Interest Groups

Question 1

What are interest groups?

Answer 1

organizations that try to influence the government’s programs and policies

Question 2

California interest group?

Answer 2

associations of individuals who seek to influence policy decisions in the legislature, the executive branch, and administrative agencies, as well as through direct legislation. Referred to often in California as the third house.

Question 3

Relationship between the founders of the Constitution and interest groups?

Answer 3

Founders held that people in a free society would always pursue their interests.
Federalist #10 – Pluralism as the basis for representation of multiple competing interests.

First Amendment

Question 4

What is pluralism?

Answer 4

theory that citizens connect to the government through interest groups that compete in the public sphere (remember Federalist 10)

Question 5

What is the pluralist theory?

Answer 5

It emphasizes how important it is for a democracy to have large numbers of diverse interest groups representing a wide variety of views.

Question 6

What is the elite theory?

Answer 6

It states that a ruling class composed of wealthy, educated individuals wields most of the power in government and also within the top universities, corporations, the military, and media outlets.

Question 7

What is an example of a Business and Agriculture interest group?

Answer 7

Industry organizations and specific companies.

Question 8

What is an example of a public interest group?

Answer 8

Consumer protection, environmental protection groups.

Question 9

What are examples of labor union groups?

Answer 9

AFL-CIO, pilots, teachers (some states)

Question 10

What are examples of ideological interest groups?

Answer 10

Religious, libertarian, conservative, liberal interest groups.

Question 11

What are examples of professional interest groups?

Answer 11

American Medical Association (Doctors)

Question 12

What are examples of public sector interest groups?

Answer 12

Universities, think tanks, research lobbies.

Question 13

Is union membership numbers declining?

Answer 13

Aww hell yeaah

Question 14

How does the income of union members and middle class workers compare?

Answer 14

They’re roughly the same.

Question 15

What are some downsides of interest groups?

Answer 15

They contribute to corruption in the political system, they and their political action committees (PACs) make money a vital force in American politics, they strengthen incumbency advantage, and the elites are more likely to establish and dominate interest groups that are non-elites.

Question 16

Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee (2010)

Answer 16

Under the First Amendment, corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited.

Question 17

What are some key features of interest group organization?

Answer 17

Leadership, money, office locations, and members.

Question 18

What is significant about the leadership of an interest group

Answer 18

The leadership usually starts with an entrepreneur, can be as simple as one leader or as complex as a national network, and netroots groups have streamlined structure.

Question 19

How are interest groups usually funded?

Answer 19

Membership fees or dues, donations and contributions, paid for services such as research reports, presentations, and exclusive data, and advertising in their publications and on their websites.

Question 20

What are some membership types in interest groups?

Answer 20

They may have a bottom-up structure (NRA) or have a staff based organization, where the professional staff does most of the work. These staff based ones tend to be donor based, and have professional researchers.

Question 21

How do interest groups attract paid members when benefits are collective goods?

Answer 21

That is a benefit, but it may create strong temptations for people to be free-riders, so the the collective goods tend to go to those who pay.

Question 22

What are some selective benefits of interest group membership?

Answer 22

Informational benefits, material benefits, solidary benefits, and purposive benefits.

Question 23

What are examples of informational benefits in interest groups?

Answer 23

Conferences, professional contacts, publications, coordination among organizations, research, legal help, professional codes, and collective bargaining.

Question 24

What are examples of material benefits in interest groups?

Answer 24

Travel packages, insurance, discount on consumer goods

Question 25

What are examples of solidary benefits in interest groups?

Answer 25

Friendship and networking opportunities

Question 26

What are examples of purposive benefits in interest groups?

Answer 26

Advocacy, representation before government, and participation in public affairs.

Question 27

How does interest group membership affect their success?

Answer 27

Large groups tend to be more influential and are easier in getting their ideas out. Cohesion of the group matters to participants and policy-makers, as well as the intensity of the group and their demographics.

Question 28

What is significant about the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)?

Answer 28

It started out as a group to help retired teachers purchase affordable life insurance; now it has 35 million members and has informational, material, solidary, and purposive benefits.

Question 29

Why have the number of interest groups increased in recent decades?

Answer 29

Expansion of government, new politics of interest groups (generation that was active in protest politics – anti-Vietnam war for example), and technology.

Question 30

What is direct lobbying?

Answer 30

an attempt by an interest group to influence the policy process through persuasion of public officials.

Question 31

What are some methods of direct lobbying?

Answer 31

Meetings where information is shared
Lawsuits
Public relations campaigns (ads directed at members, the public, and elected officials)
Fund-raising for candidates, parties, or issues

Question 32

How can interest groups influence Congress?

Answer 32

Direct lobbying to other members of Congress and allying themselves with the member of target; PAC funds (endorsements, campaigns, testimony) to the specific target; Gaining access-information and creating ties with congressional staff, then gaining advice from the target member of Congress; Get constituents whose jobs or businesses to write letters and such to the target of interest, and mobilizing public opinion so that the news gets to the target member of interest.

Question 33

What do effective lobbyists have?

Answer 33

Access to members of Congress (policymakers) and information.

Question 34

How are Political Action Committees influential?

Answer 34

Their funding of campaigns establishes the interest group as a formal supporter of one or more candidates.
Campaign contributions are a door opener for an interest. Access to policy makers is crucial.
Labor groups tend to support Democrats, whereas many business and corporate PACs favor Republicans.
At the top, traditional PACs tend to contribute more heavily to Democrats than to Republicans.
PACs, particularly those formed by economic interest groups, overwhelmingly favor incumbents.

Question 35

What impact do lobbyists have?

Answer 35

Lobbyists generate cooperative campaigns, multiplying their potential impact:
Grassroots support, fund-raising, media efforts
Lobbying members of Congress

Members of Congress often ask for favors:
Campaign contributions
Host fund-raisers for their campaign
Mobilize members

Question 36

Who do lobbyists talk to?

Answer 36

Lobbyists do not need to reach the president directly, and rarely attempt to do so.

They focus on reaching senior officials and the president’s trusted senior staffers.

Recall that presidential appointees at top levels frequently come from industries they oversee.

Question 37

Iron Triangles form among…

Answer 37

Executive Branch programs, legislative committees, and interest groups

Question 38

What are some rules for lobbying?

Answer 38

Obama administration bans all lobbyists from being hired by his administration for one year besides some exceptions.

All lobbyists must register as such.

Businesses and trade associations cannot write off lobbying expenses.

More disclosure rules

No gifts over $50 in value

Question 39

How do interest groups publicize themselves?

Answer 39

By going public, campaign to gain mass public awareness and support on a given issue (advertising, organizing protests and demonstrations) as well as grassroots mobilizations (getting members to petition Congress directly)

Question 40

How do interest groups have influence on favorable legislators?

Answer 40

Interest groups try to get favorable legislators elected, for example, PACS can contribute $5000 to a candidates primary or general election fund, and they can host as many fund-raisers as they wish, though where others may contribute.

They also advance or appose many state ballot initiatives relevant to their interests.

Question 41

What are political action committees?

Answer 41

They are formed by nonprofits, corporations, and unions to contribute to federal campaigns. They must accounts for all donations they receive and how the money is spent. Nonprofits, corporations, and unions cannot contribute directly to a candidate, so they must form a PAC with a $5000 donation limit annually.

Question 42

What is a brief filed in court?

Answer 42

Amicus curiae

Question 43

When items are put on the ballot, bypassing state’s legislature, it is known as

Answer 43

An initiative

Question 44

Grassroots mobilization involves..

Answer 44

interest group members contacting their elected officials

Question 45

What is a referendum?

Answer 45

A general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision.