Notes Interest Groups

Notes: Interest Groups Types of Interest Groups Interest Group Classifications and Selected Examples Table 6.1 shows the three types of interest groups and examples of each. Classification Sector Examples Economic Agriculture Texas Farm Bureau Business Texas Association of Business Energy Texas Oil and Gas Association Labor Texas AFL-CIO Occupations & Professions Texas Association of Realtors, Texas Automobile Dealers Association, Texas Medical Association, Texas Trial Lawyers Association Tort Reform Texans for Lawsuit Reform Abortion NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, Texas Right to Life Environment Environment Texas, Texas League of Conservation Voters Personal Liberties American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Texas State Rifle Association Public Interest Public Citizen Texas, Texans for Public Justice Public Policy Center for Public Policy Priorities, Texas Public Policy Foundation Education Texas State Teachers Association Group Rights Equality Texas, League of United Latin American Citizens, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Noneconomic Mixed There are three main types of interest groups: ● Economic ● Noneconomic ● Mixed Interest group: A voluntary organization that strives to influence public policy; sometimes known as a pressure group ● Economic interest groups seek financial advantages for their members. ● Noneconomic groups seek the betterment of society as a whole or the reform of the political, social, or economic systems in ways that do not directly affect their members’ pocketbooks. ● Groups pursuing both social equality and economic goals are classified as mixed or hybrid organizations. Economic Groups ➔ Seek financial advantages for their members ➔ Business & agricultural groups want to keep taxes low, subsidies, limit regulation, and receive government contracts to increase profits ➔ Professional groups want to limit entry to their professions to reduce competition ➔ Public education groups fight for school privatization and an increase in salaries and benefits for teachers ➔ Labor unions want generous workers comp, better safety regulations, and laws that make organizing labor unions easier Noneconomic Groups ➔ Seek betterment of society either as a whole or the reform of political, social, or economic systems ➔ Individuals who join noneconomic interest groups are motivated by personal values and intense passion (ex: Texas Right to Life movement) Mixed Groups ➔ Do not fit neatly into economic or the noneconomic classification because they pursue social goals that also have econ0mic effects which blur the classification lines Interest Groups’ Targets and Tactics Figure 6.1 Interest Groups’ Tools of Influence Interest groups adapt their tactics and the tools of influence they use depending on the part of the political system they are trying to influence. Ultimately their source of power is the ability to persuade. Lobbying the Legislature ● LObbying ● Preparing to lobby ● Socializing ● Using tools of persuasion ● Targeting key legislators Lobbying: Directly contacting public officials to advocate for a public policy. Influencing the Executive Branch ● Targeting the rule-making process ○ Implementation ○ Discretion ● Targeting the appointment process ● Co-opting state agencies ○ Clientele groups ○ Co-optation Texas Register: The official publication of the state that gives the public notice of proposed actions and adopted policies of the executive branch Clientele interest groups: The groups most affected by a government agency’s regulations and programs; frequently, these interest groups form close alliances with the agency based on mutual support and accommodation. Co-optation: Such a close alliance that develops between state regulatory agencies and their clientele group that the regulated have, in effect, become the regulators; the interest group has captured such complete control of their regulatory agency that they are essentially self-regulated. Targeting the Rule-Making Process ● Influencing the judicial selection process ● Filing suit in court Implementation: Administrative agencies carrying out broad public policies, enforcing state laws, providing public services, and managing day-to-day government activities. Discretion: Wide latitude to make decisions within the broad requirements set out in the law. Targeting the Courts ● Influencing the judicial selection process ● Filing suit in court Shaping the Political Environment ● Electioneering ● Contributing to campaigns ○ Access: “get in the door” to sit down and talk to public officials ● Educating the public ● Organizing public demonstrations ○ Astroturf lobbying: demonstrations to give the impression of public support Access: The ability to “get in the door” to sit down and talk to public officials. Campaign contributions are often used to gain access. Astroturf lobbying: Special interest groups orchestrating demonstrations to give the impression of widespread and spontaneous public support. The Balance of Political Power in Texas ➔ Business and professional interest groups in Texas typically align with the Republican party ➔ Environmental groups, organized labor, civil rights organizations, and groups advocating for low-income Texans