interest groups

A detailed Summary of interest groups

As Americans devote less and less time to an active participation in politics, they are increasing their participation in interest groups. As a result politicians are losing touch with the constituents that they represent. To the modern politician, the special interest and "the people" have become objectively indistinguishable. It is natural for people of like minds to want to form an interest group, and with the proliferation of hyperpluralism Americans are finding that no matter what their interest, there is a group for them to join. The irony is that with the advent of more and more interest groups, each group wields less and less power. Americans like to blame special interest for many of the problems going on in politics today, but some of the criticisms are unfounded. While there are instances where special interest are a detriment to the political process, for the most part they are no more than an extension of the first amendment that serves the purpose of informing the representatives on issues that they might not have a lot of expertise on.

As the strength of political parties continues to decline, individual members are gaining power. It is much easier for an interest group to target a single legis

Many groups such the tobacco industry give money to both parties. Some are decidedly sided with a single party: the Democrats and organized labor, the Republicans and the National Rifle Ass.. There is not a group that controls both parties of congress. Even if a group manages to persuade a large number of members in a single party to go along with them, in the age of small majorities it is unlikely that the could accomplish anything substantial. Individual legislators are more likely to cross party lines than they were forty years ago, and if they see an injustice happening they can easily quell it.

As the parties grow weaker and the individual legislator's grow stronger, the influence by the interest groups is also growing weaker. More people than ever are joining interest groups. They are faced with the reality of less and less time on their hands. In most families both parents work, and even though they may want to take an active interest in a political issue, they cannot find the time. This is where interest groups come in. By joining a group they get the satisfaction of feeling that they are making a difference without taking too much of their precious time. When people join a group they do not see that group as a "lobbying" group. They might view other groups like that, but not theirs. When someone sees that there is a group advocating an issue that they are not in favor of, they will be inclined to join a group that is going to off-set it. This has led to the term "hyperpluralism". Hyperpluralism means that interest groups are becoming smaller and more specialized, all the while increasing in number. This has a direct correlation on the effectiveness of the groups. With so many groups out there, it is harder for a legislator to pay special attention to any one group. Lawmakers will be less responsive to a single-issue group when they present a problem, but they will run towards them when it is time to get elected.

One of the hardest parts of an election is getting your message out to the voters. A candidate has to spend long hours on the campaign trail shaking hands and "kissing babies". By offering themselves as a sounding board to the special interest groups they can get hope to gain the votes of people who take the group

Some common words found in the essay are:
James Madison, Rifle Ass, , Supreme Court, Growers Association, President Clinton, Bill Clinton, Jerry Moran, madison founders, federalist 10, single party, soft money, enlightened statesmen,

Approximate Word count = 1519
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics