In this lesson, you will learn about interest group strategies. Imagine that you wanted to create an interest group for an issue you care about. What strategies could your interest group use to achieve its goals? You will explore the available options. Specifically, this lesson covers:
Interest groups employ a variety of methods to achieve their political goals. Some groups get involved in lobbying or electioneering, while other groups focus on protest demonstrations, organizing rallies, or litigation.
Protest demonstrations can be a particularly effective strategic move for groups that otherwise lack visibility, financial wealth, and other resources to advocate in other ways. Protest demonstrations and rallies can capture the attention of policymakers. With enough media attention, they can also become a way to let others know about the cause, garner more support, and if applicable, gain membership from the general public.
The type of strategy an interest group deploys depends, in part, on the type of interest group. For example, corporate interest groups might hire lobbyists to speak with members of Congress or file briefs in legal cases. Large membership interest groups might organize rallies or protests to exert pressure on the government.
The issue and the dynamics of the political environment also influence what strategies are employed by groups. For instance, if the broader public is not familiar with or supportive of an issue, or an organization is not sufficiently funded, it may choose to take a more grassroots approach, in comparison to a well-funded organization with existing support among the broader public and policymakers.
2. Electioneering
Interest groups benefit from having elected officials who are supportive of their cause. Likewise, interest groups stand to benefit from the removal of non-supportive officials from office. As a result, many groups attempt to influence government by influencing election outcomes. This is often done by encouraging people to vote and to vote for certain candidates.
IN CONTEXT
Brady: United Against Gun Violence is an interest group that favors strict background checks for firearm purchases and a ban on assault rifles. Both the National Rifle Association (NRA), an organization that advocates for the protection of Second Amendment gun rights, and Brady have grading systems that evaluate candidates based on their records of supporting or opposing Second Amendment rights.
Grades or ratings from interest groups are useful for the public in deciding which candidates to support and which to oppose.
EXAMPLE
The NRA has rated and endorsed candidates for Congress for more than 900 general elections. Candidates receive grades ranging from “A” to “F.” Republican candidates tend to score higher than Democratic candidates because of the party’s stance on gun rights.
Candidates often do not have a strong stance one way or another on the issues of concern to interest groups. As a result, interest groups often hedge their bets, and give funds to both major party candidates for a particular office in the hopes of having access regardless of who wins. However, in general, they tend to give more money to incumbents. Incumbents, you might recall, have electoral advantages in terms of name recognition, experience, and fundraising abilities, and are therefore more likely to win.
Some interest groups form political action committees (PACs), groups that collect funds from donors and distribute them to candidates who support their issues. As Figure 1 makes apparent, trade associations, unions, and corporations form PACs to distribute money to candidates. While trade associations and corporations contribute almost equally to both political parties, unions heavily favor candidates from the Democratic party.
Organizations through which corporations and unions can spend virtually unlimited amounts of money on behalf of political candidates are called super PACs. As a result of a 2010 Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, there is no limit to how much money unions or corporations can donate to super PACs. Unlike PACs, however, super PACs cannot contribute money directly to individual candidates.
(Figure 1) Corporations and associations spend large amounts of money on elections via affiliated PACs. This chart reveals the amount donated to Democratic (blue), and Republican (red), candidates by the top twelve PACs during the 2020 election cycle.
term to know
Electioneering
Efforts to influence support for a candidate and influence the outcome of an election.
3. Lobbying
Most interest organizations engage in lobbying activity in an attempt to influence government decision-making and shape public policy. The interest group either hires a lobbyist, employs one internally, or has a member volunteer to lobby on its behalf.
A lobbyist is someone who represents the interest organization to the government, is usually compensated for doing so, and is required to register with the government in which they lobby, whether state or federal. Most often, the lobbyist’s primary goal is to influence policy.
While a citizen contacting a lawmaker to discuss an issue is generally not viewed as lobbying, an organization that devotes a certain amount of time and resources to contacting lawmakers may be classified as lobbying, depending on local, state, or federal law.