often support the Democratic party ➔ The groups mentioned above usually have far less influence than the business/professional groups when it comes to public policy Texas’s Most Powerful Interest Groups Biggest Lobby Spenders: ➢ Energy and natural resources ➢ Health, finance, and communications industries ➢ Energy and utility companies like AT&T and Oncor Umbrella organizations: Associations formed by smaller interests joining together to promote common policy goals by making campaign contributions and hiring lobbyists to represent their interests Figure 6.2 Lobby Spending in Texas This figure shows which interests spent the most on lobbying by taking the mean of the minimum and maximum value of their lobbying contracts during the 2013 legislative session. By late May 2013, 1,663 Texas lobbyists reported that 2,820 clients took out 8,172 paid lobbying contracts worth a grand total of at least $155 million. ➔ Business is not monolithic, and some businesses are at odds with each other such as Truckers and railroad freight, oil and gas companies, and clean energy A Tale of Two Lobbying Efforts: Tesla vs. TADA ➔ Tesla has a non-traditional model for selling cars and does not have dealers sell their cars and sells it directly to consumers ➔ This model is illegal in Texas, and the only way Texas consumers can buy their cars is if it is online ➔ Therefore CEO Elon Musk, during the 2015 legislative session, went all out and spent $1 million on two dozen lobbyists such as Allen Blakemore and Mike Toomey ➔ This was a big challenge, though, because the opposite interest group was one of the most powerful in Texas: Texas Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) ➔ TADA ended up winning in the end as they are a very influential company in Texas despite Elon Musk being one of the richest and influential men in the world Interest Group Alliances and the Dynamics of Power ● Iron triangles ● Issue networks ● Political movements Iron triangle: A long-standing alliance among interest groups, legislators, and bureaucrats held together by mutual self interest that they act as a subsystem in the legislative and administrative decision-making process. Issue networks: Dynamic alliances among a wide range of individuals and groups activated by broad public policy questions. Political movement: A mass alliance of like-minded groups and individuals seeking broad changes in the direction of government policies. Sizing Up Interest Groups and Their Influence The Positive Role of Interest Groups ● Representation and mobilization ● The benefits of pluralism ○ Pluralist theory Pluralist theory: The view that in a free society public policy should be made by a multitude of competing interest groups, assuring that policies will not benefit a single elite at the expense of the many. Criticisms and Reforms ● Elitism and the culture of nonparticipation ● Exploitation of weak state institutions ● The reloving door ○ Conflict of interest ● Suspect interest group practices ○ Late-train contributions Elitist theory: The view that the state is ruled by a small number of participants who exercise power to further their own self-interest. Revolving door: The interchange of employees between government agencies and the private businesses with which they have dealings. Conflict of interest: A situation in which public officers stand to benefit personally from their official decisions. Late-train contributions: Campaign funds given to the winning candidate after the election up to 30 days before the legislature comes into session. Such contributions are designed to curry favor with winning candidates. The Regulation of Lobbying ● Lobbyist Reports ○ Actual clients General areas of policy concerns ○ Range of compensation ○ Expenditures on communication to support or oppose legislation ○ Expenditures on state legislators (over $50 a day) ● Evaluating Reporting Requirements ○ Critics say the public is ill-informed and categories too broad ○ Texas Ethics Commission: a better library than a cop Chapter Summary Define interest groups and identify their major types. Interest groups are organizations of private citizens exercising their constitutional right to organize in an attempt to influence public policy. Economic interest groups seek to influence public policies that affect their pocketbooks, while noneconomic interest groups strive to realize their religious, political, or personal values. Some groups, like civil rights groups, work for the ideal of equality and financial self-interest as well. Describe how interest groups influence public policies in Texas. Interest groups adjust their strategies to maximize their potential influence on each major type of policymaker in the Texas government. Their major tactics include lobbying, making campaign contributions, organizing public relations campaigns, and filing suit in the courts. Interest groups have refined lobbying to an art form as they try to sway legislative and executive branches members to their policy positions. Like salespeople for their groups’ ideas, lobbyists socialize with decision-makers to build personal relationships, making them receptive to emotional appeals, ideological appeals, and persuasive information. In addition, lobbyists conduct research and draft proposed