Unit 2 - Pressure Groups - American✅ Flashcards
Constitutional and Institutional importance of pressure groups
The decentralised nature of the government means that power is dispersed and pressure groups have many different access points to the government
Furthermore, each state has its own constitution , legislature and government , which is parochial in attitude and this means politics is extremely vigorous and well supported
There is no single dominant branch of government ; this means that a pressure groups battle is ever rarely lost as a defeat in one branch of government does not indicate total failure
A codified constitution outlines the checks and balances and using powers the Supreme Court may overrule the actions of elected bodies
Political and Cultural importance of pressure groups
It has always been the case that American institutions are open and due to the freedom of information act and a vigorous media , openness is guaranteed and this means access
The relative weakness and lack of ideological coherence of the two political parties is another important factor when explaining the extensive nature of pressure group activity
Constituents need money to run for campaigns to appealing to pressure groups plays an extensive part in their success
Due to the codified constitution - individual liberties are firmly protected by the Constitution and US culture exists of challenging authority , campaigning against misuse of power , self help and a lack of deference
Social importance of pressure groups
America is a remarkably diverse society and combined with the decentralisation of power - organised groups can have a great impact where particular values prevail
Religious observance is more established in the USA than the UK and there is an increasing diversity of faiths - this makes a single national policy on many issues impossible as different faiths have different geographical strongholds
The American media is largely decentralised and deregulated and this is to ensure that local political issues are given a prominent place in the media
Trade Unions
AFL- CIO
These represent a smaller proportion of the workforce including unions outside the AFL-CIO
President Reagan’s breaking of the strike by 10,000 air traffic controllers in his first term signalled the determination to weaken trade union a
The Union of Auto workers’ major objective was that of restricting the import of foreign cars to the US
- it won considerable (but not majority) congressional support - much of it from the representatives whose districts had substantial vehicle and component manufacturing Capitol and employment
- also supports the objectives of opposition to deregulation and maintenance of domestic spending programmes
Professional Groups
ABA- American Bar Association
The American Bankers Association
The National Association of Realtors
These groups have grown and improved their political status over the past 40 years and in general they normally represent the rich and powerful in American Society
- ABA is a gatekeeper for those practicing law and a major source of information on legal standards and procedures
- there are over 500,000 lawyers in the US so the ABA’s opinions and interpretations must be taken seriously
AMA (American medical association) performs the same but for doctors and it remains a major influence on all legislation affecting healthcare
Single Issue Groups
The best known single issue pressure group is the National Rifle Association and Groups like this have a large, identifiable group of supporters around the country
- they can influence legislation by being insiders and working alongside government officials and representatives
Ideological Groups
These groups campaign for principles and ideologies
Ideological groups further both social and economically centred issues and The National Organisation for Women emerged as forefront of freedom for choice in regards to abortion.
One of the best known us the AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION which has around 1/4 million members whom are all committed to the protection of civil liberties
- Americans for Prosperity can also be considered as an extremely popular pressure group and these campaign for the shrinking of the size of the government as well as promoting free markets
Racial or Ethnic Groups
AIPAC - American - Israel Public Affairs Committee
- The policies implemented by American government towards Israel is influenced by successive administration and Congress by groups representing nearly 6 million American Jews
- Jewish people have continuously sought to advance Israel’s security and prosperity
In the long term it can have more beneficial impacts as it can improve international relations between America and another countries minority groups
Factors that lead pressure groups to success
Money
‘We are Ohio’ opposed a law and spent around $30 million on their campaign and another group who supported the campaign called ‘building a better Ohio’ spent just under $8 million
- they also gave money to candidates and representatives
- they had a lot of money to advertise themselves and use resources
Membership - large membership normally results in increased votes
‘We are Ohio had 17,000 volunteers knocking on doors to persuade residents to go and vote
- The NRA : in 2007 they had a membership of more than 4 million, a full time and part time staff of over 500 and a budget of more than $200 million
- moreover, a backing of a considerable size reflects that a lot of people feel similar about certain matters and indicates a large base of support
Insider status - AIPAC : insider groups with substantial financial and Human Resources who can establish themselves with an insider status and often operate within the governing circle
- AIPAC is not dependent on GOP or Democratic Party as it can influence legislation whenever to achieve insider status from connections with both parties
Organisation / share opinions with Party in power : opportunity structures are not static and changes in public opinion can open up a new further opportunities . The prospect for particular groups or networks depends on the composition of Congress and the party occupying the White House
e. g GOP are seen as business friendly and are seen to connect and have affinities with socially conservative groups such as the Family Research Council
e. g. Democrats tend to be more sympathetic to new social movements (including gay rights) and minorities but they also have business ties , particularly with the new technology sector
How do pressure groups exert influence during elections ?
