Pressure Groups Flashcards
How many pressure groups are most people a part of?
3 or 4
What do pressure groups do for all three branches of the constitution?
Scrutinise them
What is the impact of pressure groups on parties?
Control campaigns, funding, policies
Who believed that pressure groups were elitist?
C Wright Mills
Who did C Wright Mills work with?
Eisenhower
What did Eisenhower warn of?
Industrial-military complex
What did Eisenhower believe?
Can’t pass legislation without car industry - Cold War - planes for the Korean War
Who now controls things in the US?
Big Pharma - Obamacare was watered down to get funding
What kind of view does C Wright Mills have?
A birds eye view - sees the end result
Who argued that pressure groups are pluralist?
Robert Dahl - wrote Who Governs
What is pluralism?
Power dispersed amongst many competing voices
What did Robert Dahl look at?
Townhall democracy
What did he come to the conclusion of?
On matters like party nominations, urban redevelopment, public education - the things people care about, there is a huge debate
What are there going to be in pluralism?
Winners and losers but you have an ability to make an impact and a choice - its a compromise of many decisions and that is where American democracy thrives
What view does Dahl have?
Worms eye view - bottom up - view of actual society
Why is there less of a need of the insider outsider dichotomy?
Federalism
Examples of insider groups?
US Chamber of Commerce
NRA
AMA
Example of outsider group?
Climate Direct Action - ran “valve turner” protests in 2016 - turned off 15% of crude oil imports valves
Example of promotional group?
Greenpeace
Every town for Gun Safety
ACLU
Example of Interest group?
AFL-CIO
ABA
NAACP
Christian Coalition of America
How many people are employed on K street?
34,000
What do the founding fathers think about human nature?
Distrustful
What did Madison not want?
Factions and parties
What stops the mischiefs of factions?
Freedom of speech
Where do the Dems talk to ordinary people?
Tammany Hall
How do pressure groups electioneer?
Endorse candidates, campaign donations and releasing voting “scorecards”
Where do pressure groups tend to give money?
Political Action Committees and Super PACS
How much money did the League of Conservation Voters spend in 2018?
$85 million - more than any other single issue group
How many new congressional candidates of the LCV got seats?
60
What is EMILY’S list?
Pressure group aiming to ignite change through pro-life dem women to office
What does EMILY’S list do?
Recruiting candidates for office and supports their campaign throughout the whole period
When was EMILY’S list formed?
1985
How much did EMILY’S LIST spend in 2018?
$37 million - led to a record number of female members of congress
How much money did EMILY’s list spend on digital adverts for Harris?
$5.5 million
What score card does the US Chamber of Commerce release?
How they Voted - aim of advancing pro-business policies
What does the NRA do?
Allocates each candidate a grade from A to F on their voting record on gun rights
What does League of Conservation voters do?
Releases a dirty dozen listen of politicians with the worst environmental record
How many of the 12 on the federal dirty dozen were defeated in 2020?
5/12
How many of the 12 lost their seat in 2020?
6/12
How many seats are in play?
10% - Cook Political Report
What opened the gates to PACs?
Citizens United vs FEC 2010
What % of incumbents win?
93%
What is the impact of pressure groups?
Reinforces the incumbency
How much money was spent in 2000?
$400 million
How much money was spent in 2020?
$2.5 billion
How much money did Clinton and Trump spend in 2016?
Clinton: $800 million
Trump: $500 million
How long are candidates not campaigning for in their 2 year term?
6 months
Who does IPAC donate to?
Both Dems and Republicans
How many elections are there in America?
500,000
What is lobbying?
Process in which pressure groups try to influence members of the executive or legislature by meeting with them.
What do pressure groups do?
Pressure groups share detailed up-to-date knowledge of their policy area and therefore are a useful source of information for politicians. Try to convince the executive and legislators to adopt favourable positions.
How do pressure groups have the right to lobby?
Constitution
Why do pressure groups have D.C offices?
Allow them to access the federal government and congress - get chummy with congress members
Who can they work with?
Key government officials - cabinet officers and senior figures in federal agencies
How many meetings did J.P Morgan and Goldman Sachs have between 2010 to 2012?
350 meetings
Where else do pressure groups have offices?
State levels
How much money was spent on federal lobbying in 2019?
More than $3.47 billion
When was the highest value lobbying year?
2010 - $3.51 billion
How much in business subsidies are caused by lobbying?
$90 million
What did Ted Kennedy call Congress?
Coin operated - best congress money can buy
What can pressure groups do through the courts?
Target an area of the law where they wish to see change and support cases that hinge on the legal point
What might pressure groups do?
Lose in a lower court and then appeal to the SCOTUS - landmark ruling
Who funded Brown v Board?
NAACP
Who funded Obergefell v Hodges?
ACLU
What can legal challenges target?
State laws that are aimed at eroding previous SCOTUS rulings
What did Planned Parenthood bring a case against in 2019?
Restrictive abortion laws in Georgia, Alabama, Indiana and Ohio
How can pressure groups hold the executive to account?
Challenging actions
How many cases against Trump did the ACLU mount in 2017 to 2018?
56
Example of ACLU legal challenge to Trump?
Muslim Travel Ban - halted by a federal court in 2017 - ban modified to include non-Muslim countries - upheld by SCOTUS.
Military Trans Ban
What is Amicus Curiae brief?
Submit information to court cases with the hope of influencing the outcome - set out specific evidence or research that the pressure group hopes will influence the justices
Who can also submit amicus curiae briefs?
Academic legal experts, the exectuive or anyone who has an interest in the case
What are non-governmental briefs called?
Green briefs
How many briefs did the 1950s SC receive per case?
1
How many briefings were submitted per case in 2019-2020?
