152 PART Two • The PolITIcs of AmeRIcAn DemocRAcy
Most lobbyists today are professionals. They are either consultants to a company or
interest group or members of one of the Washington, D.C., law firms that special-
ize in providing lobbying services. Such firms employ hundreds of former members of
Congress and former government officials. Lobbyists are valued for their network of
contacts in Washington.
Lobbyists engage in an array of activities to influence legislation and government
policy. These include the following:n Meeting privately with public officials to make known the interests of the lobbyists’ cli-
ents. Although they are acting on behalf of their clients, lobbyists often furnish needed
information to senators and representatives (and government agency appointees) that
these officials could not easily obtain on their own. It is to the lobbyists’ advantage to
provide useful information so that policymakers will rely on them in the future.
n Testifying before congressional committees for or against proposed legislation.
n Testifying before executive rulemaking agencies—such as the Federal Trade Commission
or the Consumer Product Safety Commission—for or against proposed rules.
n Assisting legislators or bureaucrats in drafting legislation or regulations. Often, lobby-
ists furnish advice on the specific details of legislation.
n Inviting legislators to social occasions, such as cocktail parties, boating expeditions,
and other events, including conferences at exotic locations. Most lobbyists believe
that meeting legislators in a social setting is effective.
n Providing political information to legislators and other government officials.
Sometimes, lobbyists have better information than the party leadership about how
other legislators are going to vote. When this is so, the political information they fur-
nish may be a key to legislative success.
n Suggesting nominations for federal appointments to the executive branch.The Ratings Game. Many interest groups attempt to influence the overall behavior of
legislators through their rating systems. Each year, these interest groups identify the legis-
lation that they consider most important to their goals and then monitor how legislators
vote on it. Legislators receive scores based on their votes. The usual ratings scheme ranges
from 0 to 100 percent. In the scheme of the liberal Americans for Democratic Action, for
example, a rating of 100 means that a member of Congress voted with the group on every
issue and is, by that measure, very liberal.campaign Assistance. Interest groups have additional strategies to use in their attempts
to influence government policies. Groups recognize that the greatest concern of legisla-
tors is to be reelected, so they focus on the legislators’ campaign needs. Associations
with large memberships, such as labor unions, are able to provide workers for political
campaigns, including precinct workers to get out the vote, volunteers to put up posters
and pass out literature, and people to staff telephone banks at campaign headquarters.
Candidates vie for the groups’ endorsements in a campaign. Gaining those endorsements
may be automatic, or it may require that the candidates participate in debates or interviews
with the interest groups. An interest group usually publicizes its choices in its membership
publication, and the candidate can use the endorsement in her or his campaign literature.Indirect Techniques
Interest groups can also try to influence government policy by working through oth-
ers, who may be constituents or the general public. Indirect techniques mask an interest
group’s own activities and make the effort appear to be spontaneous. Furthermore, leg-Copyright 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
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