- proposing propositions and ballot initiatives - they bring out the support for an issue and it can motivate people to go out and vote on a particular issue e.g. the constitutional right to hunt and fish has been backed consistently by the National Rifle Association
- give endorsements to particular candidates such as Sierra endorsing some GOP’s and NRA endorsing some Democrats
- giving money to a candidate : in the 2016 election cycle , the NRA spent around $900,000 and they do it by giving money to individual candidates
- spending money on advertising (PACs) : once a pac is created they can spend as much money as they want and in the 2016 election cycle PACs spent $182 million
- can also use advertisements to dissuade voting for a particular candidate
- AFL- CIO claimed that in the last four days of campaigning , union members contacted 800,000 votes in Ohio and knocked on 10.7 million doors , this was GOTV (getting out the vote) and mobilising members o
Amicus Curiae
The phrase translates to ‘friend of the Court’ and it is someone who offers information to assist a court case in deciding a matter . The information provided can be presented in a range of methods including a legal opinion in the form of a brief (this is called an amicus brief when offered by an amicus curiae) , a testimony that has not been solicited by any of the parties or learned treatise on a matter that bears on the case
** it is limited because the court accepts only what it wants to do
Mapp vs Ohio
This is a SC decision that held that state and local police might not use illegally obtained evidence at trial , and this was because constitutional issues were raised by ACLU ‘amicus brief’ which guided the court to its decision
Bringing test cases
Test Case: a Case that sets a precedent for other cases involving the same question of law
e.g a legal entity who filed a lawsuit in order to see if the court considers a certain law is applicable in similar circumstances
**can have a huge impact such as FEC vs Citizens United
Reno vs American Civil Liberties
- a Case in which all 9 justices struck down anti-indecency provisions of the community Decency Act - finding that they violated the freedom of speech provisions of the First Amendment
Selection of Justices
Media campaigns for or against judicial appointments
- Robert Bork is an example of this and he wasn’t appointed as a justice due to the success of liberal campaigning
***SC justices can disregard the decision
The NRA disliked Sonia Sotomayor as an application for the Justice of the Supreme Court due to her hostile view of the second amendment
- NEVERTHELESS, the NRA failed to block this appointment
SUPPORTING PLAINTIFFS
Filing lawsuits - an interest group can sponsor a litigant by providing funding and the services of lawyers when cases are brought to the courts. In 1954, the NAACP sponsored a number of school desegregation cases and the most celebrated of these is the brown vs board of education where the NAACP backed the case of Oliver Brown , who was seeking to ensure that this daughter could attend a nearby school rather than a coloured school some distance away
Pressure groups and Congress
It is an important target for pressure group influence because it has real power to shape legislation as it scrutinises , changes and amends legislation
Some groups carry such a political weight that they cannot be ignored and this is reflected by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) which has a large membership with a direct interest in the protection of social security and Medicare .
Hearings of congressional committed and subcommittee provide interest groups with formal opportunities to testify on legislative business before the committee
The expertise of some groups such as NRA means that their advice commands attention
Groups often pool their resources : during 1993/1994, a large number of medical, insurance and other groups used their influence with a variety of Congressional committees to ensure that no radical change in the health care system occurred
Approximately 5000 groups are registered with Congress and that means they are given legal access to the members of Congress in general and the committees in particular
Methods in which pressure groups influence Congress
- they pay lobbyists to contact members of Congress and put forward the case of a particular group
- encourage members to get in touch with their members of Congress
- meet with the member of Congress to enhance their cause and representation
- donate money to a member of Congress
- contact congressional committees to try and influence legislation
Iron Triangles
The closed , mutually supportive relationships that often prevail in the US between the government agencies, the special interest lobbying organisations and the legislative committee or subcommittees with jurisdiction over a particular functional area of government policy is called and Iron Triangle
As long as they stay together , the members of these small groups tend to dominate all policy making in their respective specialised areas of concern and they tend to present a united front against outsider groups who attempt to invade their turf and alter established policies that have been worked out by years of private negotiations
Pressure groups and the President
Influencing the presidents begins with influencing the presidential candidates
- pressure groups can give contributions to candidates in order to try and gain influence for the candidate once they have taken office
e. g. NRA giving $900,000 in 2016 election cycle
Presidents often wish to encourage the support of particular groups - or overcome their resistance to his proposals .
