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Politics- USA Y2 > Pressure Groups > Flashcards

Pressure Groups Flashcards

1
Q

What are the four types of US pressure groups?

A
  1. Single issue groups
  2. Professional Organisations
  3. Corporate Pressure Groups
  4. Cause Groups
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2
Q

Single issue groups:

A
  • Success depends on zeitgeist e.g. environmental PGs like the Sierra Club gaining influence
  • Often have counter organisations: Right to life Committees to Planned Parenthood
  • Must have flexible aims: e.g. Heritage Foundation on Congressional Term limits of 15yrs, failed as inflexible.
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3
Q

Professional Associations:

A

E.g.
- American Bar Association- lawyers often give ratings to judicial appointments on integrity etc.
- American Medical Association (doctors)
- Expertise means they are listened to, especially in amicus briefs as expert witnesses (committed membership)

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4
Q

Corporate Pressure Groups:

A
  • usually very successful
  • rich, corporate PACs outspend labour ones 2:1
  • e.g. Dodd Frank Act to stop another financial crisis, 800pg long regulations
  • e.g. Calories council lobbying against banning of saccharine
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5
Q

CPG’s, The FDA:

A
  • being lobbied by corporate groups to lesson food restrictions
  • $18mil spent by them for their own benefit
  • REVOLVING DOOR= 63% of former gov employees are lobbyists
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6
Q

Cause Groups:

A
  • successful, usually large memberships
  • Trade unions huge memberships: American Federation of Labour and Congress Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO) can draw about 12mil members
  • AFL-CIO sent 100,000 to campaign in 32 states
  • e.g. NRA, cause to uphold the 2nd Amendment.
  • seek to impede change.
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7
Q

What are Washington Insiders?

A
  • Insider groups in Congress
  • much of their funding on two main presidential candidates, as they will have full federal executive power
  • Priorities Senate elections every 6years, longer term and better chance of access to gov
  • E.g. 96% of NRA budget in 2016 was spent on 6 Senate races and the presidential campaign.
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8
Q

HOW DO PRESSURE GROUPS INFLUENCE CONGRESS

A
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9
Q

What are the three main methods to influence the US gov?

A
  1. Iron Triangles
  2. Political Pressure
  3. Targeted Lobbying
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10
Q

What are Iron Triangles and why are they beneficial?

A

WHAT
- Interest groups give electoral support
- Congress(wo)men gives funding and political support
- The bureaucracy + gov dep give special favours/ low regulations to that interest groups
WHY
- all parties benefit economically and politically e.g. included in legislation and given funding
- can involve leaders of industry and production, have on their side

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11
Q

What are 2 examples of Iron Triangles?

A
  1. Americas Shale Industry (fossil fuels), have reduced US dependency on Middle East for energy and have stabilised prices (given low regulations, low taxes and congressional support)
  2. Martin Shkreli, CEO of huge pharmaceutical company, 2022 raised Aid medication price by 4200%
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12
Q

What problems can Iron Triangles bring?

A
  • Lack of accountability
  • potential for bribery and corruption
  • over reliance on the group e..g American Shale Industry
  • Side effects on population and global warming for the gain of a corporation.
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13
Q

What are the 5 factors in political pressure?

A
  • Publicity
  • Pressure and endorsement
  • Financial backing
  • Grassroots pressure
  • Judicial
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14
Q

How does publicity influence congress?

A
  • 24/7 media and its impact
  • e.g. Trump and Twitter, campaigning inexpensive an more effective
  • PACs can endorse the groups, allowing more exposure to Congress(wo)men
  • Pressure group issues have a knock on effect on legislation, e.g. Obamacare, Climate Change, Abortion
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15
Q

How does pressure and endorsement influence congress?

A
  • pressure applied to elected representatives, voting records published
  • pressure groups endorse, on issues supporting their cause
    E.g- Obama backed by pro-choice groups due to his stance on abortion, in turn conservative groups would denounce voting for him
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16
Q

How does financial backing influence Congress?

A
  • Importance of PACs in campaigning
  • most PGs start as PACs
  • 1970s: could finance any candidate of their choice, US election system always active and expensive
    E.g- NRA spent $30 million in 2016 in support of Trump (HE WON).
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17
Q

How does Grassroots pressure influence Congress?

A
  • have huge memberships, millions
  • on local level can influence congressional and presidential candidates
  • members can write emails of support or urging change on an issue.
18
Q

How does Judicial pressure influence Congress?

A
  • possibility of judicial support
  • e.g. NAACP through amicus briefs supported landmark Brown vs BOE case, ending segregation in schools.
19
Q

What is the importance of lobbyists?

A
  • DEFINITION trying to influence policy making and the legislative process through the use of PGs
  • draft legislation for members of Congress
  • enhance debate
  • give media advice, publicity and voting recommendations
  • many Congress(wo)men already involved in lobbying industry: e.g. thousands employed in the industry centred on K street in DC.
20
Q

How does lobbyists being interested in certain Congressional members influence Congress? UK vs. UK comparison.

A
  • have their issues represented
    E.g.- Lockheed Martin (1 of largest defence/weapons manufacturers in world, US largest purchaser of defence weapons, so interested) targeted Chairman of the Defence Committee ^ this would be unethical in UK, but a funda,en tal aspect of USA political system to allow compromises and company links.
21
Q

THE SUCCESS OF PRESSURE GROUPS

A

:)

22
Q

What 4 methods can lead to the success of Pressure groups?

A
  • Targeting the executive
  • Targeting and Influence on the legislative
  • Targeting the judiciary
  • Sponsoring cases
23
Q

How can targeting the executive lead to success?

