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Politics Paper 3 > 5.3 Interest groups in USA > Flashcards

5.3 Interest groups in USA Flashcards

1
Q

3

List the 3 types of interest groups in the USA

A
  • Single-issue group
  • Professional group
  • Policy group
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2
Q

3

Describe single-issue groups

A
  • Campaign on specific policy issue with narrow scope
  • e.g. NRA - fights for rights on gun owners
  • e.g. Sandy Hook Promise - advocates for gun control
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3
Q

4

Describe professional groups

A
  • Represents interests of its members in legislation: workers, professionals, industry
  • Often professional associations
  • Cover wide array of areas within relevant field to industry
  • e.g. American Farm Bureau Federation - influence agricultural policy, but also immigration reform, tax, etc
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4
Q

3

Describe policy interest groups

A
  • Interested in influencing entire policy area e.g. FP, environment
  • Members may not be direct beneficiaries, but share ideological belief
  • Environment America - push for rnewable enrgy, wildlife conservation, clean air, etc
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5
Q

4

List the factors that affect the success of interest groups in the USA

A
  • Money
  • Membership
  • Access
  • Circumstances - national events give issues more support or media attention
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6
Q

2

How does money affect the success of interest groups in the USA?

A
  • Groups with significant funding can make campaign contributions, hire expensive lobbyists and hire grassroots campaogns
  • 2020 - NRA spent $4.2m supporting Trump and $12.2m opposing Biden
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7
Q

2

Describe a limit to the influence of money on interest group success

A
  • 2020-21, NRA spent $4m on Georgia Senate special elections
  • Yet Democrats won both races
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8
Q

3

How does membership affect the success of interest groups in the USA?

A
  • Large group can mobilise many voters to pose significant threat to Congress member up for re-election
  • Important given short election cycle
  • Expertised membership is more likely to be listened to by elected officials
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9
Q

4

How does access affect the success of interest groups in the USA?

A
  • Those with access to/support of politicans hold greater influence
  • Retired Congress members + former congressional staff
  • Provide connections and expertise of legislative process
  • 2022, 453 for members of Congress worked as lobbyists/senior advisors
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10
Q

5

Describe the methods of interest groups

A
  • Lobbying
  • Report cards
  • Campaign donations
  • Protests
  • Legal methods
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11
Q

4

Describe lobbying as an interest group method

A
  • Provide groups with access or useful information
  • Tactics: meetings, draft legislation and win congressional sponsor
  • Target Cabinet/SC appointments
  • e.g. NAACP have evidence on Jeff Sessions credentials for Attorney General role at hearings upon Trump nomination
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12
Q

1

Give an example of the revolving door in America

A

When Jon Hoehner left as HoR Speaker, he joined law firm Squire Patton Boggs where he serves as senior strategic advisor

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13
Q

5

Describe the argument that interest group methods are effective - lobbying

A
  • 2020 election - $3bn spent on lobbying
  • Federal nature provides several access points at state and national level
  • Can influence SC through amicus curie briefs
  • Some groups like NRA have own lobbying arm
  • Can provide groups with own useful information to influence politicians
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14
Q

2

Give an example of lobbying’s success on legislation

A
  • 2013, bill passed HoR to roll back aspects of bank regulatory Dodds-Frank Act
  • Langauge used in bill almost identitical to that suggested by Citigroup lobbyists
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15
Q

2

Describe the argument that interest group methods are ineffective - lobbying

A
  • Congress members more greatly influenced by constituents or party allegiance
  • legislative process makes it difficult for bills to be passed
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16
Q

3

Describe the argument that interest group methods are effective - report cards

A
  • Grade members of Congress on how supportive they are of issue
  • Hope iit will influence constituents who place high value on specific issue
  • 2016, Bernie Sanders used D- NRA rating as campaign tool
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17
Q

5

Describe the argument that interest group methods are effective - campaign donations

A
  • ‘electioneering’ - offer endorsement to show candidate is supportive of issues
  • Donate to Super-PACs or campaigns to get sympathetic politicians elected
  • create campaigns themselves to support/oppose candidates
  • League of Conservation Voters - ‘dirty dozen’
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18
Q

3

Describe the ‘dirty dozen’

