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What Role Do Interest Groups Play In Lobbying

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The article attempts to reverse the widely-publicized thinking on the purpose of interest groups and their assumed role in influencing the policy process, and instead applies a critical take on interest groups and their surmised thoughts on survival, as viewed in the context of lobbying. Deeply rooted in the machinations of a working democracy, lobbying has become a magnetic term for individuals with similar interests on probing for a policy that would be of satiation (Lowery 2007, p. 31). The superior role of an interest system in the lobbying avenue would create a marginal tendency for bias directed at small interest groups holding the most influence towards the policy process (p. 32). The summit of lobbying rarely occurs, as the article …show more content…

There are two observable statuses of the nature of lobbying: the sides created by the division of the policy process are heterogeneous in nature, implying that the structural concept of organizations within one side could have internal, unresolved situations that might not match these organizations individually in terms of interests (p. 199) and the strong contrasting view between changing and establishing a policy, which in focus of the former, details that lobbying is about trying to exact change within a particular policy, and not in its creation (p. 200). Zoning in on how the attention provided by lobbying is important, the consideration of the policy process entails a critical step, which establishes priorities, specifically found on the agenda-setting stage of the policy process. This is where policymakers consider which identified problem warrants attention and a required solution, as well as which identified problem is insignificant for the timebeing, or is generally manageable (p. 201). The attention-grabbing power of lobbying …show more content…

205). Special Interest Groups Versus Constituency Representation The structural balance within a particular pluralist-democratic setup enables a focused representation of the public’s interest, and interest groups are but one concretized form of the same. Within interest groups, there are those that are representative of their own organizations, by extension themselves. These are called special interest groups. They have a small societal base (which include race and gender, among other societal divisions) and are pecuniary in nature, implying that their agenda is primarily for-profit and self-sustenance (p. 178). The other scope tackles constituency-representing organizations, an exact counter to the composition of the former (p. 178). Coalitions between similar special interest groups are possible in their effort at successful lobbying, but the primary factor of monetary interest still prevails (p. 179). This is also possible within constituency-representing organizations but the proper term to use would be public interest groups (p. 180), which could also be considered general in nature as the question of who is being represented is continually raised. In their impacts to society in general,

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Hamilton (2004) argues these opinions in saying, “ Lobbying is a key element of the legislative process- part of the free speech guaranteed under the constitution… lobbying is simply people bonding together to advance their interests” (p. 83). Instead of lobbying being manipulative, as people seem to think, Hamilton explains it as being helpful to Congress and an import part of debates.

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945 Words | 4 Pages

An interest group is a group of people that tries to take action on a political issue or concern. The goal of an interest group is to recruit politicians as endorsements and persuade the government to take action on their respective issue. There are interest groups for mostly every issue or concern for the country. For example, the National Rifle Association and Brady Campaign are both interest groups that are concerned with gun control and gun violence. Both groups have stated their interests in influencing the American government to apply stricter gun laws and reduce the amount of shootings and deaths by firearms by a drastic margin.

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They disagree with having difficulties with long hours and other conditions. They justify it by making the working conditions safer and they are working on the low pay still. The legislation that its support is retired and working people with unsafe working conditions, and it oppose most rich people that barely work long hours and still get richer. The purpose of this interest group is to help with work related things like working conditions and long hours and difficulties that they might have in the work place that they don't want or need in the workplace where they are working because they want it to be a safe place.

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While choosing electing official with common values and philosophies is a great way to get representation on social issues, interest groups are also helpful in keeping an open line of communication with elected officials on what is most important to the affected group. Interest groups use tactics to protect policies by focusing on the unknown consequences and keeping close relationships with government officials whose values are similar (Baumgartner, Jeffery, & Hojnacki (2009). One interest group who has knowledgeable lobbyists to affect public policy is the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA is a single issue group who advocates their position by using both the direct and indirect approach to rally support on issues in Congress.

