US pressure groups

Question 1

What are the aims of pressure groups and how do they contribute to democracy?

Answer 1

-they seek to influence policy and decision making
-contribute by encouraging participation, hold govts accountable, creates pluralism

Question 2

How do pressure groups contribute to pluralism?

Answer 2

-induce politicians to take account of a broad range of ideas i.e professional lobbying firms concentrated on K street in DC and get involved in policy-making–} PhRMA lobbied to ensure that the ACA 2010 did not impose strict price controls on prescription drugs
-competition between pressure groups is healthy + results in best policy decisions i.e Americans United for Life campaigns against abortion as opposed to pro-choice Emily’s List
-many of the most significant developments in US history happened with the help of pressure groups i.e NAACP in Brown v Topeka, ACLU in Obergefell v Hodges

Question 3

Arguments for how pressure groups contribute to elitism

Answer 3

-wealthy pressure groups spend heavily on adverts and lobbying i.e US chamber of commerce spent more than 70 million in lobbying efforts in 2022
-corporations are more likely to have direct access to lawmakers via ‘revolving door syndrome’ i.e lawyer Eugene Scalia worked in Bush’s administration and later became a partner at a law
firm where he lobbied on behalf of the US Chamber of Commerce + represented companies like Goldman Sachs before re-joining govt as Secretary of Labor under Trump
-well funded pressure groups can be involved in elections through SuperPACs i.e NRA’s highest spending occured in 2016 election with 54.4 million–} therefore have been successful in resisting gun control laws despite 60% of Americans supporting more restrictive gun laws in 2020

Question 4

Explain what insider groups are and provide examples

Answer 4

-Insider groups have close ties to the govt or main political parties
-i.e American medical association–} AMPAC spent over 2 million in 2022 midterms, successfully lobbied for tighter restrictions on tobacco use(FDA raised smoking age to 21 in 2019)
-US chamber of commerce –} lobbying efforts contributed to the passing of the tax cuts and jobs act 2017(reduced the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%)
-National Rifle Association–} Bill Clinton stated after the 1994 midterms that “The NRA is the reason the Republicans control the House”, helped organise a filibuster in 2013 after Sandy Hook shooting that blocked a bill expanding background checks to cover private gun sales even though polls showed that 90% of Americans supported it

Question 5

Explain what outsider groups are and provide examples

Answer 5

-attempt to influence politicians by generating public pressure via marches, direct action etc
-i.e Climate Direct Action ran ‘valve turner’ protests in 2016 where members turned off the valves on 15% of crude oil imports for nearly a day(several members were convicted)
-Occupy wall street–} series of protest movements in 2011 against economic inequality + handling of 2008 financial crash, protests happened in over 900 cities worldwide
-BLM–} over 7,000 marches in 2020 in all 50 states, George Floyd justice in policing bill(banning the use of chokeholds but wasn’t passed)

Question 6

Explain what causal/promotional groups are and provide examples

Answer 6

-promote a particular cause they believe will benefit society, less out of self-interest
-Greenpeace USA–} projected messages on capitol building i.e “Biden’s Choice: People or Plastic?” in Aug 2024 in support of global plastics treaty, direct action such as members climbing oil rigs in 2015 led to Shell leaving the arctic and stop drilling
-Everytown for Gun safety–} heavily involved in the passing of ballot initiative in Washington that closed loop holes for gun background checks
-ACLU–} filed amicus curiae brief that actively supported legalising gay marriage in Obergefell v Hodges(2015)

Question 7

Explain what sectional/interest groups are and provide examples

Answer 7

-campaign for the interests of members of that group
-i.e AFL-CIO–} focused on improving pay + conditions for workers, successfully lobbied for enhanced unemployment benefits in the American Rescue Plan 2021
-NAACP–} funded Brown v Topeka
-American bar association–} professional organisation representing lawyers, heavily supported the passing of the Fair Chance Act 2019(limits employers from asking about criminal backgrounds during initial hiring stages)

Question 8

Social movements

Answer 8

-much less formalised than pressure groups but play an important role in politics
-increased due to the use of social media–} MeToo movement, youth climate movement

Question 9

Pressure group methods: Electoral campaigning

Answer 9

-can endorse candidates via releasing voting ‘scorecards’ i.e NRA allocates each candidate a grade from A to F based on voting record for gun rights–} 94% Republicans got A grade in the 2020 election
-can make campaign donations i.e League of Conservative voters spent 85 million on electoral campaigning(more than any other single-issue group) in 2018–} 60 of their new congressional candidates elected and Dems won back HOR

Question 10

Electoral campaigning: EMILY’S LIST

Answer 10

-aims to get pro-choice Democratic women elected to office
-spent 37 million in the 2018 midterms leading to record numbers of female congresswomen
-spent 5.5 million on digital advertising for Kamala Harris(elected as VP) and endorsed her as a presidential candidate in 2024