3a. Inside Lobbying
Lobbyists employ different techniques to achieve their objectives. One method is inside lobbying or direct lobbying, which takes the interest group’s message directly to a government official such as a lawmaker. Inside lobbying tactics include testifying in legislative hearings and helping to draft legislation.
IN CONTEXT
Agricultural and farming interest groups lobby for budgetary allocations. They pressure Congress to secure new farm subsidies and maintain existing ones. Farm subsidies are given to some farmers because they grow certain crops and to other farmers so they will not grow certain crops. Any bill that might attempt to alter these subsidies gains the attention of many agricultural interests and spurs lobbying activity.
Numerous surveys of lobbyists have confirmed that the vast majority rely on these inside strategies. Nearly all report that they contact lawmakers, testify before the legislature, help draft legislation, and contact executive agencies. Trying to influence government appointments, or providing favors to members of government, are somewhat less common insider tactics.
3b. Outside Lobbying
Many lobbyists also use outside lobbying or indirect lobbying tactics, in which the interest group attempts to get its message out to the public. These tactics include issuing press releases, placing stories and articles in the media, entering coalitions with other groups, and contacting interest group members, hoping that they will individually pressure lawmakers to support or oppose legislation. Members of Congress are likely to pay attention when many constituents contact them about an issue or proposed bill.
IN CONTEXT
An environmental interest group like the Sierra Club, for example, might issue a press release, or encourage its members to contact their representatives in Congress about legislation of concern to the group. A current campaign of the Sierra Club is to close what the organization calls the “nature equity gap.” This term describes the disparity in access to parks and outdoor space, and the organization has asked its members to contact members of Congress, and ask that they invest $225 million to “address historic inequities in nature access.” They also asked supporters to share Tweets about the issue and to recruit to support the cause.
Many interest groups use a combination of inside and outside tactics in their lobbying efforts, choosing whatever strategy is most likely to help them achieve their goals.
terms to know
Lobbyist
A person who represents an organization to the government in an attempt to influence policy.
Inside Lobbying
Communicating the organization’s message directly to lawmakers, in an attempt to influence policy.
Outside Lobbying
Communicating the organization’s message to the public, often through the use of the media or by issuing press releases, in hopes that the public will then put pressure on lawmakers.
3c. Lobbying the Legislative Branch
Interest groups support candidates in order to have access to lawmakers once they are in office. Lawmakers lack the time and resources to pursue every issue; they are most often policy generalists. Therefore, they (and their staff members) rely on interest groups and lobbyists to provide them with information about the technical details of policy proposals, as well as about their fellow lawmakers’ positions and their constituents’ perceptions.
Interest groups and their lobbyists can be especially effective in drafting legislation for lawmakers. Interest groups often provide the outlines of a bill to legislators. When legislators are unfamiliar with an issue, they often look to interest groups to give them an indication of how to vote on issues. Interest groups provide these legislators with voting cues. Lawmakers also rely on lobbyists for information about ideas they can champion, and which will benefit them when they run for reelection.
Interest groups likely cannot target all 535 lawmakers in both the House and the Senate, nor would they wish to do so.
IN CONTEXT
There is little reason for Brady: United Against Gun Violence to lobby members of Congress who vehemently oppose any restrictions on gun access. Instead, the organization will often contact lawmakers who are open to some restrictions on access to firearms.
Thus, interest groups first target the lawmakers they think will consider introducing or sponsoring legislation. Second, they target members of relevant committees.
IN CONTEXT
If a company that makes weapons systems wants to influence a defense bill, it will lobby members of the Armed Services Committees in the House and the Senate, or the House and Senate appropriations committees, if the bill requires new funding. Many members of these committees represent congressional districts with military bases, so they often sponsor or champion bills that allow them to promote policies popular with their districts or state. Interest groups attempt to use this to their advantage.
