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the strength
t
OF INTEREST GROUPS
he policymaking influence of
interest groups depends on
several factors:
Alliances with Political
Parties
In American politics, some interest
groups have loose, informal alliances
with political parties. Labor unions,
African American rights groups,
women’s organizations, environmentalists, gun-control
groups, abortion-rights
organizations, and gay
and lesbian rights
groups are generally
aligned with the Democratic Party. Business groups, the NRA,
National Right to Life
Committee, anti-tax organizations, and conservative
Christian organizations are tied to
the Republican Party. Interest
groups have more policymaking influence when the party with which
they are allied is successful than
when it is out of office.
Alliances with Members
of Congress and
Executive Branch Officials
The policymaking influence of interest groups depends on their ability to
cultivate relationships with key officials in the legislative and executive
branches of government, regardless
of which party controls Congress or
the White House. Business
groups compensate for Democratic control of Congress by establishing
ties with committee
and subcommittee
chairs through campaign contributions
and effective lobbying. Frequently, business lobbyists succeed in
softening the impact of
regulatory legislation on their
particular industry.
Public Opinion
Public opinion affects the ability of
interest groups to achieve their pol-
icy goals. Interest groups are most
successful when their policy goals
enjoy strong public support.
Unity among Groups Representing the Same Cause
Interest groups have more influence
when organizations representing the
same or similar interests or points of
view share goals and speak with one
voice.
Opposition from Other
Groups
A group’s policy influence depends
on the extent of opposition from
other groups. Interest groups are
most successful on issues in which
there is no conflict among groups.26
Doctors’ groups and lawyers’ associations, for example, butt heads over
the issue of medical malpractice insurance reform. Environmental and
business groups often oppose one
another on environmental issues. On
many issues, public officials can
choose which interests to court, playing one group off against another.
groups
> interest
&
CONCLUSION
PUBLIC POLICY
nterest groups are an important
part of the policymaking process
in a democracy. Interest groups
moderate the interaction between ordinary citizens and government officials. They educate citizens about political issues, mobilize
supporters to go to the polls, make
policy demands on the government,
and attempt to hold elected officials
i
accountable for their actions.
Democracy is strongest in societies
with large number of competing interest groups because they help prevent the concentration of power.27
Agenda Building
Interest groups are prominent participants in the process that deter-
mines the issues that are part of the
nation’s policy agenda. Much of
American politics involves battles
between groups on different sides of
an issue trying to sell their perspective on the issue to the general public and to government decisionmakers. Whereas public health
groups address the issue of government regulation of tobacco from a
conclusion: interest groups & public policy 147
11/26/09
health perspective, tobacco companies attempt to frame the issue in
terms of economics or government
regulation. Tobacco interests partner with restaurant associations to
oppose state and local efforts to
prohibit smoking in restaurants
and other public places, arguing
that the restriction would hurt
business. The added advantage of
this strategy for the tobacco industry is that it allows a group with a
more favorable public image than
tobacco companies to take the public relations lead on the issue.
Interest groups contribute to the
polarization of American politics because groups tend to represent issue
extremes rather than more moderate
policy options. For example, people
who believe that abortion should be
legal but restricted represent the majority, but their voices are not heard.
People who believe that abortion
should be legal but greatly restricted
have no group to speak for them
even though they represent the majority.28 Polls show that only a minority of Americans believe that
abortion should be illegal in all circumstances (18 percent) or legal in
all circumstances (26 percent).29
Policy Formulation
and Adoption
Interest groups play a major role in
policy formulation. Groups are seldom satisfied with putting their particular issue on the policy agenda.
They also want government to ad-
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dress the issue from their
perspective. The oil and
gas industry favors energy policies that focus
on expanding production. In contrast, environmentalists push for
an energy policy that
emphasizes conservation
and the development of
alternative fuels. Sometimes government policies reflect the triumph
of one set of interest groups over another. More frequently, public policies are the result of compromise
among competing interests over the
details of policy.
Interest groups do not adopt policies directly because adoption is the
responsibility of members of Congress, the president, and other government officials. Nonetheless, interest groups try to affect policy
adoption. By contributing money to
candidates and making endorsements, groups attempt to influence
the selection of officeholders. After
the election is over, groups lobby for
and against the adoption of particular policies. Americans for Tax Reform, a cause group, asks candidates
and officeholders to sign a “Taxpayer
Protection Pledge,” a written
promise to oppose any and all efforts
to increase taxes. The list of elected
officials who have signed the pledge
includes 193 members of the House,
41 senators, 8 governors, and more
than 1,200 state legislators.30
Policy Implementation
and Evaluation
Interest groups work to influence
policy implementation. Groups that
have been successful during the
policy formulation and adoption
stages try to ensure that the policies
are implemented favorably, whereas
groups who lost at earlier stages
work to minimize the impact of a
policy.
