Interest Groups and Public Opinion Fall, 2014

What is an Interest Group?

• Interest group: a group of people who share common goals and organise to influence government

• Examples?

• What would Madison say?

• He would have called them “factions”

• “By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community”

More on Interest Groups

• Compared to political parties:

• Parties...

• nominate candidates and try to win elections

• are broad-based organisations

• elect officials from geographic areas

• Interest groups...

• support candidates, don’t nominate them

• usually are only concerned with a specific issue or two

• are organised on the basis of common values, not geographic areas

More on Interest Groups

• They are linkage institutions — they link citizens to government (others: elections, political parties)

• Why do people belong to interest groups?

1. Promotes their economic self-interest

2. Centres on their values, beliefs, attitudes

3. They like the company of the group members

• Kinds of interest groups:

• Business and labour

• Business example: Mortgage Bankers Association

• Labour-related example: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW, which is AFL-CIO-affiliated

More on Interest Groups, continued

• Other kinds of interest groups:

• Agricultural groups

• Example: National Corn Growers Association

• Other types

• Professional Associations; example: National Association of Realtors

• Environmental Groups; example: National Resource Defense Council

• Public-Interest Groups; example: Common Cause, ACLU

How Interest Groups Affect Public Policy

• What is public policy?

• “the course of action that a government takes in response to an issue or a problem”

• They make direct contact with government leaders, lawmakers, or other officials

• this process is known as lobbying; people who do this are called lobbyists

• Who are lobbyists?

• Often former government officials

• What do they do?

• Provide information that supports position of interest group

• Help write bills

The Work of Interest Groups...

• Interest groups often run publicity campaigns

• They use the mass media to inform the public and create support for their views

• They urge people to write letters or call senators

• or tweet to them

• What are limitations to interest groups?

• Why “none” — First Amendment

• Campaign finance laws — limit their spending

• Large groups have diverse membership

• Pluralism: they compete against one another

...and PACs

• While interest groups lobby, money provided often comes from PACs

• remember: they’re organisations specially formed to collect money and provide support for candidates

• Interest groups provide money to campaigns, often through PACs

• Affiliated PACs: tied or organisations, labour groups, businesses

• like National Association of Realtors

• Non-affiliated PACs: not connected to an interest group

• like “AmeriPAC: The Fund for a Greater America”

How Do Interest Groups Exert Influence?

• Trade support for access: give money to government officials who support your position...

• PACs support incumbents more than challengers

• Interest groups also spend independently of campaigns

• ...and hope they get elected

• It is very difficult to unseat an incumbent