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Answer
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Hint
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Grassroots Activity
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This is used by pressure groups, who see this as an important arm of 'influence gathering': -In the US, due to parties having a looser federation of 'state parties', influence will be more aimed at the branches of government themselves. -Pressure groups will seek to gain influence in the mass media through the organisation of this type of activity. |
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Electoral Campaigning
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Pressure groups can endorse political candidates, make campaign donations and release voting 'scorecards': -They may openly endorse a candidate and encourage their members and the public to vote for them. -They may donate money to political campaigning. -In the US, the amount that candidates' official campaigns can raise is limited, thus pressure groups get around this by donating to Political Action Committees (PACs) and Super PACs. -In 2018, the League of Conservation Voters spent $85 million on electoral campaigning, more than any other single-issue group. It achieved its aim of winning the House of Representatives back for the Democrats, with nearly 60 of their new congressional candidates being elected. -Pressure groups may release 'scorecards': showing voters how candidates score on certain key policies. This may be an analysis of their voting record, or a comparison of their positions with other candidates. |
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Voting Scorecards
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These types of scorecards include: -The US Chamber of Commerce releasing a 'How they Voted' scorecard for each member of Congress to allow voters to easily analyse candidates' record in advancing pro-business policies. -The NRA allocates each candidate a grade from A to F based on their voting record on gun rights. -The League of Conservation Voters releases a 'dirty dozen' list of politicians who have the worst environmental records. A total of 5 of the 12 candidates on the federal list were defeated in 2020, and 6 of the 12 candidates on the state 'dirty dozen' list lost their seats. The League's 'Dirtiest of all Time', President Donald Trump, was also defeated. |
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Labor Unions
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Commonly referred to as trade unions in the UK, in the US they operate and organise very differently: -In the US, membership of these has been in decline since its peak in the 1950s. -They have never 'unionised' anywhere near the proportion of the workforce that happened in the UK. -The AFL-CIO (The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) is the US equivalent of the UK Trades Union Congress, however, many American Unions are not affiliated with the AFL-CIO. -According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10% of employees in the US were members of a Trade Union in 2022. This has significant implications for 'workers lobbying powers'. |
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1965 Voting Rights Act
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This Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson following the actions at Selma Bridge.
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Judiciary
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The methodology of lobbying the US Supreme Court is far more established than in the UK: -One way this is shown is the 'time, money and energy' US pressure groups spend in lobbying the state and federal courts, given the power and influence of the judiciary in both levels of government. -Topics often used to lobby the Supreme Court - equal rights for racial minorities, abortion, religious freedoms, freedom of speech, etc. -It makes sense for pressure groups to aim their fire at courts that have wide-ranging powers to challenge federal and state law. -Watts (2008) states: 'In countries in which the constitution provides the courts with a formal role of judicial review, activists will use the courts more readily.'. |
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2021 Conviction of Derek Chauvin
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This conviction of a Minneapolis police officer following the 'Black Lives Matter' protests over his involvement in the death of George Floyd, led him to be found guilty of Third Degree Murder and Secondary Degree Manslaughter, receiving a prison sentence of 22 years: -This conviction was a landmark decision as it was the first conviction of a White police officer in Minnesota for the death of a Black man. -It is debated whether this conviction could have occurred if it wasn't for the public outrage and protests which ensued after Floyd's death. |
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Answer
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Hint
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Success factors
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These factors include: -Size of membership -Amount of money available -The groups strategic position in the political system -The balance of public opinion -Strength of countervailing forces/groups -Attitude of the administration in power -Ability to access the media Malcom Walles (1988): 'Pressure groups are successful largely to the extent that those who control the authority of the state allow them to be successful.'. |
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The First Amendment
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This Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees the right to lobby, by guaranteeing the right of the people to 'petition the government for a redress of grievances [complaint]'.
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Lobbying
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Defined as seeking to influence (a legislator) on an issue -this is more prominent in the US than in the UK: -The UK Parliament is a much more 'controlled and disciplined' institution, particularly with the executive and party discipline, than the US Congress, since the 'executive' branch of US Government has little or no control over Congress and both Democrat and Republican representatives occupy a 'broad ideological range' and often disagree. -Rod Hague and Martin Harrop (2010): 'In the US, most pressure groups have learned that the surest route to the hearts of the members of Congress is through their constituents. Therefore groups follow a ‘dual strategy’ – going public and going Washington'. -Malcom Walles (1988): 'Operating as they usually do, under tight constraints imposed by party whips, MPs are rarely swayed by pressure groups if questions of a party political nature are involved. They may, occasionally be persuaded to raise a question in the House, or to pursue a point which may prove embarrassing for party leaders: rarely will MPs support a group which contradicts the ‘party line’'. |
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Incumbency
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This term is in reference to US Congressional elections, where US pressure groups overwhelmingly donate money to incumbents rather than 'challengers'. -Business gravitate towards the Republican Party. -Organised labour gravitate towards the Democratic Party. |
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Political Power
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In neither Washington nor Westminster does this reside ultimately in pressure groups or their activities, and their success or failure depends in large part part 'upon the ability of the duly constituted authorities to stand up to them, and upon their ability to make rational decisions after adequate consideration of all relevant information': -Thus a potential answer to the power and influence that pressure groups have on governments is not necessarily to weaken the groups, but to strengthen the institutions of government which they will try to bend to their will. |
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The Separation of Powers & Checks and Balances
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This constitutional structure of power means US pressure groups focus on Congressional Committees, as well as the executive department.
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Opportunities
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In the US, there are a lot more opportunities for pressure groups to have influence: -There are more elective posts in the US than in the UK. -There is a 'two-tier' system that operates in the US, whereby pressure groups pressure members of Congress and State Legislatures - the opportunity to influence is inevitably greater than the UK. -In the US, there are opportunities to influence candidate selection through 'direct primaries'. |
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