They also conduct strategic targeting, because legislatures function by respectfully considering fellow lawmakers’ positions. Because lawmakers cannot possess expertise on every issue, they defer to their trusted colleagues on issues with which they are unfamiliar. So targeting committee members also allows the lobbyist to inform other lawmakers indirectly.
Third, interest groups target specific lawmakers when legislation is on the floor of the House or Senate. Again, they rely on the fact that many lawmakers will defer to their colleagues who are more familiar with a given issue. Finally, since legislation must pass both chambers in identical form, interest groups may target members of the conference committees whose job it is to iron out differences across the chambers.
Interest groups also target the budgetary process, with the aim of maximizing benefits to their group. In some cases, their aim is to influence the portion of the budget allocated to a given policy, program, or policy area.
EXAMPLE
Interest groups that represent low-income Americans may lobby for additional appropriations for various welfare programs.
Interest groups also try to defeat legislation that may be detrimental to their concerns.
EXAMPLE
When Congress considers legislation to improve air quality, some industries will oppose it, if it requires additional regulations on factory emissions.
In some cases, proposed legislation may serve as a disturbance, resulting in the formation or mobilization of a group to help defeat the bill. Some interests arise solely to defeat legislation, and go dormant after they achieve their immediate objectives.
term to know
Voting Cues
Sources, including fellow lawmakers, constituents, and interest groups, which lawmakers use to help them decide how to vote, especially on unfamiliar issues.
3d. Lobbying the Executive and Judiciary Branches
Once legislation has been passed, interest groups may target the executive branch of government, whose job is to implement the law. Some agencies benefit from the involvement of interest groups, while others do not.
IN CONTEXT
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has some leeway in providing care for military veterans, and interests representing veterans’ needs may pressure this department to address their specific concerns or issues. Other entities within the executive branch, like the Securities and Exchange Commission, which maintains and regulates financial markets, are not designed to be responsive to the interests they regulate, because to make such a response would be a conflict of interest.
Interest groups may also lobby the executive branch regarding executive, judicial, and other appointments that require Senate confirmation. As a result, interest group members, or individuals sympathetic to the interest group, may be appointed to positions in which they can influence proposed regulation of the industry of which they are a part.
Lobbying the judiciary takes three forms, the first of which was mentioned above. This is lobbying the executive branch about judicial appointments the president makes, and lobbying the Senate to confirm these appointments.
The second form of lobbying consists of filing amicus briefs, which are also known as “friend of the court” briefs. These documents present legal arguments as to why a given court should take a case or why a court should rule a certain way.
IN CONTEXT
In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, numerous interest groups filed amicus briefs. The Human Rights Campaign, shown demonstrated in Figure 2, filed a brief arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses required that same-sex couples be afforded the same rights to marry as opposite-sex couples. In a 5–4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed.
(Figure 2) Members of the Human Rights Campaign, an interest that supports LGBTQ rights, march toward the Supreme Court on June 26, 2015, the day that the Obergefell v. Hodges decision was announced. credit: modification of work by Matt Popovich
Finally, interest groups also initiate lawsuits to challenge a law they believe is unconstitutional or to get the high court in their state or the U.S. Supreme Court to assert the constitutionality (and thereby protect) certain rights that may be curtailed by lawmakers.
Some are unaware of the role interest groups have played in some of the Supreme Court's landmark cases. Interest groups sometimes pursue litigation as a means of advancing their cause, especially when they deem it the most feasible pathway given other factors. During the Civil Rights Era, some civil rights organizations focused on the courts to expand rights to racial and ethnic minorities. Among other reasons, these groups chose this tactic because of the lack of interest in or support for civil rights from their legislatures (state and federal). It would also invalidate discriminatory practices in local and state governments across the country.
IN CONTEXT
The NAACP and the organization’s Legal Defense Fund advanced the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Supreme Court case, which resulted in the desegregation of public schools.
