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THE ROLE OF PRESSUREGROUFSIN THE
AMERICANPOLITICALSYSTEM
RobertStrauzs'HUPE
A democracy...is ihe most^ complexof all the forms of thestate,for it has to begin by unitingthewill of all so as to forma people;aridthenit hasto appointa sovereign over this common union,which sovereignis no other than the unitedwill itself.
This 200 -^ yearold statementby the great ,Germanphilo- sopherEmmanuelKant is not a bad text with which to begin a lectureon <TheRoleof ,PressureGroupsin the AmericanPoliti- cal $ysteml The enormousmultitude,divorsity,and sophistica- tion of such groups involvescomplexitieswhich Kant could not have dreamedof. just as he could not have (^) envisageda demccracyspanninga whole continentand embracing millionpeople,whose individualwills would haveto be united in orderto-forma people- the UnitedStatesof America.
The foundersof the UnitedStates,contemporariesof Kant, who were engagedin inventinga constitutionfor perhapsthree millionsettlerson a relativelynarrowstrip along (^) the Ailantic ccastof America- a reasonably homogeneouspopulation largelyof iBritishand Protestantstock,overwhelminglyoccu- pied (^) with farming,artisanalindustry,or commerce- were also cnfyfaintlya.Nareof the full dimensionsof the problemof citizen participationin democratic- or wlratseveralof them preferred
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to call <republicanD- government.Theyfelt that the collective wisdomand integrityof a parliamentarybody neithertoo large, nor too small, interposedbetweenthe greed and other evil passionsof the citizenry,on the one hand,and governmental
action,on the other,would improvethe chancethat concern for what is good for the peopleas a wholewould,at leastmost of the time,prevailoverprivateinterests.Theysaw in a bicame- ral legislature,with a Senatevery differentlyconstitutedfrom the House,an additionalsafeguardof the public interest.They were aware o fthe problemsof majority rule and concerned aboutwhat Jeffersoncalleda <sacredprinciple.>;
... The will of the majorityis in all casesto prevail, that'..villto be rightfulmustbe reasonable;that^ the mino- rity possesstheir equal rights,which^ equal law must protect;and to violatewould be oppression.
And, even in that small societyof three million,a man like James Madisonwas well aware of the threats to unity, He wrote in one of the Federalistpapers:
Amongthe numerousadvantagespromisedby a well- constructedunion none deservesto be more accurately developedthan its tendencyto break and control the violenceof faction...By a faction,I understanda number of citizens,rvhetheramountingto a majorityor a minority of the whole,who are unitedand actuatedby somecom- mon impulseof passion,or of interest,adverseto the rightsor other citizens,or to the permanentand aggre- gate interestsof the community.
And, prabably most of them would have agreedwith EdmundBurke,the great^ Britishstatesmanand politicalthin- ker of their time,that for any systemof representativedemoc- racytofunction'well,at leastmost of the representativesin a parliamentarybody wquld haveto be able to rise abovetheir loyaltyto their narrowconstituencyand vote accordinglyto their consienceof the publicgood - to be <nota memberfor
was bribery,'wherelegislatorstraded influencefor money. Thesedealsoftentook placein the lobbiesof legislaturesand of the Congress.The pejorativeterm rto denoteinf- luence peddlerswas current in the Americanlanguageby
The past^150 yearshavebroughtno changein the desire cf Americansto influencelegislationor the actionsof Govern- ment. But tlre frarnework,the dimensionsof the society,the varietyof interestspursued,ihe methodsemployed,and the laws regulatingthem - all this is totallydifferent.In the pro- cess,the sordidanC secretivebusinessof richmanrbuyingD a legislatoror executivebranchofficialhas becomeas far as anyonecan tell, a rarity.Pressuregroup politicsand lobby- ing havebecomerespectable,resognizedby most as an essen- tial componentof a very complexpoliticalsystem.Clearly,every one of us still objectsto pressuregroupsand lobbiesrepre- sentingvigws (^) and interestsopposedto our own - but we tend to regardwith some benevolencethose with which we agree. But,qhen pressedhard,most (^) of us would admit that the larger the varietyof opinionseffectivelyand presuasivelypressedon the politicalmarketplace,the greaterthe chancethat balance and good^ sen$ewill prevailin the end.