Question 11

Pressure group methods: Lobbying

Answer 11

-pressure groups try to influence members of the executive/legislature–} can share knowledge on policy area and convince politicians to push certain legislative agendas
-right to lobby protected by the constitution in the 1st amendment: right to “petition the govt for a redress of grievances”

Question 12

Lobbying: Insider contacts

Answer 12

-pressure groups can develop relationships with members of congress connected to their policy areas who could help their cause i.e representatives from investment banks JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs had over 350 meetings with federal agencies from 2010 to 2012, as the agencies were writing regulations for the banking sector in response to the financial crash

Question 13

Lobbying: Professional lobbyists

Answer 13

-pressure groups with financial resources often use professional lobbying firms on K street in DC
-i.e in 2019, more than 3.47 billion was spent on federal lobbying
-lobbying usually depends on the current political issues i.e in PhRMA opposed government-set prices for medicines mentioned in the inflation reduction act 2022

Question 14

Lobbying: revolving door syndrome

Answer 14

-lobbying firms try to hire lobbyists who have previously worked within the executive/legislative branch–} lawyer Eugene Scalia worked in Bush’s administration and later became a partner at a law
firm where he lobbied on behalf of the US Chamber of Commerce + represented companies like Goldman Sachs before re-joining govt as Secretary of Labor under Trump

Question 15

Professional lobbying IS elitist

Answer 15

-financially sufficient pressure groups are able to buy influence i.e the US chamber of commerce generally spends more on lobbying than any other pressure group(77 million in 2019) + successfully lobbied for the US-Mexico-Canada agreement
-power of lobbyists can increase based on president i.e Trump hired 281 lobbyists to work in his govt(4x more than Obama) in his first 2 years of office
-revolving door syndrome i.e Lloyd Austin led US central command under Obama, then worked in firms known to be top lobbying spenders in the defence before becoming secretary of defence under Biden’s admin

Question 16

Professional lobbying IS NOT elitist

Answer 16

-congressional regulations on lobbying–} lobbying disclosure act 1995(increases transparency i.e firms are required to register with legislature to lobby) + the Honest Leadership and Open Govt act 2007(places more restrictions on gifts for members of Congress etc)
-financial sufficiency doesn’t guarantee successes i.e US Chamber of Commerce couldn’t convince Trump’s admin to reverse tariffs on goods from China and the EU

Question 17

Pressure group methods: Using the courts

Answer 17

-pressure groups can target an area of law they wish to change + appeal their case to the supreme court
i.e NAACP funded Brown v Topeka(1954)–} SC decided that the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ was unconstitutional
i.e ACLU brought the case Obergefell v Hodges(2015) which legalised same sex marriage

Question 18

Give examples of legal challenges presented by pressure groups

Answer 18

-legal challenges can target state laws i.e. Planned parenthood v Casey(1992): organisation filed lawsuit against governor of PA for enacting abortion restrictions based on state legislations–} one of the restrictions were struck down, upholding the right to abortion
-pressure groups can also hold the executive to account i.e ACLU enacted 56 legal challenges against Trump’s admin from 2017-18, including ban on immigrants from Muslim countries–} it was halted by court in 2017 so he modified his ban to include several non-Muslim countries

Question 19

Pressure group methods: Amicus Curiae briefs

Answer 19

-‘friend of the court’
-when lawyers write briefs on behalf of a pressure group to submit to a court case
-number submitted has increased in previous years–} average of 1 in a SC case in the 1950s whereas a record of 16 were submitted per case in 2019-20
-some briefs can influence the decision-making process as justices will refer to them i.e justice Ruth BG quoted from the Jewish war veterans of USA’s brief to support her dissent from Court’s ruling

Question 20

Criticisms of amicus curiae briefs

Answer 20

-briefs written by justices are more likely to be cited by justices–} favours pressure groups with specialist legal expertise(40% of cited green briefs were written by these kinds of pressure groups between 2019-20)
-briefs are an expensive process meaning wealthy pressure groups can use it more effectively than others

Question 21

Pressure group methods: Grassroots campaigning

Answer 21

-‘grassroots’ refers to the membership–} those who pay membership fee which provides revenue for the group
-groups can get members to contact members of Congress/govt via social media, phone calls, writing letters etc to show mass support
-can also share pressure groups’ advertising on social media and generate publicity i.e BLM, Fridays for Future US(youth-led climate justice group inspired by Greta Thunberg)

