Organized laboriii. American Federation of Laboriv. Open shop lawsv. 1914 Clayton Actvi. Business groupsvii. Trade associationsviii. National Association of Manufacturersix. U.S. Chamber of Commerce-
x.
1928 FTC investigation of lobbying tactics of business
groupsC. The Rise of the Interest Groups State
i. ACLUii. NAACPiii. AARPiv. Common Causev. Ralph Nadervi. Unsafe at Any Speedvii. Conservative backlash: religious and ideological groupsviii. Moral Majorityix. Christian Coalitionx. Republican Party benefits from right-wing religious groupsxi. Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiativesxii. NRAxiii. Business groups, trade, and professional associationsxiv. Business Roundtablexv. Kyoto Protocolxvi. Contributions by large corporationsxvii. Organized laborxviii. AFL-CIOxix. Declining union membership and influenceIII.
What Do Interest Groups Do?
i. What interests groups doii. NAACPiii. Lobbyingiv. Downside to interest groupsv. Important role interest groups play in U.S. PoliticsA. Lobbying
i. Lobbyingii. Providing informationiii. Lobbying techniques (Table 16.3)iv. Lobbying Congress-
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Types of lobbying efforts on CongressFormer members and staff as lobbyistsIron triangleThe “currency on Capitol Hill”On what does lobbyist’s effective ness depend1995 Lobbying Disclosure ActLobbying the executive branchTypes of efforts to lobby the executive branchOn what does lobbyist’s effectiveness dependLinks between interest groups and regulatory agencies1978 Ethics in Government ActFinancial disclosure under Ethics in Government ActEmployment after government service limitations under Ethics
in Government Actxviii. Lobbying the courtsxix. Types of efforts to lobby the courtsxx. Amicus curiae briefsxxi. Influencing nominations to federal courtsxxii. Grassroots lobbyingxxiii. Protest activitiesB. Election Activities
i. Candidate recruitment and endorsementsii. EMILY’s Listiii. Getting out the voteiv. Rating the candidates or office holdersv. Political action committeesvi. Role of PAC moneyvii. Research on impact of PACs on legislative votingviii. 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill and PAC’s
IV. What Makes an Interest Group Successful?
i. Pressure politicsii. Shaping the public agendaiii. Goals of interest groups-
iv. Phenomena that contribute to interest groups’ successes:
1. Leaders2. Patrons and funding3. Membersv. Upper-class biasvi. Collective goodvii. Free riders problemviii. Factors that overcome the free rider problem-