A
  • establishes relations with senior bureaucrats
  • on areas such as defence, agriculture and energy
    E.g.- Boeing and Lockweed Martin have firmly established relationships with the defence department
    COUNTER= Office of Management and Budget and Congressional Checks (separate body) means these relations are harder to form.
24
Q

How does targeting and influencing the legislative lead to PG success?

A
  • financing and publishing voting records
  • E.g. 63% of funding to house candidates in 2000 were from business PACs
    E.g.- League of Conservation voters publish their yearly ‘dirty dozen’ list on candidates with the worst policies+stance on the environment.
    ^ 2012 11/12 in the dozen were not reelected
    ^ 2024 list, DJT on the list
25
Q

More on the legislative:

A
  • influence on candidates at primary stage
  • lobbying on specific issues, 70 PGs lobbied on the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal
    BUT
  • PAC impact cannot be proved on the floor
26
Q

How does targeting the judiciary lead to PG success?

A
  • amicus briefs (Latin for friend of the court) given by PGs
  • e.g Obergefell vs Hodges (2025) allowing gay marriage, 149 amicus briefs published
  • e.g. Roe vs. Wade repeal 2023, many anti- abortion amicus briefs used
    BUT
  • hard to tell influences on judicial rulings.
27
Q

How does sponsoring caes lead to the success of pressure groups?

A
  • ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) sponsored Brown vs Board of Education 1954 ending segregation in schools to uphold first amendement rights
    SUCCESSFUL?: yes! Useful means of achieving aims if you don’t have access to other branches.
28
Q

Conclusion:

A
  • Groups representing disadvantaged people have been influential on occasion (NAACP, Brown vs BOE)
  • richest pressure group most influential/ most popular causes (gun control, progressive taxation brought by influential PGs)
29
Q

PLURALISM

A
30
Q

What does pluralism mean?

A
  • a theory of the distribution of political power
  • and that it should be widely and evenly distributed in society.
31
Q

What do pluralists believe?

A

That pressure groups promote healthy debate, discussion and overall strengthen the democratic process.

32
Q

What did the founding fathers say about pluralism?

A
  • weren’t engaged with the topic, but they could be interpreted as factions
  • James Madison said factions were the ‘nature of man’
  • would rather encourage consensus politics
33
Q

Examples used by academics on pluralism:

A
  1. Donald Truman in ‘The government Process’- said politics can only be understood by studying the way different groups interact
  2. C Wright Mills in ‘The Power Elite’- said as USA is ruled by small elite, ordinary Americans have little impact on the political agenda
  3. Robert Dahl in ‘Who Governs?’ In 1961- classic study of pluralism in US society, saying it is not elitist, said ‘an active and legitimate group in the population can make itself heard’ PRESSURE GROUPS ARE THE EPITOME OF THIS CONCEPT, REPRESENTATIVE AND PASSIONATE
34
Q

What are the overall functions and operations of pressure groups?

A
  • do not seek election
  • encourage participation
  • use membership to pressure all 3 branches
  • educate the public
  • agenda building
  • In America benefit from the numerous access points within the political system (Congress, Executive, Judiciary, Judges, local gov, federal gov)
  • benefit from weak party system and issue based elections with little policy backing
  • have ideas/ visions on a broad range of issues
  • influence and appeal to the public, representatives
  • want to seek abolition or approval of laws
35
Q

What is the significance of pressure groups?

A
  • easy access to elected officials, frequent elections
  • some target state govs, e.g. abortion laws
  • politicians open to persuasion (even through financial means)
  • Failure to have an impact is not a failure (media exposure)
  • publish voting records
  • they are protected by First amendment Rights, constitutional right to act as they do
36
Q

What are some of their additional lobbying methods?

A
  • lobbying firms with politicians
  • direct lobbying, meetings
  • ## indirect lobbying, through events
37
Q

PACs

A
38
Q

What is a PAC?

A
  • stands for a Political Action Committee
  • raising money for the direct purpose of electing or defeating candidates in elections
  • or to support other political campaigns for legislation or initiatives
  • can make ‘hard money’ donations
  • Donations to a PAC capped at $5000
    CURRENT E.G.:
  • Elon Musk, sole doner, $75mil of his own money on Trump campaign/ endorsement
  • offering people $1mil per day if they say they will vote for Trump
39
Q

What is a Super PAC?

A
  • Special type of Political Action Committee
  • only deals with independent expenditures
  • can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money for political campaigning
  • forbidden from making direct contributions to candidates or parties
40
Q

DEBATE- Do PACs have too much influence in a US election?

A

Yes:
- PAC funding, bypasses campaign financing restrictions
- they are funded by small minority, less then 1% of Americans have provided federal candidates funding
- has increased electoral spending overall
- essential to ‘buying’ an influence in politics (e.g. Sheldon Alesdon, business man, and his wife donantes $100mil to a conservative PAC)
- changing Congress(wo)men decisions, on legislation vote in favour of their financial backers to receive further funding, not representative of public
NO:
- USA pluralists, PGs should be able to participate fully with the electoral process
- they represent broad issues to the media and those in Congress
- Presidential candidates may reject funding, e.g. Obama 2004-2008 one of largest increases in electoral funding, rejected matching funds
- Large donations don’t guarantee funding (2016 Super PAC spent $129 in support of Hilary against Trump)
- Congress(wo)men must be aware of ‘folks back home’

41
Q

Refer to 2 main statistics from ‘Open Secrets’ 2024.

A
  • PAC ‘American Bankers Association’ donated $1.2mil to republicans in 2024
  • PAC Union ‘American Federation of Stave/City/Municipal employees donated $1.8mil to democrats
42
Q
A

Politics- USA Y2 (2 decks)

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