Pressure Groups Flashcards
Citizens Utd v. FEC
2010 - Ruled that a corporation cannot be prevented from making independent political expenditures, striking down the sections of the McCain-Feingold Act (2002) which did this.
Impact of Citizens Utd
Spending by independent groups more than quadrupled between 2010 and 2012, rising to over $900m. In that time, overall spending rose from $300m to $1bn. Spending by nonprofit corporations, who are not required to disclose their donors, doubled, to reach $300m. Such spending was almost non-existent in 2002.
Professional Association
A group formed to advance the interests of members of a particular profession, e.g. the American Medical Association - issues include limiting the amount of damages that can be awarded for malpractice.
Business Groups
The most numerous and powerful pressure groups in the US - either single firms or confederations. E.g. Wall Street banks (e.g. JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs) and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
Labor Unions
Lobby for workers’ rights, often in a specific profession, e.g. American Federations of Teachers lobby against performance-related pay and oppose No Child Left Behind, due to requirements to “teach to the test” and threats of termination in cases of low test scores. Not as powerful now as they once were - in 1970, 25% of workers were in a union, has since fallen to less than 12%.
Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups
Lobby for better treatment and opportunities for ethnic minorities, e.g. NAACP
Cause Groups
Organisations whose members care intensely about only one single issue, e.g. NARAL Pro-Choice America, NRA.
The NRA - Revenue and Membership
Turned over $256m in 2012, partly through fees from its 5m members. Its primary opponent, the Brady Campaign, had a revenue of only $3.3m in the same year.
The NRA - Donation Patterns
In 2014, 94% of donations were to Republicans. In the 2012 election cycle, its largest recipient was the Republican Governors’ Association ($325k). IN the same cycle, the group spent far more opposing than supporting candidates - $6m supporting Republicans, $13m opposing Democrats.
The NRA - Is Influential
Lobbied heavily (“Stop the Gun Ban” Campaign) against gun control measures debated post-Sandy Hook, e.g. Dianne Feinstein’s Assault Weapons Ban (2013) which was defeated in the Senate, and the Fix Gun Checks Act (2013), which has been held at committee stage for over a year (despite 90% of Americans favouring greater background checks). The NRA spent $3.4m on lobbying in 2013, compared to $250k by the Brady Campaign. Successfully sued the city of San Francisco, after a proposition passed to bad guns from the city centre.
The NRA - Is Not Influential
Many US politicians, along with almost 50% of the US Public (according to pre-Sandy Hook polls) fundamentally oppose gun regulation and see 2nd Amendment rights as inalienable. Thus, the NRA is merely supporting candidates who already share their views. Even after Sandy Hook, 51% of Americans opposed a ban on assault weapons. Additionally, it is argued that the fact that a group with 5m members deserves, in a free democracy, to have more clout than a smaller group like the Brady Campaign.
AARP
American Association of Retired Persons - one of the largest pressure groups in the US, with over 37m members. Spent $9.6m on lobbying in 2014, mainly in favour of expansion of Medicare and other entitlements for the aged. Example of its influence - 2012 VP Candidate Paul Ryan spoke out against perceived cuts to Medicare encapsulated in Obamacare. Accused of placing its profits over the interests of its members - 2012 Fiscal Cliff negotiations - opposed changes to Medicare which would have reduced its profit margin in endorsing Medigap providers, but would have probably benefited the majority of retirees - former senior official Marilyn Moon described the situation as “a potential conflict of interests.”
AIPAC
American Israel Public Affairs Committee - advocates pro-Israel (and anti-Palestine) policies in Congress, such as financial aid - has helped to secure $3bn per year. Criticised by some (e.g. Congressman Jim Moran) for not being representative of overall Jewish-American views (60% of American Jews approve of Obama’s Israel policy - AIPAC has fought him on multiple issues, especially his attitudes towards the conflict in Gaza), instead advancing more extreme views via the support of its extraordinarily powerful and wealthy members, pushing US foreign policy in an ever more pro-Israel direction - the US government is far less likely than those of other Western countries to speak out against Israel, especially against its military action in Gaza and the West Bank. In 2011, AIPAC persuaded 446 Congressmen and Senators to formally oppose the idea of the UN recognising Palestine’s statehood.
AIPAC - Declining Influence
May have had its influence limited by the establishment of the more moderate J Street, as well as its consistent opposition to the Obama Administration’s Middle-East policy - White House Coordinator for the.Middle East, Philip Gordon, spoke out against the Israeli occupation of Gaza in July 2014, and argued in favour of Palestinian sovreignty. Young people are far less supportive of the group, suggesting it stands to lose influence over time - only 1/4 of Americans under 30 approve of Israel’s actions in Gaza, which AIPAC endorses. However, it still managed to endorse a Senate resolution to reaffirm Israel’s “right to defend its citizens,” which passed with 79 co-sponsors. Furthermore, the administration’s discomfort with Israeli military practice is not ubiquitous - when AIPAC requested more funding for the Iron Dome system, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel immediately wrote to Senate leader Harry Reid to ask for a payment of $225m.
AFL-CIO
Umbrella group for 64 unions, representing over 13m workers. Produced multiple reports on the Invest in American Jobs Act (2013), demonstrating insider status. The fact that it donates overwhelmingly to Democratic candidates means that its influence will be reduced when there is a Republican Congress or President.
ActBlue
Demonstrates the overlap between pressure groups and political parties - a PAC designed to raise money for the Democrats via the internet, it has raised more than $535m for the party’s candidates at all levels since its inception in 2004, making it the single largest source of funds in US politics. OpenSecrets ranks ActBlue first in its list of “heavy hitters.” Its sole purpose is to raise funds for Democratic candidates - it does not take part in lobbying or similar.
Iron Triangle
A policy-making relationship between a pressure group, a Congressional committee and a federal agency.
Committee gives interest group favourable legislation in return for electoral support.
Group lobbies for legislation favourable to the bureaucracy in return for low regulation/special favours
Bureaucracy gives the committee support in policy execution, in return for funding (power of the purse) and political support.
E.g. AARP - House Committee on Ageing - Social Security Administration
Lobbying - Definition
Paid activity in which pressure groups hire well-connected advocates, such as lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as Congress.