The opposition of groups including the ACLU, NAACP, NOW was crucial in causing the Senate’s rejection of President Reagan’s nomination of Judge Bork to the Supreme Court
Interest Groups and the Executive Bureaucracy
Law has to be implemented by government departments and agencies through the drafting and enforcement of detailed regulations
- groups have a powerful stake in the rules being drafted to maximise the benefits according to them and minimise the costs imposed upon them
- groups have expertise useful to civil deviants so they are often so closely incorporated in Tom decision making procedures established by agencies that the boundaries between government and groups are unclear
Pressure groups and the courts
- pressure groups try to influence the appointment of federal judges . E.g NOW and ACLU campaigning against the appointment of Robert Bork
- both the states and the nation have codified constitutions and this means that courts in the USA has extensive political power .
- The SC protects the procedures of the democratic process and the Court has a special role to overrule certain laws if it offends civil liberties
Pressure groups dominate US politics
- the close involvement of key groups in the passage of important legislation ; such as the role of Pharma in health care reform
- the increasing cost of elections and the consequent need of politics for campaign donations suggest they will be receptive to the views of their donors
- pressure groups such as the NRA have played a major part in preventing legislation being passed through Congress
- conservative groups such as the Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity have influenced the positions of the Republican Party and events such as the government shutdown
- major policy changes on issues such as civil rights , abortion and gay rights have been bought about through pressure group activity
- Black lives matter have raised several issues such as police brutality to greater prominence
Pressure groups don’t dominate US politics
- the majority of US votes are supporters of either GOP or Democrats and see pressure groups as forming less of a part of their indenting
- parties are still the main contact that most voters have with politics
- emergence of two ideologically coherent parties ; they now have their own programmes to advance
- politicians have their own agenda and may ignore very perfil pressure groups ; Obama ignored AIPAC on the Iran Nuclear Deal
- ‘more activity, less clout’ ; there may be lots of access points but all the competing groups will eventually cancel each other out as they cannot all be completely effective at the same time
Pressure groups promote participation and democracy
Participation - organise demonstrations and direct action and grassroots campaigns ; by doing this they raise awareness of issues and encourage a government responds
- many people who view themselves as independents resort to pressure groups as a way to get involved in politics
Checks on government - can help stop government corruption or self- interest and maximise the best wishes of the people e.g. the ACLU specialises in rights protection and encourages the promotion of liberal democracy
- link this to ‘upholding constitutional rights and stopping a tyrannical government’
Give a voice to those people in society that might otherwise have been ignored
- AFLCIO and NAACP
- raise issues of concern that politicians may choose to ignore between elections (climate change)
- interest groups represent specific groups and interest , high levels of representation already exists as a result of the separation of powers and frequent elections
Pressure groups encourage elitism and are undemocratic
Wealthy individuals and groups can have disproportionate influence in determining the outcome of elections (the Koch brothers)
A particular sectional interest of a pressure groups can be pursued at the expense of a broader public interest
- AFL- CIO and NRA
Iron Triangles / revolving door is the idea that those that once held office continue to wield influence once they have left their positions and joined pressure groups ; they already have power
- pressure groups who can afford lobbyists have undue influence in the legislative process e.g. the American Retailers Association
Violent and illegal activity : breaking the law is a challenge to the representative democracy and it can also restrict the rights of others
- the NAACP we’re promoting democracy by directly challenging laws that were already undermining democratic principles
Restriction of elected government - they have no elected mandate but try to stop politicians making decisions
- when the AARP lined up to stop Obama passing Obamacare - this undermined democracy