Question 22

Pressure group methods: Direct action

Answer 22

-using methods that force the govt to make concessions instead of standard constitutional methods of campaigning
-i.e anti-Vietnam war protests in the late 60s and early 70s(record of 500,000 in NYC in 1967) involved many pressure groups like SANE
-African American protestors in the 1950s and 60s used sit ins in segregated white only areas as well as bus boycotts
-however some direct action demonstrations can incite violence i.e 2021 Capitol Hill insurrection led to 5 people dying and 174 police officers injured

Question 23

Pressure group funding

Answer 23

-pressure groups spend millions on electoral finance
-due to independent expenditures(soft money) they can spend unlimited amounts of money
-i.e pro-life Democrat congressman Dan Lipinski received support from pro-life pressure group SBA list, who spent 100,000 campaigning for him and canvassed 17,000 homes which helped secure his win

Question 24

Electoral funding: The NRA

Answer 24

-known as one of the most powerful pressure groups in the US due to its electoral funding
-increased polarisation in their support of candidates–} 37% of their congressional campaign spending went to Democrats in 1992 but 98% of its 2016 spending went to Republicans
-However, they spent 169,000 dollars in 2012 opposing the reselection of moderate republican senator Richard Lugar, who received an F rating from them
-spent 30 million on Trump’s 2016 campaign but Trump publicly accused Republican senator of not including age limit on his bill for gun background checks as he was ‘afraid of the NRA’
-NRA has continued to endorse Trump and Vance in 2024 election

Question 25

Funding of Washington insiders

Answer 25

-many pressure groups focus their resources on the main 2 presidential candidates as well as influential individuals within congress
-Soft money donations in senate races(over 1,000 million) was more than double House races(702 million) in 2020
-senators have a 6 year term and have greater influence–} a total of 96% of the NRA’s 2016 budget was spent on 6 senate races and the presidential campaign

Question 26

Reinforcing incumbency

Answer 26

-the tendency of pressure groups to fund Washington insiders has the effect of reinforcing the incumbency advantage in elections
-incumbents have a higher profile, so find it easier to attract campaign donations
-in the 2024 election, 95% of incumbents nationwide were elected
-however pressure groups are not always helpful to incumbents i.e Representative Cori Bush lost her seat in the 2024 congressional election after American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its affiliated Super PAC spent over 8 million dollars in support of her opponent

Question 27

Iron Triangles

Answer 27

-describes the close relationship between congress, the exec branch and interest groups

Question 28

Interest group’s role in the iron triangle

Answer 28

-influence congress by making donations to candidates’
election campaigns i.e NRA has consistently backed NC senator Thom Tills with an A+ rating and he became the third-largest beneficiary of NRA funding in Congress in 2018
-may also be responsible for a large proportion of employment in certain congressional districts
-interest groups can use their influence over congress to put pressure on the executive i.e NAACP lobbied and worked with members of congress to advocate for the passing of the civil rights act

Question 29

Congress’ role in the Iron Triangle

Answer 29

-responsible for funding executive departments + for producing laws that affect those dept’s policy areas i.e appropriations committees in both the House and Senate control the budget for the Department of Defence
-congress can influence pressure groups as it may pass legislation that affects them i.e the ACA 2010 led major reforms to healthcare systems, such as expanding health insurance which impacted many healthcare/economy focused pressure groups(US chamber of commerce was against it)
-carries out oversight of pressure groups’ activities via congressional committees i.e Senate committee on finance–} PhRMA, American medical association etc)

Question 30

Executive’s role in the Iron Triangle

Answer 30

-create the regulations that pressure groups must follow
-influence congress by setting the policy agenda and determining how the federal bureaucracy will implement congress’ laws i.e Trump pushing for immigration policies + declaring national emergency in 2019 to redirect funding for border wall

Question 31

Example of the Iron Triangle: ‘military-industry complex’

Answer 31

-Eisenhower warned that ‘military-industry’ complex was growing too powerful and could lead to defence + foreign policies that were not in the public’s interest
-modern defence companies spend millions on professional lobbyists to get support from congress members i.e Lockheed Martin(largest US defence company) spends around 14 million a year on professional lobbyists–} claimed that building the USA’s most expensive weapons system would create 125,000 jobs for over 46 states, putting pressure on those state’s members to support it
-defence companies donate millions to campaigns i.e total of more than 30 million in 2018 election cycle, Dem congressman Joe Courtney chairs a subcommittee of the House Armed Services committee and defence contractors were the biggest contributors to his 2019-20 fundraising
-revolving door between the big defence contractors and the Pentagon(defence department) i.e Patrick Shanahan served as Trump’s deputy defence secretary in 2017 + acting defence secretary in 2019–} was previously senior VP of Boeing and in govt he oversaw contracts with worth 13.7 billion in Sept 2018 alone

