Interest Groups

• Interest Groups are groups which influence all politics through the executive, legislature and judiciary. There are many different types of interest groups such as insiders or outsiders, sectional or cause groups, think tanks and social movements.
• Interest groups aim to provide representation or to all branches of society, to influence government policy, providing scrutiny and to protect rights of others
• Interest groups can influence congress by:

  1. Campaign Finance
  2. Voter Guides and Score Cards
  3. Mobilising Membership
  4. Lobbying to Influence how Laws are made
  5. Lobbying to Influence Committees
  6. Iron Triangle
  7. Senate Confirmation of SC appointments
• The National Rifle Association (NRA) is an example of an interest group that represents gun owners. They have around 5 million members and they lobby Congress to prevent restrictions on guns
• The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is an example of an interest group that has over 38 million members who pay dues to join. It aims to represent older people on issues like healthcare and pensions.
• Interest groups influence congress through Campaign Finance by giving directly to PACs and Super PACs (hard money) and since - after Citizens United v FAC - donors can give unlimited amounts of money which led to them outspending public interest groups and trade unions. This finance is used to build relationships with candidates, so they can use this connection if they win the re-election. For example, Robert Reich believes that for every $1 given in campaign contributions, $16 is recieved through this hard money.
• Interest groups can influence congress through voter guides and score cards especially those with large memberships. These cards use a grading system to present how well a candidate has supported their cause throughout their time in office. In addition, voter guides are especially influential is swing seats, with groups often sending millions. For example, The League of National Conservative Voters complied a 'dirty dozen' which highlights the most environmentally-unfriendly, most of whom did not win at re-election.
• Interest groups influence congress by mobilising membership. Members are encouraged to flood representatives with letters and emails so they have no choice but to pay attention to the pressure groups issues. For example the NAACP - which has two million members - regularly send 'action alerts' urging their members to make direct contact with politicians.
• Interest groups use lobbying to influence how laws are made through congressional committees
• Committee chairs have the power to kill legislation and have received the most campaign finance for three terms in a row
• Committee chairs can provide suggestions for amendments or persuade members how to vote by providing staffers who 'draft' legislation and amendments adopted by the Committee
• In the 2018 election cycle, the finance, real estate, and insurance committees alone received just short of $40 million from PACs and individual donors
• Lobbying influences congress using the 'revolving door' to provide incentives to vote in line with the lobbying groups interests. This is extremely common with half of senators becoming lobbyists. Due to the loose definition of what a lobbyist is half go unregulated and is said to be a $7 billion dollar industry. In addition, many congress members are too preoccupied with trying to be re-elected, so cannot conduct their own research, this means they rely on lobbyists and interest groups to aid with this allowing them to directly influence the information they receive.
• Akin Gump is a lobbying firm with a total of $54 million in income from 266 clients in 2023 alone
• Iron Triangles consist of interest groups who provide information and evidence to a congressional committee and federal bureaucracy of their interest in order to provide support so they align their decisions to benefit that group. An example of this is Pfizer (a large pharmaceutical lobbying company), the commerce committee and the food and drug administration which are responsible for the high prices and low regulations on the drug industry.
• Interest groups can influence both congress and the supreme court by setting up campaigns and lobbying to influence supreme court appointments. Using the media to sway public opinion and the senate in order to provide their preferred outcome. For example, The Judicial Crisis Network campaigned against Merrick Garland appointment and was a main donor to support Donald Trumps appointments. All of which was funded from an unknown donor of the Wellspring Committee.
• How are PGs successful?

  1. Politicians are too busy being reelected to do their own research so they rely on interest groups and lobbyists
  2. The revolving door ensures politicians are kept on a short leash, with 30 out of 39 lobbyists in Koch Industries being previous Republican members of Congress
  3. Money guarantees influence and access
  4. Regulations are ineffective
• How are PGs limited?

  1. 2007 Honest Leadership and Open Government Act stop the 'revolving door' jobs that use former committee members to become staffers or lobbyists for that committee, and the Trump Executive Order increased this period to 5 years
  2. Politicians will not just hear from one pressure group due to the wide range and influence
  3. Politicians that align with an interest groups ideologies will form a relationship with them, limiting influence
  4. Powerful politicians attract interest groups - not the other way round
• The executive includes the president, the cabinet and the executive agencies.
• Pressure groups can influence the executive through electioneering, providing campaign finance to help them get reelected which in turn will influence the presidents policy aims. For example, Joe Biden received $700 million from just 230 donors in his first election. This creates a 'quid pro quo' and an elitist system
• Interest groups can influence federal appointment by gaining connections through funding. For example, Trump appointed Betty DeVos as Education Secretary despite having no experience in the educational sector, however she did donate millions to his presidential campaign.
• Federal burecracies - which create regulations in congressional laws - are considered part of the executive and are therefore another way in which interest groups can influence them. By providing information and advice they hold power over the legislative process. For example, Pfizer, Commerce Committee and Food and Drug Administration
• Interest groups can also directly lobby the president by using personal contacts to network and influence the president while they are in office. For example, Donald Trump held many meetings in Palm Beach with billionaires on his private property to discuss politics.
• Judges have life tenure, so the revolving door is not a viable way for interest groups to affect the supreme court. Their wages are fixed, and cannot be denied due to the Constitution. They are not elected so cannot be held accountable by the public and they have no higher power.
• Interest groups can influence the Supreme Court by sponsering a litigant. This is where the group will aid a case so it can go up through all of the courts in hopes of it being heard by the Supreme Court and the court (being able to predict most outcomes due to its ideological nature) will rule in their favor. For example, the NAACP supported Brown v Board through the courts which resulted in desegregation
• Interest groups can influence the supreme court through Amicus Curiae briefs, this translates to 'friend of the court' and contain opinions that the justices can consider when deciding on a case - these are not as effective as previously due to the polarisation of judges. For example, companies such as Apple wrote amicus curiae briefs against Trumps Executive Order on the Travel Ban
• PGs communicate issues outside of the election - such as movements like BLM. It increases participation and gives a voice to the minority, for example the Refugee Council. They provide information, education and are a fundamental part of democracy. Policy makers are not well versed enough on specialist issues to make decisions without assistance and in a pluralist society a multitude of pressure groups with no group having constant control.
• PGs are bad for democracy as the most influencial groups are insider, wealthy groups. Over-representing the wants of the top 1% often with unknown donors that cannot be held accountable. They often contradict public opinion and grassroot groups, having more sway than outsiders due to direct access. This lacks accountability and allows foreign countries to influence government policy - often with a right wing stance. It is an elitist and membership is not as important as wealth.