The Influence Of Special Interest Groups

We start this essay with this famous quote from Berry introducing us to what exactly an interest group is. Indeed in general, public opinion and people unaware of an interest group’s actions might regard interest groups in a negative light. The more famous interest groups can tend to generate a lot of negative publicity. For instance, in the US one of the most famous interest groups is the National Rifle Association, which defends the right to bear weapons. This, of course, has led to controversy especially given the recent high school shootings in

The word democracy in actuality means “the rule of the people” as a form of government where the people have central foresight and control. Interest groups are people driven organization who collaborate on an interest and promote it through influencing the Federal government. Interest groups work coherently within the democratic process because it is an accessible outlet for the people to donate, participate and contribute to groups that share the same interest. These groups can then go lobby in prosecutes to pass a policy.

One key debate among the authors is what is actually influenced by lawmaking. On one hand, Hansen (1991) takes the perspective that lobbying influences the relationship between interest groups and lawmakers. Hansen bases his argument on the belief that because legislators want to be reelected and they lack information about the “issue preferences of their constituents, the salience of issues to their constituents, and the effectiveness of various policy options,” they will seek information to reduce this uncertainty. The service that interest groups provide the, is this information. Certain interest groups, Hansen argues have “competitive advantage,” (p. 13) in the sense that they can provide certainty about constituent beliefs in an efficient and effective manner, in order to help lawmakers get reelected. Given that elections re-occur, an additional point Hansen makes is for interest groups to have some kind of influence over lawmakers, the conditions that provide this competitive advantage must be expected to recur. When these conditions are met, interest groups

In the American political system, practice of lobbying has had a prodigious influence over governmental action. Lobbying groups are considered to be essential to the proper functioning of the government. National Conference of State Legislatures estimates there are more than fifty different versions of lobbying laws in states. However, they all share a fundamental theory of lobbying as an attempt of influencing governmental decision and policy. Similarly, interest group symbolize an organized group of people who shares common interest to influence governmental activities.

People are important for the success of democracy. After electing their representatives, some individuals wish to be more involved in legislative decisions that affect them, so they take to lobbying and joining interest groups. This often provides them with an atmosphere of individuals who think like they do, while also allowing them to play more of a role than just voting for a few people to represent them. Lobbying and interest groups also allow for issues to be brought to the attention of the legislature and provide a way for these groups to talk to the legislators, whether it is over dinner or at a concert. By voicing their opinions and placing pressures on the legislation, these groups have become successful in fighting for their passions and their views on important

A person who is hired to persuade legislator to support a particular business or a cause by a business or a relation is known as a lobbyist. These people may not necessarily be interested about the reason of the meeting or interested in talking to the legislators but they have enough time to talk with them about the case. Lobbyist are sales person hired to influence resolution makers in the legislature and in the organizations of the executive division (Ramsey). Also, Interest group is also a group of people who tries to influence the government about a certain policy. They try to make an influence about the policy that would favor or benefit them. They claim to be working for the public even though they are working with their own interest

From a broad perspective, it is integral to note that political parties and special interest groups alike markedly differ from one another. However, one particularly noteworthy difference, entailing the degree to which select topic(s)-of-interests are underscored, captures the very essence of such a stark contrast. Venturing deeper into the specifics, political parties typically address numerous issues, whether it be the mundane issue of “global warming” or more controversial issue of abortion. On the other hand, special interest groups specialize in one particular realm, whether it be an economic quandary or a prevailing environmental dilemma. In order to better elucidate upon this particular discrepancy, a commonplace special interest group

The way PACs work, is they receive donations from individuals or companies. After receiving donations, these political action committees can donate to candidates if it is a traditional PAC. However, if it is a Super PAC, the organization can receive as much money as a donor is willing to give but cannot give directly to a candidate. Super PACs can receive money from anywhere, including foreign governments, companies, and private individuals. The Super PACS must spend the donations on individual funds, such as commercials, flyers, and phone calls, without the influence of the candidates. As money flows in from donators, the politicians pass legislation to achieve what businesses and individuals want. Figure 1 above helps clarify the influence

A special interest group (SIG) and political action committees are self-sustaining and volunteer-driven groups of individuals that are connected for group learning, networking, recognition of challenges and solution for the common goal of the community they are representing. These groups advocate for the members that they represent at legislative and political level for the benefit of its members in the public arena (Lee, Smith, & Henry, 2013).

In addition, special interest groups have also been an intricate part of the policy making process. Many in government benefit from moral and financial support from these groups who are often known to advocate for certain candidates and their policies. As many of us have seen throughout the Presidential Election these groups can prove a powerful force even if the policy is unethical. For instance, Trump was supported by the N.R.A and other groups who did not support women’s rights.

As our history, has been acknowledged there is something special. Our ancestors died because they were not able to work together. However, special interest groups are groups of individuals who come together because they share a similar self-interest and want to influence policies in their favor. Interest groups unite people to work as one into influencing policies that benefit the interest group and the population. Interest groups hold great power because it is an individual’s self-interest to pertain to an interest group. They operate in our society by advertising the interest groups with incentives and motives to join. However, in order to form a Special Interest, the groups must have to influence public policy, obtain a great power over

These groups “consist of individuals who bear some cost or make some contribution on behalf of the joint goal.” (Lowi et al.) These contributions generally consist of annual dues or some sort of service in the group’s activities, such as lobbying congress. According to American Government: Power and Purpose, “each individual has, in the simplest situation, two options in his behavioral repertoire: ‘contribute’ or ‘don’t contribute’ to achieving the jointly shared objective.” (Lowi et al.) If a sufficient number of individuals contribute, then the goal is achieved, but every member may reap the benefits whether they contributed or not. Interest groups encourage all of their members to contribute by offering selective benefits. These benefits only go to group members who actively contribute to the group’s goals. They include networking opportunities, material benefits, informational benefits, and purposive

Interest groups make the government more democratic because they endorse the unlimited exercise of the of the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects not just individuals rights, but the act of speech itself, regardless of the speaker. The ability for interest groups to exercise their Constitutional rights gives the power back to the people and show not be regulated by the Federal Government. The majority of Americans do not have the time or the means to politically active within congress. Interest groups represent various problems within the American public and are able to represent specific groups ideas and issues to the Federal Government. Democracy give the power the power back to the people and the people need an accessible outlet

The number of interest groups in the United States has grown quickly over the last half century. From 1959 to 2001 the Encyclopedia of Associations shows increase from about 6,000 to 22,000 reflecting a growing diversity in interest groups. While trade groups once dominated the scene this is no longer the case, very few occupations of industries do not have

He goes on to explain how the law when finally passed is unlikely to mirror their exact interest, as when it moved through the legislative process other interest groups asserted their influence to modify it in ways to accommodate their interest. This gives us a simple but clear idea of the effect interest groups have on policy making and makes one wonder the conduciveness of such actions to the economy if politics are to pamper to the interests of interest groups. Murphy (2010) also outlined that interest groups do not only effect government but they also exercise their influence on policy through public and private channels both directly and indirectly.