How much power do interest groups have? 369fired in 10 seconds. President Trump started the process of banning bump stocks through
an executive order in March 2018. If policy change occurs at all, it is likely to reflect a
complex process of bargaining and compromise, with no groups getting exactly what
they want. In such cases, it is hard to say whether a particular group has won or lost or to
attribute any aspect of the final bargain to a particular group’s efforts.
The case of gun control illustrates that the fact that a group is large or well funded does
not mean government officials will always comply with its requests. As mentioned earlier,
many people worry that well-funded interest groups will use their financial resources
to dominate the policy-making process, even if public opinion is against them, but these
fears are largely unfounded. The conditions that are ripe for well-funded interest groups
to become involved in a policy debate typically ensure that there will be well-funded groups
on all sides of a question. Under these conditions, no group is likely to get everything it wants
and no group’s lobbying efforts are likely to be decisive. Some groups may not get anything.While Congress has considered
various forms of gun control
legislation in recent years, the NRA
has been successful at blocking such
measures at the federal level and
even liberalizing state-level gun laws.
Here, members of the NRA and other
gun rights supporters counterprotest
during a gun control rally outside of
the NRA’s headquarters in Fairfax,
Virginia.However, gun control is not a typical case. Most cases of interest group influence
look a lot like the Turkey Federation’s request for more propane: a group asks for
something, there is relatively little opposition, and Congress or the bureaucracy
responds with appropriate policy changes. The situation might have been very different
if another group had lobbied on the other side against the Turkey Federation. If so,
satisfying one group would have required displeasing at least one other group. Faced
with this no-win situation, bureaucrats or legislators would be less likely to give the
group what it wanted. At a minimum, they would have had to measure the Turkey
Federation’s arguments against those made by the other groups.“Why
Should
I Care?”
Suppose you want to change some federal government policy—you want more
funding for a program or an end to some regulation. Does having enough money
guarantee a win? Generally speaking, the answer is no. What matters more is the
salience of the policy or regulation you’re trying to change and whether there is
organized opposition on the other side. If your group is the only one lobbying,
chances are good that you’ll win. But if the issue is highly salient and you have
opposition, your prospects aren’t good, regardless of the size of your bankroll.Full_11_APT_64431_ch10_340-373.indd 369 16/11/18 10:26 AM