A
  • List of 12 worst envrionmental incumbent Congress members
  • Published by League of Conservation Voters
  • 2020 - 6/12 defeated
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19
Q

2

Describe the argument that interest group methods are ineffective - campaign donations

A
  • Strict campaign finance laws means that more is spent on lobbying
  • NRA publically campaigned against Joe Manchin re-election in 2018, yet Machin won
20
Q

4

Describe the argument that interest group methods are effective - protests

A
  • Visbility gains significant media attention
  • Demonstrates depth of public support
  • May encourage constituents to mass email/write to their Congress member to express opinion
  • 2024, CAIR organsied 400k strong march on Washington to protest Israeli military aid
21
Q

3

Describe the argument that interest group methods are ineffective - protests

A
  • Disapproval for direct action tactics
  • 8% of American population participated in BLM protests, yet little impact
  • 2014 People’s Climate March advocated massive defence cuts → subsequently raised by Trump
22
Q

4

Describe the argument that interest group methods are effective - legal methods

A
  • Most significant impact in launching court cases that reach SC
  • Students for Fair Admissions actually set up as interest group to pursue SC case to strike down affirmative action
  • Citizens United successfully challenged FEC campaign finance laws in 2010
  • Over 140 amicus curie briefs filed during Dobbs
23
Q

4

Describe the argument that interest group methods are ineffective - legal methods

A
  • Requires significant funding and reason to bring case
  • SC conservative majority - disadvanatges liberal groups
  • American Barr Association wrote amcius curie briefs during Students for Fair Admissions v Havard in support of affirmative action, yet failed
  • Number of amicus curie briefs increased by 800% in past 50 years - individually less significant
24
Q

6

List the access points of interest groups to Congress

A
  • lobbying
  • creating legislation
  • give evidence to committee
  • report cards
  • campaign donations
  • electioneering
25
Q

List the access points of interest groups to the President

A
  • lobbying - including lobbying EXOP/departments
  • campaign donations
  • electioneering
26
Q

4

List the access points of interest groups to SCOTUS

A
  • amicus curiae briefs
    bring cases to SC
  • ABA (interest group) has role in appointment process
  • give evidence in appt hearings
27
Q

4

Describe the AIPAC

A
  • American Israel Public Affairs Committee - lobby group
  • Promotes USA-Israel relationship
  • But also campaigns on Syrian war, defence issues, etc
  • Arguably fits all 3 interest group categories
28
Q

4

Describe evidence of AIPAC’s influence

A
  • AIPAC caucuses in every congressional district
  • Spent $3.5m lobbying in 2023
  • Recently procured $3bn in annual aid for Israel
  • Have donated over $1m to Senator Bob Mendenez (D-NJ) since 2023
29
Q

2

Describe limiting evidence of AIPAC’s influence

A
  • Blockage of $17.6bn aid package to Israel in 2024
  • Recent polls show 65% fo 18-24 year olds oppose sending aid to Israel
30
Q

3

Describe the arguments that interest groups in the US are influential

A
  • Single-issue
  • Professional
  • Policy
31
Q

4

Describe the argument that interest groups in the US are influential - single-issue

A
  • Can focus efforts on single issue
  • May hold significant funding and membership e.g. NRA
  • NRA membership grew by 5m after Sandy Hook 2012
  • 77% conservatives view NRA favourably
32
Q

4

Describe the argument that interest groups in the US are not influential - single-issue

A
  • Institutions likely to be partisan, which limits influence
  • Only 30% liberals view NRA favourably
  • NRA spent $40m in 2008, but did little to swing vote
  • Pro-choice group NARAL stormed Senate and packed offices of Senators Donnellly, Murkowski, Corker and Grassley to protest Kavanaugh nomination, yet Kavanaugh confirmed
33
Q

6

Describe the argument that interest groups in the US are influential - professional

A
  • Likely to command expertised membership
  • Membership may represent important voting bloc
  • AFL-CIO represented over 12m workers in US
  • National Retail Federation (NRF) successfully lobbied for Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2017
  • Retail 2nd biggest employer in US
  • Large pharamaceutical companies spent $300m lobbying in 2020 - can influence drug prices set for Medicare and Medicaid
34
Q

