13. Interest GroupsThe Logic of LobbyingContemporary Interest GroupsWhy Have Interest Groups Proliferated?Slide 5What Do Interest Groups Do?Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9Slide 10Interest Group Politics: Controversial and Thriving13. Interest GroupsThe Logic of Lobbying•Lobbying = appeals from citizens and groups for favorable policies and decisions–Transparent logic of lobbying•People who want to influence the decisions of government understand the advantages of banding together and asking powerful friends to help them.–Governments see the positives of lobbying. •It helps them gain support and provides information both political and technical.–Modern politics breeds professional lobbyists.•Madison’s Federalist No. 10–Factions were a major threat to popular government, but without eliminating them would destroy liberty.•Maintaining First Amendment freedoms means the political system must tolerate factions.Contemporary Interest Groups•The interest group universe includes:–approximately 22,000 interest groups and lobbyists –Tripled between 1960s and 1990s and doubled between 2000 and 2005 –more than 27,000 registered as lobbyists with Congress–more than 100,000 Washingtonians work in the lobbying industryWhy Have Interest Groups Proliferated?•The social ferment initiated by the civil rights movement and continued by Reagan-era conservative and right-to-life movements inspired and instructed other organizations that agitated for social change.•The clientele for groups advocating for social change generally come from the well-educated and affluent middle class.•Technological innovations made it easier for entrepreneurial leaders to establish and maintain organizations with many geographically scattered and socially unconnected members.•Successful groups inspire opponents.•The growing scope of federal government activity encouraged the proliferation of organizations in the nonprofit and public sectors.–Suggestion, tax codes, sponsorship•Various groups form in defense of government programs.–New policies create constituencies ripe for organizationContemporary Interest Groups•Fragmentation and Specialization –The expanding interest group universe reflects the fragmentation of old interests and the growing division of labor among groups sharing broad goals.–New organization form when new issues fragment old groups.–Complex issues and fragmented policy processes force groups to specialize if they are to be effective.–Specialization means a group must convince its individual and institutional supporters that their continued investment is worthwhile. –Groups often must form alliances to succeed politically. •In the process, a group may lose its special identity.What Do Interest Groups Do?•Simple survival–First objective is to keep organization in business•Cultivate and retain patrons willing to pay bills and supply other resources•Takes a great deal of time and energy•Shapes the group’s political activity since have to focus on issues that generate contributions•Group leaders have to explain government to patrons as well as explain patron interest to government (principle-agent relationship)•Manage offices (hiring, firing, assigning work, etc.)What Do Interest Groups Do?•Insider Tactics: Trafficking in Information and Cultivating Access–informational needs form basis for mutually beneficial relationship between groups and political decision makers–trust is essential–information central to persuade government officials to act –need to know likely voter reaction–credibility enhanced by having scientists and scholars testify at hearings and group members contact key legislators–groups provide services to legislators (e.g., helping draft bills and plan legislative strategy–groups can monitor the Federal Register for regulators and other bureaucrats •Outsider Tactics: Altering the Political Forces–use of the mass media to shape opinion–reports and conferences–demonstrations, picketing, marches, and sit-ins –buy advertising–grassroots lobbying (mobilization)–outside lobbying tactics, especially when take to the extreme, are off-putting to politiciansWhat Do Interest Groups Do?•Litigation–Groups ignored by lawmakers or regulators may seek redress in court.–Litigation is attractive to groups that lack political clout and can rest claims on constitutional rights. –Large corporations use the courts.–Groups may submit amicus briefs.–Organized interests can lobby on judicial appointments.What Do Interest Groups Do?•Electoral Politics and Political Action Committees –PACs are a creation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to finance campaigns (in addition to private individual donations).–PACS must raise money from at least 50 people and contribute to at least 5 candidates, with a maximum of $5,000 per candidate per campaign.– PACs are limited to what they can contribute to any one candidate in any one election.–Super-PAC creation with 2010 Citizens United decision removing functional limits on how funds are raised and spent•Opens funding floodgates •Raises issue of unequal distribution of wealth that directly translates into distribution of interest group power that favors the most affluent votersWhat Do Interest Groups Do?–PACs are not lobbying organizations themselves but lobbyists sometimes use organize PACs to bolster the political clout of the interest groups they represent–PACs, in addition to making campaign contributions, can provide campaign workers, endorse candidates, produce advertising, advise on campaign strategies, get out the vote, and recruit and train candidates.–PACs may pursue short-term and long-term strategies in making campaign contributions.Interest Group Politics:Controversial and Thriving•Criticisms:–upper-class bias for overrepresentation and access for wealthy, educated, and affluent citizens–private interests hijacking public authority–policy gridlock with more policy advocates who find it harder to assemble coalitions•Despite the criticism, interest groups are both inevitable and essential.•The problems are somewhat mitigated by electoral incentives and lobby groups with moral visions of the public