Interest groups in the USA Flashcards
who are pluaralists
see interests as promoting democracy as they play a key role helping all within society to compromise and share power
who are elitists
argue that interest groups undermine democracy as they promote the views of a wealthy elite at the expense of the majority of the population. They argue that powerful interest groups have a stranglehold on democracy
what are the uk access points
central gov - policy has to be influenced before its made public but pressure groups are unlikely to have any influence when its already been introduced
EU - not really now eg people have taken environmental problems or fishing tettory problems to the EU court before
Supreme court
Devolved govs - are able to act better because they know more about whats going on
what are the USA access points
Local - state govs, local community, state elections
federal - white house, judiciary, senate, national elections, house of representatives
are pressure groups more powerful in uk or us
USA - because there are more access points to influence, it is also hard to control pressure groups because of the importance of freedom of speech in the first amendment
what are the two different approaches pressure groups can have
try to approach one access point - usually the one with the most influence of decision
approach several access points - including those who can overrule the initial decision makers
which approach that pressure groups take is more effective?
approaching one is good but only if it is successful, putting all your eggs into one basket
approaching several points shows the size and finance available to the group and that they have a resources to bring more attention
what is a single issue group
has narrow policy area eg NRA focus on the second amendement
what is are professional interest groups
it represents the interests of workers as a whole - eg the American Farm Bureau Federation who campaign on behalf of farmers on agriculture policy, immigration, tax and energy
what are policy interest groups
focuses on wide policy area which members may not benefit from directly but share an ideological belief
eg environment america - focuses on whole of government policy concerning environment eg renewable energy, global warming and wildlife conservation
what resources do pressure groups have
money - in 2018 the NRA has an income of $412 million and by september 2020, they had spent $9.2 million trying to get trump re-elected
membership - large membership = larg influence with many people contributing and raising awareness of the cause
assess - if they have access to a politician thy have more impact eg a retired member of congress: in 2018 340 ex congress people worked for a pharmaceutical company, theres lots of money in it and they still have contacts with current congress people. however it is known as a ‘revolving door’
what are tactics of interest groups
electioneering and endorsement
lobbying
voting cues and score cards
organising grass root activities
electioneering and endorsement
since campaigning finance reforms in 1970s groups were limited in the amount that they could donate.
super PACS were created so that they could make donations
eg NRA victory fund PAC
lobbying
they use professional lobbyists to help out their arguments to legislatures
voting cues and score cards
they are sent around before an election to gage and influence how people are going to vote
eg conservative republicans find the american conservative union, pro life groups and the US chamber of commerce equally helpful