bills for the legislative branch even as they monitor and shape the rule-making process in the executive branch. Interest groups have also developed electioneering and public relations into a fine art. Campaign contributions give lobbyists access to elected officeholders. In addition, organizing public demonstrations, letter-writing campaigns, and advertising campaigns can help create a political environment that makes public officials receptive to appeals to interest groups. Analyze the political balance of power among interest groups in Texas. Business interest groups, such as the Texas Association of Business, the energy and natural resources industries, utilities, and health-related businesses, are dominant in Texas. However, socially conservative groups closely aligned with state Republicans have considerable influence as well. Iron triangles dominate narrow public policy decisions, but once in a while, public policy battles over broad issues, such as taxation, abortion, education, or the environment, involve broader interest group alliances as more interest groups and individuals become active on a wider political battlefield. Evaluate the role of interest groups in Texas politics and policy formulation. The United States and Texas constitutions promote political expression and the right to organize to petition public officials. These rights recognize that representatives can only represent their constituents’ wishes when citizens can effectively communicate their policy positions. Interest groups play a positive role in the political system by mobilizing citizens and presenting their policy viewpoints to public officials. In a diverse, pluralistic state like Texas, no single group can dominate completely in a state that has divided and dispersed its institutional powers. Critics charge that too few Texans have joined any interest groups. Because effective use of interest group tools requires money, the most powerful interest groups are those that represent narrow elites. Interest groups create conflicts of interest by opening the revolving door, tempting officials with campaign contributions, and exploiting weak state institutions. Public interest groups and the media publicize reports on interest group activity. Still, lobby reports to the Texas Ethics Commission do not reveal the specific policies on lobbyists’ work or the implied understandings that come with campaign contributions. Review Questions 6.1 Define interest groups and identify their major types. What are interest groups? What do they do? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What are the major types of interest groups? Identify an interest group in each subcategory. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.2 Describe how interest groups influence public policies in Texas. How do interest groups use different approaches to influence each of the three branches of government? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Do campaign contributions affect public policy-making in Texas? How? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What is lobbying? What does a lobbyist do? What techniques do lobbyists use to influence state officials? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.3 Analyze the political balance of power among interest groups in Texas. Which interests are the most powerful in Texas? Why? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ How does the scope of a proposed policy affect the number of interests that attempt to bring their influence to bear in the decision-making process? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.4 Evaluate the role of interest groups in Texas politics and policy formulation. How is interest group formation a constitutional right? What positive services do interest groups perform for the political system? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What are the criticisms of interest groups? Define conflicts of interest. Describe regulations that would minimize them. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Describe the differences between elitist and pluralist theories. Which theory best describes Texas politics? Why? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 6 Quiz According to state law, which of the following statements about lobbying is incorrect? A) Individuals and organizations that spend more than a specified amount of money on members of the legislature are required to report those expenditures. B) Not all lobbyists are required by state law to report their activities. C) All lobbyists must file financial reports with the secretary of state/ D) Lobbyists must report the general areas of their policy concerns. Which of the following is NOT a way that interest groups educate the public? A) by engaging in social media campaigns B) by the use of print and broadcast advertising C) by sponsoring grassroots organizations D) by contributing to legislator's campaigns The ability to "get in the door" to sit down and talk to public officials is called A) Contribution B) Access C) Political influence D) lobbying A mass alliance of like-minded groups and individuals seeking broad changes in the direction of government policies is called a(n) A) political movement B) umbrella alliance C) political