Chapter 9: Interest Groups Flashcards
According to pluralism, the interest group becomes
The essential bridge between the individual and the government
Public policy is balanced by
Group competition
Interest groups are organizations that seek to
Obtain at least part of their goals by directly influencing government policy
Private interest groups are
Those that work to protect and promote the financial interests of their members
Business and Trade Organization: These are:
All-inclusive organizations that represent business interest and more than half of the organizations in Washington
The National Association of Manufacturers: Trade Associations:
Interest group composed of businesses in specific industries (ex: American Petroleum Institute)
Professional Association Examples:
The American Bar Association (ABA), and the American Medical Association (AMA)
Organized labor
Labor unions remain a major political influence in Washington
Government employees (including public school teachers)
Transportation and service worker unions
The AFL-CIO is a federation of
68 separate unions with more than 13 millions members
Farm Organization: American Farm Bureau Federal, which represents the
Agribusiness and specialized groups, such as the National Milk Producers
The National Farmer’s Union represents
Small and low-income farmers
Pubic Interest Groups
Interest groups that claim to represent branch classes of people or the public as a whole
Women’s Organizations: The National Organization of Women:
Lobbies for issues supported by feminists
Religious Groups: Liberal organization
The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith
Conservative organization
The American Center for Law and Justice
Single Issue Groups
Organization formed to support or oppose government action on a specific issue
They do not compromise on their issue
Ex: NARAL, Sea Shepard
Ideological groups
Interest groups that pursue ideologically based liberal or conservative agendas
Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a
Liberal group
The American Conservative Union (ACU) is a
Conservative group
Lobbyist
Person working to influence government policies and actions
Many lobbyists are
The employees of interest group organizations who devote all of their efforts to their sponsors
Independent lobbyists are located in
Law consulting, or public relations firms who represent clients for a fee
Lobbying activities directed at
Government officials influence their decisions
Techniques of public relations:
Building and maintaining goodwill with the general public
Accomplished by mass media advertising to
Create a favorable image for themselves in the general public
Lobbying techniques access
Meeting and talking with decision makers, a prerequisite to direct persuasion
Lobbyists regularly provide
Dinner, travel vacations to congressional members, to White House officials and other executive officials
Lobbyists will provide
Technical expertise and political in about the group’s position on the issue
Congressional members and administrators in
The executive branch depend on trusted lobbyists
Grass-Roots Lobbying
Attempt to influence government decision making by inspiring their members to contact their representatives
Letter-writing campaigns, phone calls urging
The group’s position, and voting for or against candidates based on their policy positions
Protests and Demonstration
Interest groups motivate their members to take part in these activities to pressure government officials
Campaign support: The real key to lobbying is
The campaign contribution and legislator must depend heavily on contributions from organized interests
Organized interest groups channel their campaign contributions through
Political action committees (PACs)
PACs are organized by
Corporations, labor unions, trade associations, ideological and issue-oriented groups
Mutually supportive relationships among
Interest groups government agencies and legislative committee with jurisdiction over a specific policy area
All three parties cooperate, depend on one another, and work together to
Serve their own interest in promoting the same policy goal
Issue networks are
Coalition of interest groups and governmental players who promote policy on a particularly issue
Coalitions of interest groups that
Have the same policy goal fight against the coalition of interest groups that want a conflicting policy goal regarding the same issue
Agency capture means the agency become
Captive to the interest and it is supposed to oversee
When this occurs, the agency promotes the narrow interest supported by
Interest group instead of serving the public interest
Many cases brought to the federal courts are initiated by
The interest groups
Although groups cannot influence judges directly,
They heavily lobby Congress to affect the outcome of federal of judicial confirmations