Finally, interest groups attempt
to put their interpretation onto a
policy’s evaluation in hopes that
government officials will change it
to reflect their perspective. Environmental organizations blame the
nation’s energy policy for global
warming and rising gasoline prices,
arguing that the nation needs to focus on conservation and the development of alternative fuels. In contrast, the oil and gas industry insists
that the solution to high gasoline
prices is more energy development,
both in the ANWR and offshore.
>
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More Guns, Safer Campus?
By PAT DOYLE, Minneapolis-St. Paul
Star Tribune
In the Know |
Search
APRIL 16, 2008
A year after a deranged gunman killed 32 students and faculty at Virginia Tech, a debate
over thwarting future attacks continues in Minnesota, where a legislator advocates allowing
students to carry concealed weapons for
protection on campus.
The proposal by Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good
Thunder, faces an uphill climb but reflects a
national movement among gun advocates and
some students to overturn prohibitions on students carrying weapons at college.
Contradicting the prevailing view and policies
of Minnesota universities, the gun supporters argue that trained, armed students would prevent
or minimize violence on campus.
Alex Tripp, a student at Minnesota State University, Mankato, who is active in the effort to
allow students to carry guns, cited the
shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois
University in a recent letter to Cornish urging a
change in state law.
“Before last year’s shootings I never was
scared on campus,” Tripp wrote. “After these
two shootings, I am scared. Very scared.”
But opponents of the measure say there is no
evidence that allowing students to carry concealed weapons would improve campus safety.
“It would raise more risks,” said Heather
Martens, president of Citizens for a Safer Minnesota, adding that firearms would introduce a
new danger to college drinking and suicide attempts. She said the 2003 state law allowing
adults to carry concealed weapons in most
places didn't improve public safety, so “why
would it improve public safety on campuses?”
Martens was among two dozen people
attending a rally outside the Capitol Wednesday
to urge tougher background checks for gun
purchasers, saying the Virginia violence might
have been prevented with better regulations.
University general counsel Mark Rotenberg
said rare episodes of violence at American universities don't justify allowing guns on campus
for protection.
“There are spectacular examples . . . of
violence on university campuses, but the facts
are that this university and most university
campuses are among the very safest places in
the urban area,” he said.
Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, who opposes Cornish’s campus gun bill, warned that it
could advance as part of broader legislation.
Paymar has proposed a bill calling for better
background checks that has stalled in the Legislature. At the rally, he blamed the inaction on
his own bill on lobbying by the National Rifle
Association, which “has put the fear of God in
legislators.”
Tripp, a 21-year-old junior, is a member of
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus,
which claims 25,000 members nationwide. He
does not recall a serious incident at Mankato
State, but said, “You never know when
something like this could happen, and we
don’t think we should be left defenseless.”
QUESTIONS:
• Do you favor allowing students, faculty, and
staff to carry a concealed weapon on campus
legally? Why or why not?
• What interest groups would you expect to
line up on either side of the issue?
• If the legislature in your state were considering a measure to allow guns on campus,
what steps could you and your classmates
take to support (or oppose) the bill?
>> END
WORLD | U.S. | BUSINESS | SCIENCE | OPINIONS
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TEST
1
2
3
4
5
6
yourself
Which of the following organizations is a business federation
representing the interests of businesses of all sizes, sectors,
and regions?
A. National Federation of Independent Businesses
B. AFL-CIO
C. U.S. Chamber of Commerce
D. NAACP
7
8
Which of the following organizations would be most likely to
favor the repeal of state right-to-work laws?
A. U.S. Chamber of Commerce
B. AFL-CIO
C. Club for Growth
D. LULAC
Which of the following statements is true about organized
labor?
A. The percentage of the workforce that belongs to labor
unions has been in decline for years.
B. Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest employer, has successfully
resisted unionization efforts.
C. Organized labor is stronger in the Frostbelt and weaker in
the Sunbelt.
D. All of the above.
Which of the following organizations would be most likely to
favor increasing the minimum wage?
