Interest Groups in the United States and Congresmen

The Federalist papers, published in 1787, were essays were written in response to the Anti-Federalist papers that did not support the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. James Madison's wrote Federalist #10 to argue that while interest groups are essential for liberty, they must be controlled and can only be done under a republic.

In this essay I will be discussing the affect interest groups have on relationship between Congress and Special Interest Groups. Interest groups are made of people that share a common interest and try to influence public policy to benefit themselves.There are several categories and subcategories of these groups that play a huge role in giving a voice to the citizens of this country. There are many weakness in our system giving these groups the ability to impact policy making to boosting a candidate for office. With the amount of power given to interest groups there comes a question as to whether or not their influence affects the legitimacy of the American legislative process.

Collaborative, breakthrough politics involved white house advocacy and cooperation of interest group allies. Strong alliances were possible if the president was eager to receive support from his ideological base. He created these alliances by following the policy initiatives recommended by affiliated interest groups. Collaborated, politics-as-usual was likely to be unfavorable to affiliated groups seeking major policy innovations, but more fortunate for groups satisfied with additional policy changes. Weak alliances resulted when the president offended affiliated groups by moving toward the political center to secure policy efforts and an independent public image. Adversarial politics placed interest group opponents in the difficult position

Interest groups as well as lobbies are often called the fourth branch of government, and yes, I believe they very much further American Democracy. They are the largest and most popular outlet for the average American to interact with government business. Interest groups work as a powerful check against both Congress and the Executive. Environmental groups have forced government to enact numerous checks on big business pollution. Feminist interest groups worked to gain women suffrage and Unions have increased worker's rights greatly. AARP arguably the most powerful interest group, makes sure the government does not forget the elderly in our country. PACs are able to influence campaigns and Think Tanks keep a close eye on a specific piece of

Jeffery M. Berry obtained his doctorate from John Hopkins University. Berry now resides as a professor at Tuffs University teaching political behavior theory and American politics. In Doctor Berry’s novel titled, The Interest Group Society, Berry focuses on the interworking’s of indirect and direct lobbying in the United States. He analyzes the role of interest groups, pluralism, and PAC’s in order to dissect the complexities of interest group associations in the decision making process. Doctor Berry gathers information from the founding fathers, case studies, and legislative proceedings to analyze democratic theory. The Interest Group Society is directed towards an audience who seeks to obtain information on interest groups influence within

An interest group can be made out of a constituency and they in turn can offer both the bureaucracy and Congress support.

legislation from being passed. In addition, politicians from both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are supported by interest groups. In fact, the major parties are so heavily influenced and affected by factions that they play a key role in whether or not legislation is passed or rejected. This dilemma has never been more relevant than it is today. As lobbying has grown in recent years, concern has mounted over the consequences of interest group politics. Interest groups are said to threaten the integrity of congressional elections. Problematically, the structure of the American government has not, by itself, prevented some interests from gaining a great advantage at the expense of others. Those with large resources have always

But interest groups do not have a real place in congress. For them to affect motions in congress they need to utilise their powers of persuasion to influence the right people.

In Chapter 11, “Political Parties, Party Systems, and Interests Groups” authors Dickovick and Eastwood talked about the important political concepts and types of political parties. The chapter begins with comparing two political opposites between the U.S and the Soviet Union. It expands on saying that the United States is run by two main political parties, but also smaller interest groups. The United States is based solely on out democratic system in, which the people elect their representatives to run certain positions. The United States economy is also supported by a capitalist system. On the other hand, it says that the Soviet Union is run by a mostly communist economy where the government benefits first. They are run by a single party totalitarian

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.

One of the common roles that interest groups play in America is through representation, which ultimately stems from the reason why these groups were created in the first place. Interest groups are groups of individuals that come together to influence public policy decisions. The most effective way interest groups can influence policy making and bring issues to a larger audience is by focusing on maintaining and expanding their membership. Citizens are able to find representation in an interest group, regardless of their geographical location; as well as aligning themselves with the group which best suits them.

the first step in contacting an interest group. First, interest groups may be the target of efforts to enlist them as supporters of a particular policy position. A member of Congress or an agency head may feel that a policy he is pushing is not receiving the backing it should from the private sector. He may try to persuade representatives of interest groups to become more active on behalf of the cause. Second, interest groups are valuable sources of political intelligence. They can provide information concerning the lobbying activities of all other interest groups, pros and cons, on the issue at hand. They can also act as eyes and ears for their friends in government. Third, people in government may come to interest groups for the purpose of obtaining substantive data with regard to an issue. Congressional and agency staffs rarely have time to gather all the information they need on their own. Interest groups can be useful in

In recent years there has been a growing concern over whether the influence interest groups have on American politics can be considered democratic; it is the aim of this essay to assess the validity of these concerns. For the purpose of clarity, I have defined a positive democratic force as that which represents the views of the majority of US citizens before government and that reinforces their collective interests. This is in light of the preamble to the United States Constitution (1787), where the opening statement “We the people of the United States…”, established the framework of American politics later characterised by Tocqueville (1835) as popular sovereignty. In this way we can see that, at least theoretically, citizen’s interests are

The emergence of interest groups in the European Union weakened the union’s overall power ; however, many politicians collaborate with them to gain an advantage. It is important to remember that interest groups are private firms, who can allocate their resources to provide studies for political actors. Interest groups provide “policymaking expertise, and implementation and monitoring capacity, the potential for a consolidated collective viewpoint, and the potential to enhance legitimacy “(Bache, Bulmer, George, Parker 2014, 310). With the acquired data, political actors can push forward stronger legislations built on concrete data. Interest groups pivotal role in the EU because they can use their resources to influence decision making in

In the chapter titled “Toward a Broader View of Interest Groups” by Terry Moe, he talks about the theoretical perspectives that involve around interest groups. These perspectives are traditional pluralism, Olson’s model of collective action and a new theory in which Terry Moe calls the “revised” perspective. Moe claims that the purpose of the paper is to reinforce the idea that both the traditional pluralist theory and Olson’s collective action are not entirely acceptable. He claims that understanding interest groups would be clearer if the perspective on this subject were made broader so that both views can fit in a single framework. Another purpose of this paper is to suggest that group membership is also an implication of a large variety