The UnitedSiates has becomea very large and complex nation,indeed.The equivalentof Edmund,Burke's<member from Bristolr, let us say, the' representativefrcm Lafayette, lndiana,has a ccnstituency(includingchildren)well overharf a million peoplo.The two Senatorsfrom Indianashare (^) over ten millicn constituents.Each of these is more than just a citizenof Lafayette,or of Indiana.Each is a man or a woman, and at a giventime,on a givenissue,this may be moreimpor- tant to him or her thangeographicallegiance.Eachis a worker, or smallbusinessowner,or employee,or housewife,of farmer, or collegeprofessor,with a wholeset of interestsand opinions derivingfrom the particularoccupation- and the occupations are lar more numerousand differentiatedthan they were in the eighteenthcentury.Most constituentsalso relatethemsel-
ves to somekind of ethnicor racialorigin- for example,ltalian, lrish, Polish,Black,Armenian,American,lndian,Greek,Jew, Arab - and tor many,loyaltyto their rootshas becomea domi- nant determinantof political^ views. Many of the constituents have strongreligious- or anti-religious- viewsand theirpar- ticular upbringingor allegiancewill determinetheir views^ on a wholeset of issues,socialand political,tyingthemmoreclo- selyto somepeoplein Californiaor NorthCarolinathanto their Indiananeigbors.Someconsiituentsare war veterans,or physi- cally handicapped,or old, or loversof musicor other^ arts,or enthusiastichuntersor fishermen,and each of tlresecircums- tances (^) or preferencesmay help determinetheir interestsand their opinions.Som hold stockin a papermill or chemicalcom- panywhose plantspollutewater and air - but all are drinkers
of water^ and breathersof air. The list of particularitiesthat can split (^) the Lafayettecongressman'sconstituencyino groups- and unite them with ccnstituencieselsewhere- could go on. lt is nct astonishingthat all Americanscan no longerfeel that they are adequatelyrepresentedby and representative,let aloneany Senator,for whom they cast their ballot.
Organizinggroupsandassociationsfor political,social and economicends is an old Americantradition.ln 1963,some 57 peroentof all Americansbelongedto such grcups.The number is probablya Eood deal higher now, and it would be much higher if churches,many of which are activein these areas, were included.I could find no estimatefor the total number of such trade,professional,and other groupsand associations, many of which functiononly on the local or state level,but I would guess^ it to be in the tens of thousands.Thereare about 2.000which maintainpermanentoffices - most of which are, therefore,nationalin scope- in Washington,D.C.Many more have Washingtonlaw, public relations,and firms representthem on a retainerbasis.They rangefrom the AFL- CIO trade union federatino,probablythe most powerfulsingle pressuregroup,and the prestigious<rBusinessRoundTable,lr consistingof two or threehundredchief executivesof the lar- gest Americanbusinesscorporations,to the <<FrozenOnion
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organizationfor the electionof candidates,they no longerhave much influenceover them after their election.That may be a blow to traditionalrepresentativedemocracy,but not neces- sarilyto democracyitself.
Organizedpressuregroups have in recentdecadescer- tainly eroded this monopolyof the parties.Typically,a can- didate fro Congressfinanceshis campaign,in additionto personalor family funds or gifts from individualswho know and trust him, from (grass rootsDcontributions raisedby variousgroupsthat agreewith his standon variousissuesof interestto them, and from grants by various (^) organizations closelytied to organizedpressuregroupsor businesscorpora- tion.Their (^) campaign'workers,oftenmuch more importantthan mcneythousandsof peoplecallingon or telephoningpotential voters, providingtransportationfor them to go to the polls, anddistributingcampaignliterature- usuallyalso come frorn the samegrass (^) roots organizations,from local units of national organizations- from groups (^) able to marshalcommitmentfot or againstan issue.The partiesprovidelittle more than an endorsementand occasionallysome support in the form of visitsand campaignspeechesby nationallyknownpoliticians.
