Interest Groups - JustAnswer

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Chapter 8 Interest Groups and the Media

Our last two players-interest groups and the media-are blamed for much of what is wrong in the American political game. "Special interests" are viewed as the rich and powerful pulling the strings of public officials behind the scenes. Media, more visibly, are seen distorting politics by being too simplistic, too negative, too liberal, or too conservative, depending on one's leanings. On the other hand, political scientists often conclude that these two players are popular scapegoats: the power they have is overrated, the evil they do overstated. Whatever conclusions we reach, both are central to understanding today's politics.

The Constitution has little to say about either. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press and the light "to petition the Government for a redress of glievances," which protects these players briefly if profoundly. The profound part is that both interest groups and media provide legitimate access to the government. Interest groups offer tools for people with common concerns to bring their views to the attention of those in power. The media are two-way communications links (and participants as well) by which people keep informed about government, and vice versa. As instruments of power, the two change the political game they play. Who they are, what they do, and how interest groups and media are shaped by politics are central to what follows.

Interest Groups

In his famous study Democracy in America in 1835, Alexis de Tocqueville, was impressed that Americans constantly joined all kinds of groups. The Frenchman thought these "associations" were essential to why democracy worked in the United States. The groups kept a balance between the state and the individual, offering a buffer between a large powerful government and small powerless individuals. By doing this they preserved individuals' rights. As he put it,

An association for political, commercial or manufacturing purposes, or even for those of science and literature, is a powerful and enlightened member of the community. , .which, by defending its own rights against the encroachments of government, saves the common liberties of the country.

Tocqueville's endorsement of the political importance of diverse group interests made him the father of what would later be called pluralism (see Chapter 9).

Though Tocqueville included local government when he wrote about associations, today we speak of interest groups as people organized

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to pursue a common interest by applving pressure on the political process. In the last chapter, we saw that American parties are not structured very well for representing specific interests. Interest groups help fill this gap.

Our parties and the electoral system are organized by geography. Senators and representatives represent us on the basis of the state or the district in which we live. But within one region there are different group interests. Members of various religions, races, incomes, or economic associations may have important political concerns. Interest groups give Americans with common causes a way to express their views to decision makers. While interest groups may try to influence elections, unlike parties they do not compete for public office. Candidates may be sympathetic to a certain interest, or even be a member of that group, but they will not run for election representing that group.

Interest groups usually are more tightly organized than political ~ 0 parties. They are financed through contributions and/or dues paid by members. Organizers communicate with members through newsletters, e-mails, and conferences. Union members, for example, are in regular contact with their leadership, who inform them about political activities, policies, and candidates they are expected to support.

Types of Interest Groups

The most important groupings are economic interests, including business, professional, labor, and agricultural. James Madison, in The Federalist Papers No. 10, expressed the fear that if people united on the basis of economic interests, all the have-riots in society would take control of the government. This clearly has not happened. The most influential groups generally, though not always, spend the most money. Business groups have a common interest in making profits, which also involves supporting the markets that makes profits possible. The

11 Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers,

and the National Small Business Association are well-known business groups. Powerful companies, like Exxon and Ceneral Electric, often act as interest groups by themselves.

Business groups are not always united on one side of an issue. Competitors within an industry extend their rivalries to the political arena. [ust recently Microsoft lobbied the Justice Department to ")

look into Coogle's Book Search project and was reported to hold 0<

"screw Coogle" meetings in Washington to plot strategy for getting regulators to look at their competitor's business. Railroads and truckers regularly battle over transportation policies. Even when a political conflict is viewed as business opposing, say, environmentalists, a

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Chapter 8 Interest Groups and the Media

closer look will reveal business groups on both sides of the issue. :-:....battle over health care reform saw Wal-Mart favoring the requirement that businesses must provide health insurance to employees while the National Federation ofIndependent Business opposed' coverage. Most contested major issues show splits in the busines; community.

Professional groups include the American Medical Associatior, the National Association of Realtors, and the American Bar Association, all of which have powerful lobbies in Washington. Labor-union: like the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the unions make up the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Irdustrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), are the most important financia. supporters of the Democratic party. In many urban Democratic districts, election day will find the local labor unions and the local part : practically merging to turn out voters. Labor leaders, who tend to sta: in power longer than most politicians, are powerful political figures ill their own right. Although there have been recent signs of revival, the influence of organized labor has declined, along with its membership. over the last 50 years.

Agricultural interests have a long history of influential lobbying, The American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union. and the National Grange are powerful groups in Washington. Specialized groups, like the Associated Milk Producers, Inc. (AMP), stronglv lobby farm legislation.

Some interest groups are organized around ethnic, social, or political concerns. Groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Urban League represent constituencies within the black community in national forums. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a strong advocate of close ties with Israel and attempts to influence American foreign policies in the Middle East. The American Association of Retired Persons (AAR,P) may be the most powerful lobby in Washington; it represents 40 million dues-paying members over the age of 50 on the many issues of interest to them.

Interest groups may organize people sharing similar social or political ideas. The Sierra Club lobbies in Washington to protect the environment but is considered more moderate than Greenpeace, a group of activists who take direct action to oppose issues like the clear-cutting of old-growth forests. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has 2 million members who fund the nonprofit corporation that fights factory farming and animal testing. The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) advocates for ta"{payers by favoring a Flat Tax and opposing the current income tax system.

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Lobbying

bbying is when individuals or interest groups pressure the govern-

:::lent to act in their favor. Interest groups today maintain professional

_ A S oflobbyists or hire consulting firms in Washington, D.C., to pro-

e their concerns. These lobbyists include former members of Con-

~ s or the executive branch who are knowledgeable in a particular

zrea and personally connected to decision makers. When Senator Phil

ramm of Texas retired from the Senate in 2003, he joined the Wall

'::::=cetfirm ofUBS Warburg for an annual salary of over $1 million. The

__ er chairman of the Senate Banking committee had coauthored a

_ in 1999 that permitted banks to merge with securities firms, a law

--2.!: allowed UBS to pur-

-- a brokerage for $12

"\ I

-;on. Gramm's transition e-

Vall Street barely caused

ripple in Washington, p

ere getting a job from

- that once lobbied you

_ common practice. (See

_ There Life After Con-

Almost 15,000 lobbyists spent $3.3 billion lobbying Congress and agencies in 2008. While lobbyists are required to register and

--=::Dyists had no bigger fight in the 111 th Congress than Health Care ;~ rm. Leading the battle to make sure that reform didn't hurt their

=-5 ess were the nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical

? ps who spent $1.4 million A DAY lobbying Congress. Working for

-:-"= as lobbyists were 350 former members of Congress and govern-.=c-: staff members. Many of them had worked on the committees

-:-"~ now had to write a new health care law for the country. These for-e- colleagues were there to make sure that Congress didn't endanger

-~ care interests, which make up one-sixth of the u.s. economy.

:Jespite various reforms large numbers of congressmen and staff -sc - eir government positions as a stepping stone to higher paying res as lobbyists. The non-partisan Public Citizen found that half the

zzors and 42% of House members became lobbyists when they left :::-gress. Some feared that public service had become not a goal, but ~ ?". olving door to riches in the private sector.

- rzz: The Washington Post, July 6,2009.

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Chapter 8 Interest Groups and the Media

are limited to a $100 cap in gifts to public officials, the disclosure n:':'=-_

governing lobbying are not considered strict. The Center for Public -tegrity took a survey of state lobbying laws and found that only threstates had lobby disclosure rules that were as weak as those applying lobbying Congress. The new Democratic majority promised that therr ethics reforms would bring real transparency to lobbying mone~' .Washington.

During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama vowed that lo:..byists "won't find a job in my White House." After the election this pr-hibition moderated a bit. In November 2008 Obama announced tha; he would allow lobbyists on his transition team as long as they worked on issues unrelated to their lobbying. The transition staff was barrec from lobbying the administration for one year afterward, a harsher restriction than the usual transition rules. Ultimately Obama appointee. several lobbyists to his administration. According to the National Journal about 11 percent of the president's top staff has lobbied within the past five years for organizations ranging from Goldman Sachs to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Direct lobbying usually takes place quietly in congressional committees and executive bureaucracies. Although lobbying the legislature gets most of the publicity, lobbyists devote more attention to executive agencies in influencing their regulations. It is said that the real decisions of government are made among lobbyists, executive bureaucrats. and congressional committees staff-forming flexible, often temporary issue netuiorks. Lobbyists provide information about their client to committees and bureaucracies. They argue their position with congressional staffers, or have their powerful industries or influential grassroots supporters speak directly with decision makers. Knowledge of the jssues, personal contacts, and frequent attendance at campaign fundraisers place lobbyists in a position to be heard. (See "The Five Commandments of Lobbying.")

Indirect lobbying may involve massive letter-writing that looks as if each letter has been individually written. Modern phone technologies allow lobbying firms to contact sympathetic voters and connect them directly to their member's office. The Internet can produce a flood of e-rnails. Fax attacks can clog a congressional office's lines. More subtle lobbying efforts involve "nonpolitical" public relations campaigns. Oil companies respond to criticism about oil spills with advertising showing their concern for the environment. Lumber companies do not discuss clear-cutting but instead show commercials of their employees planting trees. Op-eds, letters

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