Question 32

Example of Iron Triangle: pharmaceutical companies + the FDA

Answer 32

-pharma companies pursue strong links with the FDA(regulates pharmaceuticals)
-focus attention on members of key congressional committees i.e Anna Eshoo, chair of House energy subcommittee on health received hundreds of thousands in donations from pharmaceutical + health companies in 2020 election cycle
-revolving door i.e Scott Gottleib worked with the several pharmaceutical companies before being appointed as head of FDA in 2017, then joined board of directors at Pfizer in 2019

Question 33

Pressure groups are more powerful than political parties

Answer 33

-Iron triangles allow some large corporations + interest groups to influence executive and congress i.e Lockheed Martin, NRA
-campaign donations + professional lobbyists allow pressure groups to influence elections i.e soft money donations, reinforcing incumbents
-revolving door allows pressure groups to maintain close relationship with congress + executive i.e Eugene Scalia, Lloyd Austin

Question 34

Political parties are more powerful than pressure groups

Answer 34

-parties formulate policy for all areas of govt i.e ACA 2010, civil rights act 1964
-they select + support electoral candidates i.e the DNC(democrat national committee) raised + allocated funds for Biden’s 2020 campaign and held the convention for his selection, where high-profile individuals like Obama endorsed him
-wield legislative power in congress in united govt i.e House republicans stuck with party vote an average of 91% and Democrats 89% in 2018

Question 35

What is the difference between hard money and soft money?

Answer 35

-hard money refers to direct donations to a particular candidate whereas soft money refers to funds given to a political party or PAC and would be used to indirectly promote the candidate i.e ‘independent expenditure’–} money spent campaigning for or against a particular candidate without involvement of a party/candidate
-hard money is regulated and limited by the FEC whereas there are no limits on soft money contributions

Question 36

PACs

Answer 36

-pressure groups + politicians use PACs to raise money for political campaigning
-pressure groups make ‘hard money’ donations through their PACs but donations to each individual, party committee or other PAC is limited to 5,000 a year
-also cannot give more than 5,000 to a candidate’s campaign per year BUT can make unlimited independent expenditures

Question 37

Super PACs

Answer 37

-in citizens united v FEC 2010, the court ruled that the first amendment right to free speech applies to corporations, unions + pressure groups the same way it does to individuals
-pressure groups can spend unlimited amounts on political campaigning under free speech–} done via SuperPACs that spend an unlimited amount on independent expenditures
-i.e in the 2020 election, SuperPACs spent 1.8 billion in total during battle over control of the senate

Question 38

PACs and Super PACs have too much influence in elections

Answer 38

-these groups are funded by a small minority of citizens i.e less than 1% of American adults provided 2/3 of the funding for federal candidates in 2016
-right to spend unlimited amount through Super PACs allow pressure groups to bypass campaign finance restrictions i.e most of the League of conservative voters’ 85 million dollars spent on the 2018 election cycle was through their Super PAC the LCV victory fund
-electoral funding may mean legislators are more concerned with their financial backers and not the public i.e Shanahan signed contracts worth 13.7 billion to Boeing, his former employers, as defence secretary

Question 39

PACs and Super PACs don’t have too much influence in US elections

Answer 39

-large donations don’t guarantee victory i.e in 2016, Super PACs like priorities USA action spent 129 million more in support of Clinton than Trump
-one of the largest increases in election spending predated the creation of Super PACs–} Obama rejected matching funds between 2004-08, which freed him from spending restrictions
-Super PAC spending helps the campaigns of political parties i.e in the 2020 election cycle, the Republican National Committee spent more than 500 million and then DNC more than 325 million

Question 40

Pressure groups in the US are too powerful

Answer 40

-Citizens united case increased the role of pressure groups funding in elections–} elitist and unpopular i.e 2018 study showed that 75% of the public supported a constitutional amendment to reverse it, including 66% Republican voters, Clinton(2016) and Biden(2020) both promised to work to reverse it in their campaigns
-Iron triangle can lead to the executive and congress taking decisions that benefit interest groups over the people i.e congress’ continued approving funding for Lockheed Martin building fighter jets + Lockheed Martin donating 4 million in 2020 election cycle to congressional committees
-pressure groups are able to have legislative influence i.e the NRA successfully opposed gun control legislation from 2012 to 2014, despite support from the public + Obama(sandy Hook etc)

Question 41

Pressure groups in the USA are not too powerful

Answer 41

-have helped bring many successful legal challenges to light i.e NAACP in Brown v Topeka, ACLU in Obergefell v Hodges
-can help legislators protect citizen’s constitutional rights + liberties i.e NRA defends the right to bear arms, Emily’s list works to reinforce reproductive rights
-grassroots campaigning + direct action can put important issues on the agenda i.e BLM led to some state reforms–} Cali + NY banning the use of chokeholds, Greenpeace protecting the arctic