Anthony Nownes - Interest Groups in American Politics: Pressure and Power

Americans rail against so-called special interests, but at the same time many members of society are themselves represented in one form or another by organized groups trying to affect the policymaking process. This concise but thorough text demonstrates that interest groups are involved in the political system at all levels of governmentfederal, state, and localand in all aspects of political activity, from election campaigns to agenda setting to lawmaking to policy implementation. Rather than an anomaly or distortion of the political system, it is a normal and healthy function of a pluralist society and democratic governance. Nonetheless, Nownes warns of the dangers of unwatched interest group activity, especially in the realms of the electoral process and issue advocacy.

Interest Groups in American Politics, Second Edition, is grounded by the role of information in interest group activity, a theme that runs through the entire book. This much anticipated revision of Nowness text retains a student-friendly tone and thoroughly updates the references to interest group research, as well as adds a new chapter on the connections between interest groups and political parties. Numerous figures and tables throughout the book help students visualize important trends and information.

Anthony J. Nownes is a professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is the author of numerous works on interest group politics at the federal, state, and local level and is an award-winning teacher.

Second edition published 2013
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the UK
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2013 Taylor & Francis

The right of Anthony J. Nownes to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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First edition published by Houghton Mifflin 2001

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Nownes, Anthony J.

Interest groups in American politics : pressure and power / Anthony J. Nownes.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Pressure groupsUnited States. 2. LobbyingUnited States. I. Title.

JK1118.N68 2012

322.430973dc23

2012016780

ISBN: 9780415894258 (hbk)
ISBN: 9780415894265 (pbk)
ISBN: 9780203806821 (ebk)

Typeset in Avenir and Dante
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton

What is a Political Party?

Famous Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville remarked in 1834 that nowhere in the world were associations more ubiquitous and more important than they were in the United States. Over 175 years later, evidence that de Tocquevilles point still is incisive is everywhere. In Washington, DC, as well as in states, cities, counties, and everywhere else government decisions are made, interest groups are omnipresent. Their lobbyists roam the halls of government buildings, their advertisements fill the airwaves during election season, their membership pleas clutter our mailboxes, and their influence is blamed for everything from global warming and the financial crisis, to high gas prices and protracted war in the Middle East.

I have one very simple goal in writing this bookto provide an accessible, reasonably comprehensive overview of interest group politics in the United States to the reader with only a rudimentary knowledge of the subject. I do not assume that the reader knows nothing about American politics. Rather, I assume that the reader knows the very basics of the American governmental system things such as how the American system of government is organized, what is in the Constitution, what powers the various branches and levels of government have, and how elections work. But I assume very little knowledge of interest groups. If you are a student reading this book, I assume you have taken a course or two in American politics. But I assume the courses you have taken touch only tangentially on interest group politics. If you are a curious laypersonin other words, not a studentI assume you know a little about American politics, but not a whole lot about interest groups.

Because I assume very little in the way of knowledge of interest group politics, I try to keep things straightforward here. My experiences teaching over the years have taught me that many peopleeven many intelligent people who know a lot about politicssimply do not know even the most basic facts about interest groups in American politics. This is not necessarily a terrible thingit arguably is more important to learn about the president, and Congress, and the Supreme Court, and federalism, and the way your local government works than it is to learn about interest groups. But it means that a book like this needs to do something other than discuss the latest research on interest groups and wade into theoretical controversies; it must give readers the raw material they need to understand the substance of interest group politics. And that is what I do hereI provide a substantive overview of interest group politics in America. To be sure, along the way I will spend some time discussing theoretical issues and exploring theoretical developments. But my immediate goal is to provide you with the information you need to explore these issues and developments yourself, should you care to do so in the future.

There are not a huge number of books out there that cover the subject of interest group politics. But there are a few. What sets this book apart? First, and yes, this is a theme, this book is accessible . I want you to be able to read it, understand it, and use it. I like big words and expansive theories as much as the next person (maybe more). But this is not the place for these things. I think theories of interest group formation, and maintenance, and influence are fascinating and important. But I think you need to understand the basic stuff before you can understand and evaluate these theories. Second, this book is comprehensive . By this I mean that I try not to leave anything out. Many books on interest groups say a lot about interest groups in Washington, but little or nothing about interest groups in states and localities across the United States. From the very beginning of this book I make the point that interest groups operate everywhere in America, and I try to remind the reader of this fact as much as possible. You really cannot understand interest group politics in America by focusing narrowly on interest groups in Washington. This book also is comprehensive in that it examines all the things that interest groups do. Many books focus on lobbying but ignore the other things that interest groups do (such as fundraising, earning a profit, and monitoring government). To understand where interest groups fit into the American governmental system, you must understand all that they do. Third, this book is topical . I try, whenever possible, to reference current events and contemporary politics in my discussions of interest group politics. I try, for example, to use examples that are, as they say, ripped from the headlines. This said, I want to acknowledge that the book is not weighed down with examples. If you are using this book as a textbook in a class, chances are that the class is not a standalone interest group class. Many courses that cover interest groups, for example, also cover political parties. Thus, I realize that I cannot write a 500-page tome and expect anybody to read it from start to finish. So I tried hard to keep this book on the brief side (while attempting maximum coverage, of course), and thus also to keep it on the inexpensive side.