The electoralrole of pressuregroups is, of course,funda- mental.The campaignfinancin,glaws of the 1970's,originally designedto restristthe flow of privatecontributionsto political campaigns,actuallyincreasedthat flow. A large numberof so-callednPoliticalAction CommitteesDsprang into deign to channelfunds (^) of corporate,trade union,or originto the campaignsof candidatesjudgedto be sympatheticto one group or the other.There are relativelyfarrtdocumentedcases of a candidatebeing electedor defeatedexclusivelyby those groups,let alone (^) by a single one amongthem, but there have been many instancesin which they could permita candidate to circumventhis party'sorganizationin order to get on the ballot and to get elected.Very fat congressmenor senators can be said to <belongDto any pressuregroup (^) of coalitionof pressuregroups.For that, they (^) tend to commandtoo fsw votes
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in any disrrictor any state.lt can be said,in general,that what they get for their often heroic efforts and financialsacrifices in campaignsis r<access))to a legislator.Access is the first and vital step in what is perhapsthe majoractivityof pressure groups- tobbying.
I have.said that lobbyinghas becomerespectablein the United States.lt has joined other ancient arts once looked upon with contempt in most societies- like commerceand moneylending- in becominga profession.lt is a profession numerousenough- some 20.000practitionersin Washington alone- to constitutean associationdesignedto lobbyon behalf of issuesof concernto the lobbyiststhemselves.The good lobbyistdisposesof researchresourcesthat make him one of the two or threetop expertsin the capitalon the issuewhich he seeksto advanceor to defeat.The professionis described by one ol the chief lobbyistsof GeneralMotorsin theseterms;
Lobbyistsare first and foremostexperts in govern- ment,its structure,its programs,its policiesand its legis- lative process.Lobbyistsprovide (^) information,advocate and (^) implementpolicypositionsand defendeconomic,poli- tical,technicaland socialnphilosophies.>And, in addition to being (^) the principalcontactwith the politicalpolicy- makers,they are integrally involvedin planningand executingthe related strategiesto accomplishpolitical objectives.
The typical lobbyistswill not use his time and his access to approacha legislatorwhom he knowsto be opposedto his quest.He will call on those sympatheticto his causeand on those who have not yet made up their minds. l-le will not attemptto threatenor to put pressureon thosewhom he sees, nor hold out rewardsto him. He will simply make the best case he can for his cause,supportingit with tlre best expertise and the fullestset of facts and statisticstha can be obtained. The kind of paper on a single issuethat he is likely to lealte with the legislatoris not readilyavailableto the latter in spite
Ostensibleleaders,or frombooks.Theirthinkingis donefor them by men much like themselves,addressingthem or speakingin theirname,on the spurof the moment,through the newspapers.
It would not be difficultto find an echo a day in the thoughtsor words of Americanpoliticallabers in positions of power- thoughsuch thoughtsor words are less likely to come from those seekingpower.An examinationof pressure groups in Americanpolitics (^) cannot excludethe concept of publicopinion,becausethe use of modernmass communica- tion - the wholelandscapeof thousandscf newspapers,radio and televisionstations- was and is an essentialconditionof both the developmentand the functioningof modernpressure groups.lssuestend to be more newsworthyand dramaticthan politicalparties,and issue- orientedpressuregroupsare more likely to get media exposurethan party organizations.Media exposureis even more essenialto forming interestgroups spreadacrossthe countrythan to politicians,most of whom seek electionsin a limited geographicarea. But the satura- tion of the whole atmosphere,especiallyin the capital.Was- hington,with mediaand opinionsexpressedin or throughthe mediaundoubtedlyhas an effect on membersof the tegisla- tive and executivebranchesof the Governmentalike.