16
How many briefs were submitted for Brown?
6
How many briefs were submitted for Obergefell?
148
How many briefs were submitted for Roe?
23
How many green briefs were mentioned between 2019-2020?
10%
What happened in American Legion vs American Humanist Association?
RBG quoted from the amicus brief submitted by Jewish War veterans to support her dissent
What did Kavanaugh say?
That he had “great respect for the Jewish war veterans who in an amicus brief say that the cross on public land sends a message of exclusion.”
What means that briefs are more likely to be referenced?
If they are written by legal experts
Who has experience of writing briefs?
ACLU and NACDL
How may briefs cited between 2019 and 2020 were from these types of pressure groups?
40%
What must be disclosed
Financial contributors to the brief
Why did SCOTUS reject a brief by the US Alcohol Policy Alliance in 2018?
Some Anonymous Crowdfunders
What can members do?
Contact Congress members, federal and state government or legislatures by writing, emailing, phoning or connecting via social media.
What does the communication blitz do?
Demonstrate that an issue has mass support - can be very effective if targeted at politicians who are keen to secure support of their constituents.
Who got seatbelts from Congress?
MADD
What did the No Rifle Associated manage to do?
Pass the Brady Bill - limit access to guns
What happened in 2011?
Texas Policy Forum - wrote into the Texas Congress and got them to reduce the deficit
What did the Colorado Centre for Policy do?
Got grassroots campaigners to write in
What is direct action?
Methods used by a pressure group that go beyond the standard constitutional methods of campaignin
What is the aim of direct action?
Put public pressure on the executive to force concession
How many people protested in NYC against Vietnam?
500,000
What did Vietnam Veterans do ?
800 veterans throw their medals in front of the Capitol and another in which the group occupied the Statue of Liberty.
What does direct action generate?
Publicity and media attention - can alienate the public - especially when violent
How many BLM protests in 2020?
140 cities
What did the Weathermen do?
Bombed to destroy imperialism
What was the Moms March in 200?
Protest against guns in school
What is the biggest pressure group?
AARP - 43 million members - rich bitch - Florida
Which pressure groups support the Dems?
LGBTQ+, pro-choice, unions and gun-control groups
Who received support from Susan B. Anthony List in 2018?
Pro-life Catholic Dem Dan Lipinski - got $100,000 campaigning for his primary
How many homes did the SBAL canvas?
17,000 - he only won by just 2,000
How many members does the NRA?
5 million
What % of the NRA congressional spending went to Dem candidates in 1992?
37%
What % of the NRA congressional spending went to Rep candidates in 2016?
98%
Which house receives more donations?
Senate - longer term - more prestige
What was Senate expenditure vs House in 2020?
Almost double the house - $1547 million vs $702 million
How much of the NRA’s budget was spend on six Senate races and the president in 2016?
96%
What is an iron triangle?
Close relationship between pressure groups, congress and the executive
What did the military industrial complex result in?
Defence and foreign policies that were not in the public interest.
Which were the main companies in the industrial-military complex?
Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman.
How much does Lockhead Martin spend on Congressional influences?
$14 million
How many jobs would the F35 jet have made?
125,000 over 46 states - therefore pressure was put on congress members to support it
How much did defence spend on campaigns in 2018?
$30 million
Who had defence contractors as his biggest contributors in 2019-2020?
Joe Courtney - the Dem congressman for Connecticut 2nd is the chair of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committees
What was Courtney called?
“Two subs Joe” for helping to secure the funding for the construction of two submarines a year in his district.
How much did 51 members or spouses own in defence companies?
between $2.3 million to $5.8 million
How much stock in Lockheed di Roy blunt own?
$100,000
What did the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence award?
A $1.85 billion contract to the company in 2020.
What contributes to formation of iron triangles?
Revolving door syndrome
What did Trump’s deputy defence secretary do?
Before being made acting secretary in 2019. Previously Boeing’s senior vp. Once in government - oversaw defence spending that directly benefited Boeing - including 20 contracts worth $13.7 billion in the month of September 2018 alone.
Example of Big Pharma?
FDA
Who wroked for FDA and then worked at pharmaceutical companies and the head of FDA?
Scott Gottlieb - stepped down in 2019 and worked for Pfizer
What is hard money?
Refers to donations to a particular candidate.
What is soft money?
Money that is given to a political party or political action committee but is not used for the election of specific candidates.
What is a PAC?
Political committee that raises money for the direct purpose of electing or defeating a candidate or for supporting other political campaigns for legislation or initiative - make direct hard money contributions - limited to $5000 per donation, per year.
What is a Super Pac?
Special type of PAC that only deals with independent expenditures. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money for political campaigning but are forbidden from making direct contributions to candidates or parties.
How much did Super PACs spend in 2020?
Super PACs spent $1.8 billion - $250 million by the Senate Leadership Fund (conservative) and more than $225 million by the liberal Senate Majority PAC
How much did Clinton and Trump receive in 2016?
$215 million support Clinton - Trump received about $85.5 million.
How much money did Sheldon Adelson donate?
$100 million to conservative Super PACs
Who writes legislation and policies?
Pressure Groups
What did John Podesta do?
Leaves and sets up his own lobbying firm in 2000 - Podesta Lobbying - lobbies Bill Clinton - $30 million in the first year.
What lobbying firm does Trump set up?
Ballard group - gets $42 million
What did Obama do to try to stop this?
Passed an act in 2014 that only after 2 years could you join a lobbying group - on the night of the bill - 25% of the congress staff members left.
How much money goes to the incumbent not the challenger?
9:1
Why did Congress support Fentanyl?
Get Americans back to work - good for the economy
What are pressure groups?
A necessary evil