2

Describe the argument that interest groups in the US are not influential - professional

A
  • Public opinion and other factors more influential
  • NRF attempts to repeal Obamacare repeatedly failedNRF only donated $21k in most recent election cycle
35
Q

3

Describe the argument that interest groups in the US are influential - policy

A
  • Focus on specific policy research and support/opposition
  • AIPAC a powerful lobby group
  • ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) - fights for protection of vast array of rights
36
Q

3

Describe the argument that interest groups in the US are not influential - policy

A
  • Ideological opposition to presidency, SCOTUS and balance of Congress
  • AIPAC influence
  • LCV - Keystone Pipieline
37
Q

6

Describe the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and the Keystone XL Pipeline

A
  • LCV opposed Alberta-Houston pupeline
  • Spent millions on adverts advocating for/against candidatesin 2010 election cycle
  • Thousands spent on lobbying Congress members
  • 2015, passed Congress - vetoed by Obama
  • 2017, Trump used executive orders to advance development
  • 2021, Biden signed executive order to revoke permit
38
Q

4

Describe how interest groups use initiatives to influence policy

A
  • Initative placed on ballot if enough citizens in particular state sign petition which interest groups start
  • Range from 13k to 300k signatures
  • Companies employed to acquire necessary signatures - creates ‘price for signatures’
  • 2020, Arizona voted to legalise marijuana by 60% to 40% after successful petition by Safe and Smart Arizona
39
Q

2

Describe a limit to interest groups using iniatives to influence policy

A
  • Can be costly - groups need significant funding/mobilisation
  • 2021, cost avg $14.74 per signature
40
Q

3

Describe the arguments that interest groups in the USA are good for democracy

A
  • Representative
  • Liberal
  • Pluralist
41
Q

4

Describe the argument that interest groups in the USA are good for democracy - representative

A
  • Interest groups may represent minority groups e.g. NAACP
  • Interests might be ignored in plruality election system
  • Can encourage members to turnout in elections, increasingly legitimacy of those elected
  • e.g. Trump spoke at National Hispanic Leadership Conference in 2022
42
Q

4

Describe the argument that interest groups in the USA are bad for democracy - representative

A
  • Undermine power and judgement of legitimately elected officials e.g. AIPAC
  • Power of interest groups in Congress can create ‘tyranny of the majority’
  • e.g. Gun Owners of America spent $3.3m opposing essentially all gun control in 2023
  • despite 64% of Americans supporting stricter regulation
43
Q

5

Describe the argument that interest groups in the USA are good for democracy - liberal

A
  • Raise issues about rights e.g. ACLU
  • Bring cases to SCOTUS
  • Over 140 amicus curie briefs filed in Dobbs
  • Limit government power
  • Wide range of interest groups on directly competing issues promotes tolerance
44
Q

5

Describe the argument that interest groups in the USA are bad for democracy - liberal

A
  • Free elections undermined by wealth of interest groups
  • 2020 - NRA spent $4.2m supporting Trump and $12.2m opposing Biden
  • Tolerance of extremist groups undermines rights of other isses
  • e.g. Turning Point USA - university campuses
  • Use of illegal methods undermine rule of law e.g. NARAL - Kavanaugh
45
Q

4

Describe the argument that interest groups in the USA are good for democracy - pluralist

A
  • Federal nature provides multiple access points, dispersing power
  • Smaller interest groups have success in gaining national attention for issues
  • e.g. CIAR shifted attitude on Israel funding (though significant funding bill passed)
  • Ensure government responsiveness to public
46
Q

3

Describe the argument that interest groups in the USA are bad for democracy - pluralist

A
  • Wealthy interest groups have disporportionate power e.g. AARP
  • Focus of interest group action is in DC, which uduly centralises power
  • Same interest groups seem to retain influence over political process e.g. NRA
47
Q

5

Describe the American Association of Retired People (AARP)

A
  • Membership restricted to those age 50+
  • Greyvote - high turnout
  • Can influence areas with older average population e.g. Florida
  • George W Bush expanded medicare due to pressure from AARP
  • Though generally non-partisan - does not endorse any candidates

Politics Paper 3 (34 decks)

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