The media, (^) like the pressuregroups,can rarely cause anythingto happen.They are, however,very much part of the overallsystemin whichthingshappen.And, the effectivepres- sure group, (^) the competentlobbyist,is very much aware of this. l-ie works hard to get the media- those in a given (^) cong- ressman'sconstituency,as well as those in Washington- to embracehis cause.With or without the help of the media, he may also attempt (^) to organize mail campaignsby which the legislator'sconstituentslet him know where they stand on a bill under consideration.All this is bound to have an effect on the legislatoras he searcheshis soul and tries to make up his mind.He knowsthe originof the pressor mailcampaign, so they will haveno automaticeffecton his vote,no morethan
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the lobbyist'sown presentationdid. But he may changehis estimateof the influenceof a pressure group in his home district.lt will be a factor. He is not likely to be aownedlby a pressuregroup or a lobbyist -^ there are to,o many of both for that. But it is all part of the discussionand discussionof issuesis probablythe principalgood which pressuregroups facilitatein our politicalsystem.They providerelativelysmall and definablefora withinwhich peoplecan expresstheir con- cerns and which, in turn, can bring these concernsto the attentionof public^ opinionand of the body politic.
I havesaid earlyon that pressuregroupsand lobbieshave aiways existed in all political^ systems.The Americanpheno- menonmay be uniquein threerespects.First,.thata greatmany of these groupsin the UnitedStatesare devotedto other than the identifiablematerial interessof their members.The drama- tic developmentof so-calledlobbiesfor the prciection of the environment,for various aspects of civil rights, (^) or for governmentalreform,especiallyin the last two decades,would deserveanother lecture.These groups have alsofound'waysto pursuetheirgoalsthroughthe courtsystem, literallywriting legal history and assuringa livelihood for thousandsof lawyers.The secondAmericanpeculiaritycomes from the fact that most Americanpressuregroups,even the largestand most powerfultrade union Committeeon Political Education,havefoundthat they mustform coalitions- someti- mes coalitionsembracingoddly disparategroups -^ in order to obta!n legislativeresults.This has tended to discourage pressure prougs from wanting to transformthemselvesinto politicalpartiesor from tryingto work withinone partyalone; and,sincethe coalitionsare generallytemporary,for or against a particularbill, individualgroupsare preventedfrom accumu- lating a dangerousmeasureof influenceand power.Finally, the most uniquefeatureof the Americansituationis that these groups and their lobbies are legal. There were, in the nine- teenth century, many attemts to eliminatelobbying,but the combinationof human nature and the broad guaranteesof freedomof speech,assehbly,and petitionin the Constitution
r<publicopinionl for it. Turkey,with the help of the smail bul increasinglyactive Turkish-Americancommunity,has been more succe$sfulin pressingits case of late than in the past. I wish you good luck,as your successwill makemy job much easier.
The politicalscientist'sjob is to observe,to describe,and to analyze- not to judge.lt'would.be idle for me to discussthe philosophicalor moral rights and wrongs of the American regimeof pressuregrups and the positiveor negativeeffects of the role of lobbies.Clearly,much could be said on both sides. lt is, ho'wever,Useful to rememberthat they are an instrumentby which large numbersand a vast diversityof Americansmakeiheir voicesheardin the politicalarena.They may be one of the reasonswhy the principalthreatto democ- racy seen by that astuteobserver.Alexis do Tocqueville,who noted the role of <privateassociationslin Americanpolitics, has failed to materialize.He wrote in 1835.
lf ever the free intitutlonsof Americaaredestroyed, that event may be attributedto the ommipotenceof the majority,which mayat somefuturetime urgehe minorities to desperationand obligethemto haverecourseto physical force. Anarchy^ will then be the result, but it will have been (^) broughtabout by despotism.
Not a likelyscenario,as we wouldsay in '1984.
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