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Opening pages, talks about the tea party and its policy positions but fails to mention that in the Contract From America the second policy platform is to end “cap and trade”. Has the tea party been co-opted? Are they complaining that rich people are taxed too much, that they themselves are being taxed too much, or a combination? At the beginning of the Great Depression Sec. Treas. Mellon advised that Hoover should let the financial system go down in flames, suggesting that a new, more competent system would replace it. Based on history, had TARP not gone through, we might now be looking at UE in excess of 25% instead of 9%. The primary problem with TARP was that there were no concessions from the financial industry for increased regulation, nor political will from Washington to force these regulations. Chapter 16 interest groups
Bowling Alone (2000) and Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy (1993) Civic virtue has been recognized as important for the survival of a polity since Plato and Aristotle. Without it a polity decays into democracy with everyone out for themselves. Cooperation is replaced by competition. Textbook suggests that Putnam is ignoring the fact that people are joining online social networks. Putnam sees this as part of the problem. Robert Putnam
A study of the development of new regional governments starting in 1970, published in 1993. • These regional governments were categorized as effective and ineffective. Economic development did not appear to play a role. • Effective governments: • Had greater participation in social groups, including sports clubs (greater interpersonal trust and participation in the community) • Read more newspapers (greater political knowledge) • Tended to be more secular (pragmatic vs tradition) • Tended to have greater political participation by the Socialist party Making Democracy Work
Or, Robert Dahl’s theory of polyarchy. Elites run the various organizations: unions, corporations, and public interest groups. Membership denotes the power available to these elites, but the agenda pursued is that of the elites themselves. The corporate CEO represents his interests, not necessarily those of the firm or its shareholders. The union leader represents his own interests vs that of the union or its members. Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks represent the interests of the Koch Brothers more than any potential social movement. Transactions theory
Downs utilized economic theory in a political context to state that it was irrational for individuals to spend the time and effort of gaining political information unless: • he may enjoy being well informed for its own sake, so that information as such provides him with utility; • he may believe the election is going to be so close that the probability of his casting the decisive vote is relatively high; • he may need information to influence the votes of others so that he can alter the outcome of the election or persuade government to assign his preferences more weight than those of others; or • he may need information to influence the formation of government policy as a lobbyist. • With increased availability of information sources, the cost of getting ACCURATE information is increased significantly. Not only does an individual have to sift through a huge pile of information and opinion, they then have to determine the veracity of the information retrieved. Anthony Downs
The Logic of Collective Action (1965) applied similar economic concepts of rational behavior to the development of interest groups. Rational individuals (or firms) do not get involved in the organization of interest groups unless there is something to be gained. If they assume that others will organize and they will still receive the benefit, they don’t bother to get involved.This is what is meant by the “free rider problem”. Fireworks and unions – underprovision of collective goods. Rational individuals form interest groups when: the group membership is small, the goals are narrow and clearly defined, and the advantages are limited to the membership, or the potential financial benefit significantly exceeds the cost of membership. Mancur Olson
“The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper class accent.” E. E. Schattschneider
Public interest groups – “seek a collective good, the achievement of which will not selectively and materially benefit the membership or activists of the organization.” According to Olson, such a group is irrational. Economic interest groups – “primary purpose is to promote the economic interests of their members.” Governmental units – self-explanatory but typically seeking economic benefits. Political Action Committees – No longer concerned with membership, money is all that matters. Interest groups
If we compare between the German situation and the US situation – in Germany all stakeholders are guaranteed a place at the table and an equal say in policy development. In the US, only those who can afford a seat get one, and additional dollars provide a better seat. Business interests are included in the debate in both systems. In the German system, workers, shareholders, and creditors are a part of deliberation as well. Corporatism in germany
Madison, Federalist #10 – Saw factions as inevitable and sought to diminish their influence through systems of checks and balances. “The Framers could not have envisioned the vast sums of money or technology that would be available to interest groups as the nature of these groups evolved over time.” Framers of the constitution