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Now that lobbyists cannot utilize earmarks, traditionally the most direct way for a member of Congress to do a lobbyist’s bidding, because of the informal ban in Congress on earmarks, lobbyists are no longer receiving this kind of direct funding for their projects. Nonetheless, the presence of lobbyists will not fade. Lobbyists serve a vast array of interests, and reflect the diversity of the United States in what they represent. Today lobbyists are more powerful than ever, attempting to buy influence on issues, and are also more accountable than ever before. Allen concludes with asserting that since lobbyists represent interests at least some Americans hold, Americans cannot think that lobbyists are the

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Interest groups are essential to the legislative process because they represent the interests of specific groups of people and provide a means for those people to have their voices heard in government. By working to influence policymakers, interest groups help to ensure that the needs and concerns of their members are taken into account when laws are

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A political interest group also called an advocacy group, lobbying group, pressure group, or special interest group is determined to persuade or prevent changes in public policy. They have shared ideas and try to influence change in policy. The American political system no longer operates with the American people in mind. Instead, lobbyists and special interest groups govern America, according to their own agendas, not the wishes of the people. Lobbyists and special interest groups buy up support from elected officials in order to push their agendas through.

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This essay will discuss the impact of lobbyist on legislation in Washington, DC and the amount of dollars spent to influence federal policies. Throughout a normal day in Washington DC, the hustle and bustle of lobbyist is taking place in the Capital building, White House and along K Street, which is the home of many of the lobbying firms. There are special interest groups, corporations and industries that hire in-house lobbyist or lobbyist firms to influence legislation to benefit their cause. For example, some of these causes may include, but are not limited to tax breaks, subsidies and changes to current regulations or laws.

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Special interest groups serve only to corrupt American politics; with interest groups, it is the will of whichever sponsor spends the most money that is done, not the will

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The data collected following the enactment of the disclosure act showed that lobbying expenditures between 1998 and 2006 almost doubled from 1.45 billion dollars to 2.6 billion dollars. The data also showed the number of registered lobbyists grew from 10,693 to 15,247. (Open Secrets, 2015) Because of the sheer amount of lobbyists and money being spent on special interests, the true data on the outcomes and successes of lobbying, tend to surprise people. The true impact of modern day lobbying is its successful and consistent achievement of nothing, the maintenance of the status quo. Three-fifths of the time, lobbying analysts observe gridlock and the successful stalemating of proposals, with occasional breakthroughs when the special interest groups push for reform.

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The following analysis will expand upon one of the congressional caricatures observed in Hamilton 's article: the act of lobbying misrepresents the public 's opinion and should not be endorsed. Hamilton proposes a precisely balanced approach to lobbying. He states that lobbyists are principled people who play a large part of focussing the public 's attention on significant issues and are key to helping Congress members stay informed. He emphasizes that those who practice lobbying do so, in the open, as part of "the broader policy debate" (as cited in Stinebrickner, 2015, p. 117). As a previous member of congress, Hamilton 's opinion on the matter is soon justified and I agree with him.

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A pluralistic society can correspondingly become a ‘special-interest’ society (Carroll & Buchholtz 2015, p. 9). As the notion of pluralism continues to be practised, the appearance of large quantities of special-interest groups within this society is common and expected, with each focused on following up their own agenda. Growing the specialisation and representation of interest groups such as employees, consumers, investors, communities, the environment, the government and business itself, is a reflection of how society has changed. However, the leading common interest associations such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry still exist. These special-interest groups have continued to grow in number as well as at a faster pace,

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Interest groups in Texas are relatively powerful actors in the political process. Organized interest groups and their representatives, also known as “the lobby” participates in the policymaking and political processes in Texas. Interest groups provide critical channels for Texans to communicate their political preferences and attempt to influence government actors and their fellow

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The theory of pluralism is the acknowledgement of diversity for the common good. Interest groups are made up of people who share a common political goal and come together to in influence public policy decisions. It is important to have interest groups and different opinions in order to avoid having one dominating institution and to keep competition. It is inevitable for people to have different beliefs, values and attitudes so, naturally, interest groups form in order for people to be able to express their different political opinions while still co-existing and working for the common good. Interest groups provide resources and expertise on policy issues and pressure the government for change.

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My aspiration to become a Mental Health Nurse and to make my career in this discipline has formed out of my own experience of working in the care and education sector, being able help to solve the problems of individuals suffering from a various mental health illnesses. For many years I have worked in schools and institutions for those with mental health conditions, as well as caring for troubled children. This has given me hands on perception of the challenges faced by mental health staff, as well as achieving a great sense of the human satisfaction to be found in caring for such patients by being able to help them to live a more normal life, to achieve some equilibrium in their day-to-day existence and to preserve their self-respect. My ultimate goal is to manage a care home for those who suffer from mental health conditions, but At the same time I am mindful of the variety of roles which could be open to me with a degree in mental health.

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