demonstration D) Iron triangle What theory takes the view that the state is ruled by a small number of participants, who exercise power to further their own self-interest? A) Populist theory B) Elitist theory C) Pluralist theory D) Umbrella theory The Texas Register is used by state agencies to provide A) a notice of the agencies' intent to make a rule. B) a list of monetary contributions made to various agencies by interest groups. C) guidelines issued by the agencies on how to interact with interest group D) a list of all state lobbyists working with the agencies Direct contact between an interest group representative and an officer of government is an example of A) Electioneering B) Advocacy C) Lobbying D) co-optation Which of the following has occurred when a public official makes a decision that might result in a personal economic advantage? A) Access B) Conflict of interest C) Co-optation D) advocacy Which of the following are LEAST likely to subscribe to the Texas Register? A) Ordinary citizens B) Interest groups C) Labor unions D) corporations Lobbyists influence the courts in Texas in all of the following ways EXCEPT A) directly lobbying judges at all court levels B) actively campaigning for candidates who support their cause C) filing suit in court to win legal rulings that benefit their interests D) encouraging the governor to fill court vacancies with friendly judicial appointees Which of the following statements about interest groups is incorrect? A) Interest groups seek narrower interests than that of political parties. B) Interest groups must work with political parties to achieve their goals. C) Interest groups nominate candidates for office. D) Interest groups seek to influence the government. When citizens join together in a voluntary organization in order to influence public policy, they act as A) political parties B) policy networks C) an iron triangle D) an interest group Which characteristic of the structure of government in Texas makes it difficult for one interest to dominate the whole government? A) Appointed officials with fixed terms B) Checks and balances C) All of these choices are true D) Separation of powers The members of the Texas legislature must be provided with a list of registered lobbyists and their clients by A) February 1 of each legislative session B) March 1 of each legislative session C) July 1 of each legislative session D) January 1 of each legislative session Which is NOT a tool used by interest groups to influence state decision-makers? A) contributing money through PACs B) nominating candidates for office C) recommending that its members vote for a particular candidate D) filing suit in court The "revolving door" refers to A) the way interest groups influence the selection of judges B) the practice of legislators relying on lobbyists for information C) the practice of ex-legislators becoming lobbyists D) the increase in the number of interest groups lobbying legislators In Texas, when the agriculture industry forms a relationship with the commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture as well as with members of the house and senate agriculture committee, this is an example of A) an iron triangle B) a revolving door C) an umbrella organization D) a political movement “Iron triangles” are composed of which of the following? A) the governor, legislators, and bureaucrats B) legislators, judges, and bureaucrats C) the governor, business executives, and interest groups D) interest groups, legislators, and bureaucrats The blurring of lines between the state and a special interest group is called A) Negative cooperation B) Discretion C) Symmetry D) co-optation Interest groups can be classified as economic, noneconomic, and A) Political B) Regulatory C) Special purpose D) mixed An organization created by smaller interest groups to promote common goals is identified as what type of organization? A) B) C) D) Astroturf Shield Umbrella triangle In Texas, the right of people to join an interest group is a fundamental right A) spelled out only in the Texas Constitution B) that has been taken away from the people of Texas C) spelled out only in the U.S. Constitution D) spelled out in both the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution Which of the following concerning campaign contributions for state house and senate candidates in Texas is correct? A) Campaign contributions may not be given to legislators once they have been elected. B) State law forbids giving and accepting campaign contributions 30 days before the start of a legislative session. C) State law allows campaign contributions to be given to any legislator at any point in time. D) Campaign contributions are expressly prohibited in Texas. Business and agriculture interest groups are interested in all of the following EXCEPT A) keeping their taxes low B) securing subsidies C) encouraging government regulations D) receiving government contracts to increase profits What type of interest group seeks the betterment of society as a whole or the reform of the political, social, or economic system in ways that do not directly affect their member’s pocketbooks? A) special purpose interest groups B) noneconomic interest groups C) mixed interest groups D) economic interest groups