“Later, the Court ruled that states could not compel interest groups to provide their membership lists to state officials.” NAACP v. Button (1963) This was a specific case in which jurisdictions in Southern states were requesting these lists from the NAACP. Divulging membership could have endangered the lives of members. The law had originally been put in place to provide transparency of interest group lobbying. NAACP v. Button (1963) has now been used to allow unlimited anonymous campaigning by financial interests through 527 groups in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010). “Because First Amendment freedoms need breathing space to survive, government may regulate in the area only with narrow specificity.” NAACP v. Button (1963) “While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.” Dissent of Justice Stevens in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010). The living Constitution
Gilded age – End of Civil War to 1890s – Capital accumulation of “trusts” – monopolistic control of various industries – Union organization prevented or discouraged through use of force and court decisions. State governments and Congress are significantly influenced by lobbyists working for the corporate agendas. Progressive Era – 1890-1930 – Increased interest activity as public interest groups and unions worked to improve living conditions and fight political corruption. There was more political involvement by citizens to improve social conditions, but successful efforts in the states were often shot down by the Supreme Court in the Lochner Era. Keynesian Era – The textbook remains silent on the time period from 1930 to 1960. During this period, the federal government, and eventually, the federal courts supported the rights of workers to organize. The progressive tax structure prevented the capital accumulation of business interests that funded earlier (and later) political influence. Faith in government and life satisfaction by the average American was at an all time high. The political parties were in consensus regarding the level of government intervention in the economy. Tax rates for the wealthiest individuals and corporations remained high. timelines
The interest group state – Interest groups develop predominantly over social issues including civil rights and civil liberties, the anti-war movement, and pro-choice issues. The development of these groups gave rise to countervailing powers in Christian organizations and business organizations. We see the development of the Business Roundtable, and the Chamber of Commerce, previously the champion for small business interests, starts accepting larger corporations for membership. Timeline continued
Intended to provide greater disclosure of campaign donations, it ironically, increased the legitimacy and prevalence of PACs. The feeling was that an individual donor, who is known, will demand political favors for their support. The PAC, in theory, allows the individual to provide support to a favored candidate with no strings attached. The effect of FECA
Accumulate resources – economic, political, and organizational Lobbying – A method through which interests can make sure that legislators “vote correctly.” “other groups also provide information that decision makers might not have the time, opportunity, or interest to gather on their own.” This is how we end up with legislation written by lobbyists. Speaker Boehner, who “handed out checks from tobacco. What do interest groups do? lobbyists on the House floor in 1995 while lawmakers were weighing tobacco subsidies,” Milbank, Washington Post (2006), reduced the allowances for House lawmakers, making them further dependent on lobbyists for resources and information necessary to do their jobs.
Venue shopping Not looking to Congressmen who do not agree with them. Providing resources for those who agree with their position. Economic interests have more resources and a willingness to use them. Barack Obama campaigned on controlling the price of pharmaceuticals through importing or negotiating. He made a deal early on with PhRMA to take these off the table in exchange for discounts and PhRMA advertising support of the final legislation. Low paid bureaucrats may be padding their resume for getting to where the real money is…the companies they regulate. What do interest groups do?
Thomas, Scalia, and the Koch Brothers. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/us/politics/15thomas.html Impeachment, possible but no Supreme Court judge ever convicted. Calls for it from Georgia in the 1950s following Brown v. BOE saying they were communists. Lobbying the Courts
“Grassroots” lobbying is when average Americans take it upon themselves to organize and pressure Congressmen for specific policy preferences. The description in the textbook of grassroots sounds more like astroturfing. “In the world of lobbying, there are few things more useful than a list of committed supporters.” Allegations that Ralph E. Reed, Jr. was selling the mailing lists of the Christian Coalition for political mobilization of committed activists to both threaten and benefit casinos. Grassroots and astroturfing
The textbook talks more about violent and radical protests while virtually ignoring the value of peaceful protests. In large groups, people pose a “threat” of violence for which security forces will need to deploy. This can create a problem for government resources. Violent responses from authorities to peaceful protesters will make observers sympathetic to their cause. protests