More recently, the Alliance for Defending Freedom, a conservative organization that advocates for religious freedom, free speech, and the sanctity of life, filed a lawsuit on behalf of a web designer from Colorado who wanted to establish wedding services, but refuse service to same-sex couples, as doing so would violate her religious beliefs. By 2022, the case had made its way to the Supreme Court. A ruling by the Court will ultimately decide whether businesses may deny service to individuals based on their First Amendment rights.
Litigation becomes an important strategy for interest groups when the political climate is not conducive to change via the other branches of government.
4. Iron Triangles and Issue Networks
Political scientists have studied the relationship among a multitude of interest groups and political actors, including former elected officials. They have investigated the way some interests form coalitions with other interests and the way that they compete for access to decision-makers. As a result, they have developed several models to explain how interest groups participate in the policy-making process.
One model is the concept of the iron triangle, a hypothetical arrangement among three elements (the corners of the triangle): an interest group, a congressional committee member or chair, and an agency within the bureaucracy (Figure 3). Each element has a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship with the other two, and it is difficult for those outside the triangle to break into it. The congressional committee members, including the chair, rely on the interest group for campaign contributions and policy information, while the interest group needs the committee to consider laws favorable to its view. The interest group and the committee need the agency to implement the law, while the agency needs the interest group for information and the committee for funding and autonomy in implementing the law.
(Figure 3) The iron triangle model shows how Congress, the bureaucracy, and interest groups exchange information, as well as financial and political support, as they create public policy.
An alternate explanation of the arrangement of duties carried out in a given policy area by interest groups, legislators, and agency bureaucrats is that these actors are the experts in that given policy area. Hence, perhaps they are the ones most qualified to process policy in the given area. Some view the iron triangle idea as outdated. Instead, many argue for a model that is both more complicated and more open, called an issue network. In this model, numerous different interests and political actors work together at the local, state, and national levels, from different branches of government, in cooperation with private interests as well as educational institutions, in support of a single issue or policy (Figure 4).
(Figure 4) An issue network highlights the many, complicated interactions between many political actors and institutions that produce policy.
Some coalitions are long-standing, while others are temporary. Some interest groups will even align themselves with opposing interests if the alliance will achieve its goals.
EXAMPLE
Left-leaning groups might oppose a state lottery because it disproportionately hurts the poor, while right-leaning groups might oppose it because of concerns about potential social ills associated with gambling. These opposing groups might actually join forces in an attempt to end the lottery.
terms to know
Iron Triangle
A three-way relationship among congressional committees, interest groups, and the bureaucracy.
Issue Network
A collection of interest groups and people who work together to support a single issue or policy.
summary
In this lesson, you learned that interest group strategies include organizing rallies and litigation, as well as electioneering, in which interest groups directly and indirectly fund candidates and support their campaigns, and lobbying. You discovered that interest groups can lobby the government indirectly, by getting their members to contact their representatives or by publishing press releases with information, or directly, by providing information and sometimes financial or political support to members of Congress, the judiciary, or the bureaucracy. You explored iron triangles and issue networks, two models political scientists use to describe the relationships between interest groups and other political actors in the policy formation process.
Efforts to influence support for a candidate and influence the outcome of an election.
Inside Lobbying
Communicating the organization’s message directly to lawmakers, in an attempt to influence policy.
Iron Triangle
A three-way relationship among congressional committees, interests groups, and the bureaucracy.
Issue Network
A collection of interest groups and people who work together to support a single issue or policy.
Lobbyist
A person who represents an organization to the government in an attempt to influence policy.
Outside Lobbying
Communicating the organization’s message to the public, often through the use of the media or by issuing press releases, in hopes that the public will then put pressure on lawmakers.
Voting Cues
Sources, including fellow lawmakers, constituents, and interest groups, which lawmakers use to help them decide how to vote, especially on unfamiliar issues.