A. U.S. Chamber of Commerce
B. American Farm Bureau
C. AFL-CIO
D. AARP
Which of the following organizations would be most likely to
favor affirmative action in college and university admissions?
A. NAACP
B. AFL-CIO
C. AARP
D. Sierra Club
Which of the following pairs of organizations would be most
likely to be on the opposite sides of the issue of abortion?
A. Right to Life and NARAL Pro-Choice America
B. U. S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO
C. Club for Growth and the NRA
D. Sierra Club and NOW
150 CHAPTER 7 | interest groups
9
10
11
12
Which of the following organizations would be most likely to
celebrate Earth Day?
A. Sierra Club
B. Human Rights Campaign
C. NARAL Pro-Choice America
D. Common Cause
Which of the following organizations would be most likely to
endorse a Democratic candidate for president in the next
election?
A. Right to Life
B. U.S. Chamber of Commerce
C. NRA
D. NARAL Pro-Choice America
What are political action committees (PACs)?
A. They are organizations representing the interests of firms
and professionals in the same general field.
B. They are organizations whose members care intensely
about a single issue or small group of related issues.
C. They are organizations created to raise and distribute
money in election campaigns.
D. They are organizations created to seek benefits on behalf
of groups of persons who are in some way incapacitated
or otherwise unable to represent their own interests.
PACs associated with which of the following types of interest
groups raise the most money?
A. Business groups
B. Labor groups
C. Racial/ethnic groups
D. Agricultural groups
PACs associated with which of the following tend to give
most of their campaign contributions to incumbent members
of Congress of both political parties?
A. Business groups
B. Labor unions
C. NRA
D. Cause groups
Which of the following candidates would you expect to benefit the most from PAC contributions?
A. A Republican challenger
B. A Democratic challenger
C. A candidate from either party running for an open seat
D. An incumbent from either party running for reelection
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15
16
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A PAC representing Interest Group A contributed to Congressman B’s reelection campaign even though the congressman sides with the interest group’s issue positions only
about 60 percent of the time. The PAC is acting in accordance
with which of the following principles?
A. Friendly Incumbent Rule
B. Common Cause
C. Club for Growth
D. Affirmative action
An organization created by individuals and groups to influence the outcomes of elections by raising and spending
money that candidates and political parties cannot legally
raise is known by which of the following names?
A. Political action committee
B. Interest group
C. Political party
D. 527 committee
Which of the following statements about lobbying and lobbyists is true?
A. Groups lobby the legislative branch of government but not
the executive branch.
B. Interest group lobbyists frequently focus on the details of
legislation rather than votes on final passage.
C. Former members of Congress are prohibited by law from
becoming lobbyists.
D. None of the above.
What is the best assessment of the relationship between
campaign contributions and interest group lobbying?
A. Money buys votes. Members of Congress vote for the
causes supported by the groups that give them the most
money.
B. Money buys access. Members of Congress are willing to
meet with lobbyists representing groups that provide
them with campaign contributions.
C. Money and lobbying are unrelated. Members of Congress
are open to consider all views regardless of political contributions.
D. Because of campaign finance regulations, interest groups
are prohibited from contributing money to help members
of Congress run for reelection.
KNOW
17
18
19
20
Which of the following statements is true about the use of
protest demonstrations as a political strategy?
A. Protest demonstrations are a tactic used by groups unable
to achieve their goals through other means.
B. Business and trade groups are more likely to use protest
demonstrations than are other organizations.
C. Protests are among the more effective approaches interest
groups have for achieving their goals.
D. All of the above.
Which of the following organizations specializes in the use of
litigation to achieve its goals?
A. Chamber of Commerce
B. American Bar Association
C. ACLU
D. Club for Growth
Which of the following types of interest groups is typically
allied with the Republican Party?
A. Organized labor
B. Environmental organizations
C. African American rights groups
D. Anti-tax groups
Which of the following types of interest groups is typically
allied with the Democratic Party?
A. Business groups
B. Abortion rights organizations
C. Conservative Christian organizations
D. None of the above
the score
18–20 correct: Congratulations! You are well informed!
15–17 correct: Your political knowledge is a bit low—be sure
to review the key terms and visit TheThinkSpot.
<14 correct: Reread the chapter more thoroughly.
1. C; 2. B; 3. D; 4. C; 5. A; 6. A; 7. A; 8. D; 9. C; 10. A; 11. A; 12. D; 13. A; 14. D; 15. B; 16. B; 17. A; 18. C; 19. D; 20. B
13
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