Candidate recruitment – We have seen an increase in Congressmen who fail to “vote correctly” facing challenges in their primaries. Moderate Republicans are virtually extinct, while labor has been increasing their pressure on Democrats who fail to vote in a manner consistent with their issues. Labor has reduced the amount of money going to party coffers and targets their resources to better reflect their political concerns. IE Ran a candidate against incumbent Blanche Lincoln (D – Ark.) in the party primary. Lincoln narrowly won the primary, but lost in the general election by a large margin. Election activities - gatekeeping
High levels of voter turn out tend to favor Democratic candidates, low levels of voter turnout tend to favor Republican candidates. ACORN was an advocacy group for the poor. They worked to register voters and remove obstacles to voters in low income precincts. Congress defunds ACORN. Conservative state legislatures have passed numerous new laws regarding voting procedures in several states. Voter ID laws, likened to poll taxes, makes it that much harder for citizens to vote. Getting out the vote (or not)
Uninformed voters can decide between Democratic and Republican candidates based on what the parties are believed to stand for. Organizations that track Congressional voting can give the public greater details to the individual votes taken by a Congressperson. This facilitates more active voters in considerations of primary races. This rating of the candidates serves as a form of gatekeeping to keep a party ideologically pure. Another downside is that these organizations also tell voters how they should feel about these issues. If we look back over the exercise of researching pros and cons of issues, we find that these issues are rarely cut and dried. Rating the candidates
Downside of ratings: As we can see in the table, those who receive a rating of 0 from one interest group often receives a rating of 100 from another interest group. Knowing that these ratings actually can effect how voters vote and the likelihood of facing a primary challenge, would it encourage Congressmen to move further to the left or right? Is this system of rating by interest groups more likely to provide greater consensus or greater polarization? Analyzing visuals
Soft money - $400 million in 2008. Textbook talks about issue advocacy, but often “soft money” is used as negative campaigning against the preferred candidate’s opponent. This offers both deniability of the favored candidate, but also allows for contributions that would be in excess of campaign finance laws. John Kerry “swiftboated” in 2004 campaign. This 527 group received nearly $10 million from three conservative contributors. Campaign contributions More gatekeeping
“For powerful groups, simply making sure that certain issues never get discussed may be the goal.” Gatekeeping in our universities. Neoclassical economic theory is taught, Keynesian theories are discussed just enough to say they have been proven wrong without providing evidence. The “Failure of the New Deal” is often used. Research grants and publishing is the road to tenure. You either put forward ideas consistent with these dominant views, or fail to get tenure and find a new occupation. Gatekeeping, venue shopping, astroturfing
Leaders – Importance of an individual who can form a coalition of often disparate opinions and values. Martin Luther King Jr. was noticeably absent from this list. Others, Ralph Nader, Sarah Palin, Phyllis Schafly, Anita Bryant, and Stephen Colbert. Funding and patrons – Not a problem for corporations or industry groups. More difficult for groups that seek to address issues of economic discrimination like the poor and the working poor. Interest group success
Members 3 tiers of activity – Robert Dahl’s polyarchy, the elites running the group may or may not have the same agenda or policy preferences as members. Demographic of membership matters: AARP, old people vote. NAACP was initially not particularly effective in legislative lobbying, sought relief from the courts. ACORN represented poor people who were often not even registered to vote. Interest group success
NIH researchers can accept money and stocks from pharmaceutical companies and have exemptions from being required to report this outside income. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nih3mar03,0,2367645.story http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-na-nih22dec22-sunderland,0,6850575.story Ethics in government Act (1978)
“Hence it is a mistake to think, that the supreme or legislative power of any commonwealth, can do what it will, and dispose of the estates of the subject arbitrarily, or take any part of them at pleasure. This is not much to be feared in governments where the legislative consists, wholly or in part, in assemblies which are variable, whose members, upon the dissolution of the assembly, are subjects under the common laws of their country, equally with the rest. But in governments, where the legislative is in one lasting assembly always in being, or in one man, as in absolute monarchies, there is danger still, that they will think themselves to have a distinct interest from the rest of the community; and so will be apt to increase their own riches and power, by taking what they think fit from the people: for a man's property is not at all secure, tho' there be good and equitable laws to set the bounds of it between him and his fellow subjects, if he who commands those subjects have power to take from any private man, what part he pleases of his property, and use and dispose of it as he thinks good.” John Locke felt that a citizen legislature was a necessity. That the legislator would not allow the increase in arbitrary power while in the legislature as they would then be subject to this arbitrary power when they return to civilian life. Congress and the revolving door
