Federalist Paper 10
James Madison
Patrick Henry and others: the U. S. was too
large to be effectively governed by a strong
central government—tyranny would ensue
Madison wrote Federalist 10 as a counter
Factions are political parties or interest
groups
“Among the numerous advantages promised
by a well-constructed Union, none deserves
to be more accurately developed than its
tendency to break and control the violence
of faction.”
“By faction, I understand a number of
citizens, whether amounting to a majority or
minority of the whole, who are united and
actuated by some common impulse of
passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights
of other citizens, or to the permanent and
aggregate interests of the community.”
Federalist Paper 10
“The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the
nature of man: and we see them everywhere
brought into different degrees of activity,
according to the different circumstances of civil
society. . . .
A zeal for different opinions concerning
religion, concerning government . . . an attachment to different leaders. . . have, in turn,
divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with
mutual animosity, and rendered them much more
disposed to vex and oppress each other, than to
cooperate for their common good.”
“But the most common and durable source of
factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property. Those who hold, and those
who are without property, have ever formed
distinct interests in society. . . .
Cannot remove the causes of faction
Embedded in human nature
Only way: remove liberty
“. . . relief is only to be sought in the means of
controlling its effects.”
If a faction consists of a majority?
“Either the existence of the same passion or
interest in a majority, at the same time must be
prevented; or the majority. . . must be rendered,
by their number and local situation, unable to
concert and carry into effect schemes of
oppression. If the impulse and the opportunity
be suffered to coincide, we well know, that
neither moral nor religious motives can be
relied on as an adequate control.”
Is a pure democracy the answer?
“. . . a pure democracy . . . can admit of no
cure from the mischiefs of faction. A common
passion or interest will, in almost every case,
be felt by a majority of the whole; a
communication and concert, results from the
form of government itself; and there is
nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice
the weaker party, or an obnoxious individual.”
Differences between a democracy and a republic
First: the delegation of the government in a
republic, “to a small number of citizens elected
by the rest; secondly, the greater number of
citizens, and greater sphere of country, over
which the latter may be extended.”
Main advantage of a republic over a democracy
Representatives are “a chosen body of citizens,
whose wisdom may best discern the true
interest in their country, and whose patriotism
and love of justice, will be least likely to
sacrifice it to temporary or partial
considerations.”
What can deter that advantage?
“On the other hand, the effect may be inverted.
Men of factious tempers, of local prejudices,
or of sinister designs, may by intrigue, by
corruption, or by other means, first obtain the
suffrages, then then betray the interests, of
the people.”
Federalist Paper 10
Today: political parties dominate voting in
Congress as opposed to each individual
representative voting based on his/her
conscience or the good of all the people
A common complaint today among people is the
power of special interests and special interest
groups.
Sometimes, the Courts and their rulings have
tended to favor minority factions over the
will of the majority (as depicted in opinion
polls)
Hey, who can tell me
what an interest group is?
Interest groups are
organized groups that are
typically a minority. They
usually have intensely held
concerns about issues
pertinent to their group.
Oh, many, many
things. They
provide a way that
the views of
certain groups
can be
represented in
political decisionmaking. Simoncini
will tell you some
ways on the next
slide.
So what do
interest
groups do?
Here are some of those ways
They organize groups who share
a concern or several concerns
They provide a means of political
participation
They supply information to the public
and to policy makers
As your textbook indicates,
pluralist political scientists see
interest groups not as a
problem, but as an additional
tool of democratic
representation.
Pluralist: American politics can best be
understood in terms of the interaction,
conflict, and bargaining of groups.
What do pluralist political
scientists say are reasons that
Interest groups are important
instruments in maintaining
democracy and aiding the
public interest?
Free elections are not enough to adequately
communicate to political leaders the specific
wants and interests of the people on a continuous
basis. Interest groups can do that.
Interest groups are easy to create
Government power in the U. S. is broadly
dispersed, leaving governmental institutions
remarkably porous and open to the entreaties
of the many and diverse groups that exist
Interest groups can allow all legitimate interests
in society to have their views taken into account
by some public official
Now, our text tells us that there
Are private and public interests.
Private: organizations and
associations that try to gain
protections or material advantages
from government for members
Public: advocates for a cause or ideology
Here are some examples of
general categories of private
interest groups.
Business
Trade associations
Labor Unions
Also professional groups such as the
American Bar Association
Not THIS type of bar, Norm,
he means the association of
American lawyers.
A BAR
association???
Hey! I want to
join that!!!
Hey, students. What is an
advocacy group?
An advocacy group is an
interest group organized to
support a cause or ideology.
Advocacy groups like The American Legion
The NAACP
The Mexican-American Legal Defense and
Education Fund
National
Organization
For Women
Also public advocacy groups such as:
The Sierra Club
Center for Auto Safety
and Public Citizen
led by Ralph Nader
Also public advocacy groups such as:
The National Rifle Association
Public interest groups
Tax exempt groups
The Boy Scouts of America
The American Cancer Society
The American Heart Association
Foreign Policy Interest Groups
Council on Foreign Relations
The American-Israel Political Action Committee
Government Interest Groups
National Governors Association
National League of Cities
National Education Association
Oh DO behave!!! Here are some
groovy facts about interest groups
that might interest you.
In the United States
112,611,029 households
4,611 political action committees
(1 Jan 2012)
5,945,274 corporations
16,300,000 labor union members
Here are some more
GROOVY facts!!!
In the Washington, DC area there are
12,192 lobbyists, 35,000 people who
try to affect government policies, and
about 260,000 people who work in
the lobbying sector.
The majority of lobbyists are lawyers
or former legislators or legislative
staff members
2008: $3.3 billion spent on lobbying
the U. S. Congress
Hey, how do interest groups
work?
