Question

How can interest groups influence a candidate’s campaign agenda?

Answer 1

Interest groups send representatives to state capitals and to Washington, D.C. to put pressure on members of Congress and other POLICYMAKERS. They engage in LOBBYING, or the organized process of influencing legislation or policy. Lobbying can take many forms. Interest groups can testify in CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS. For example, several years ago, when Congress was considering discrimination in private clubs, representatives of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts appeared in hearings to try to persuade Congress to allow each one to remain a single-sex organization. Lobbyists also contact government officials directly or informally, present research results and technical information, talk with people from the press and the media, and sometimes even help to draft legislation.

Interest groups also actively involve themselves in political campaigns. This electioneering is intended to help elect candidates who favor their positions or to defeat those who oppose them. It is generally conducted by POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES (PACs), who serve as special political arms for the interest groups.

The number of PACs has grown rapidly since the early 1970s, when CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM laws were passed that restricted individual contributions to campaigns. PACs have changed the face of American elections. They have contributors who write checks to them specifically for the purpose of CAMPAIGN DONATIONS. For example, if a person wants to support candidates who oppose gun control, he or she can contribute to the PAC that represents the NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION. The PAC, then, will make direct contributions to individual campaigns of selected candidates.

Critics believe that they do because more money comes from businesses and corporations than from any other source. This, they contend, gives them a connection to government that ordinary people do not have. From another point of view, everyone is free to form and join interest groups. So many exist that there is literally a group for everyone. These multiple contacts make the American democracy stronger, because they give the opportunity for all Americans to have better access to their government.