Well, the main thing that they do
is to influence government
leaders to enact laws or
appropriate money to help the
cause of their interest. One thing
they do is endorse candidates for
office.
So, who can tell me the
definition of
endorsement?
I can, David. After all, I did
get a few during the 2008
election campaign. An
endorsement is a public
declaration of support for a
candidate or proposition.
OK, Senator. I’ll buy that.
Who can tell me why the
endorsement of an interest
group is important?
Thank, Mr. Vice President, but
who can give me a definition of
single-issue voting?
Because, David, many members
of interest groups practice single
issue voting.
Let me take that one,
Joe. David, many
people of an interest
group vote for or
against a candidate
simply because of his
or her views on one or
more issues of great
concern to the group.
OK, Ms. Palin. But are
endorsements and singleissue voting the only things
that interest groups do?
I’ll answer that, Dave, and
the answer is NO! In fact,
the most important thing
interest groups do on a
continuing basis is lobbying,
which is trying to persuade
government policy makers
to make particular decisions
regarding legislation.
Thanks, Michelle, but where
the term lobbying comes
from?
Hey, Dave—it goes back to
the 1830s when people
waited in lobbies of
government buildings to talk
to legislators.
And, Dave, today, lobbyists work for
interest groups and political action
committees in Washington and all
state capitals. They provide
information about issues, sometimes
give gifts or money to the re-election
campaign funds of political leaders,
and do their best to show elected
leaders that it is in their best interest
to support the desired policies of that
interest group.
Mr. President, why are
there so many interest
groups?
Well, Dave, the First Amendment guarantees
citizens freedom of speech, assembly and
petition. Also, because of our form of
government, officials are relatively accessible
to interest groups. Also, there is no
dominant center of decision-making.
Senator, what is disturbance
theory?
Dave, it’s a theory that says that interest
groups originate with changes in the
economic, social, or political environment
that threaten the well-being of some
segment of the population.
Senator, as you know,
lobbyists are really
salespeople for interest
groups, except most of
them are lawyers. Many
are also former legislators.
They also tend to be very
well paid. In addition to
providing information, they
often also actually write
bills that Members of
Congress present for
consideration by
Congress.
So, Mr. President, is that
the reason why we have
so many earmarks?
First off, David, let’s define an earmark. It is
setting aside money in annual appropriations
bills for pet projects for constituents and
private interests. And the answer to your
question is a definite yes!
And, students, today, there are
laws that limit what lobbyists
can do, particularly in
Washington. For example,
former Members of Congress
cannot lobby in Washington for
one year after leaving office.
Also, there are strict limits on
money and gifts that lobbyists
can give as well as
entertainment they can provide.
Good points, Mr. Vice President.
Here’s an example of amounts
of money some interest groups
contribute.
The Inside Game
Lobbying—politics of insiders and the
“old boy” network
One-on-one persuasion
Inside lobbyists are often former
legislators who try to get the decision
maker to understand and sympathize
with the group’s point of view—best in
narrow and technical issues and it’s
done outside the public view
The Inside Game
Career civil servants and political appointees
have great latitude because Congress often
legislates broad policies, leaving it to the
Executive branch to fill in specifics.
Interest groups can convey technical
information, present results of research, help
public officials deflect criticism, and show
what the group wants is compatible with good
public policy.
The Inside Game
Regarding the courts, attorneys for lobbies
can file Amicus curiae (friend of the court)
briefs.
In those cases, lobbies are not parties to suits,
but file an argument in support of one side or
the other in the hope of swaying the views of
a judge, justice or a group of judges or
justices in hopes that rulings will help their
lobby in the future
The Outside Game
Interest groups try to mobilize grass roots
support and public opinion and bring
them to bear on public officials
Pre-printed letters from Interest Groups
Representational inequalities: not all segments
of society are equally represented in the interest
group system; especially tilted toward big
business
PAC: political action committee
Private organization
Raise and distribute funds to candidates
Soft Money: general public education
voter registration, voter mobilization
Key terms:
Iron Triangle: an enduring alliance of
common interest among an interest group,
a congressional committee, and a
bureaucratic agency—the goal is to
advance and protect government programs
that work to the mutual benefit of its
members
AUSA
Key terms:
Issue networks are coalitions that form around
different policy areas that include a range of
public and private interest groups and policy
experts as well as business representatives,
bureaucrats and legislators.
These are more fluid than iron triangles
Independent expenditures: money spent on
behalf of candidates by interest groups &
individuals who are not connected with
the candidate’s campaign organization.
Example: Gray Davis’s organization ran
anti-Riordan ads in the 2002 Republican
primary election
The Swift Boat Veterans For Truth ran
anti-Kerry ads in 2004.
Students, I am former Nevada
Governor and senator, Paul
Laxalt. I was part of the revolving
door: a former government
official who became a lobbyist.
I became a lobbyist for the
South African diamond industry
in Washington. I had not dealt
much with that industry while a
senator (the true definition of a
revolving door), but I still
became a very well-paid
lobbyist.
With regard to soft money, Senator Russ Feingold,
a Wisconsin Democrat and I, an Arizona Republican,
sponsored the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of
2002, which was aimed at banning soft money in
federal elections.
That’s right, John. Our law enhanced the importance
of 527 organizations: groups that can collect and
spend money without legal limits to advocate for and
against issues. Unfortunately, most have evolved
as efforts to support or attack candidates or parties.
Our law placed no limits on how much money can be
contributed to 527 organizations, but banned soft
money contributions to national party committees.
So, large amounts of unregulated money has flowed
to 527s.
Here is an example of the worst of the
Inside Game—a lobbyist gone bad.
Jack Abramoff