Government by Committee: Interest Groups and Professional Lobbyists
Every member of Congress is besieged by interest groups and professional lobbyists whose job it is to provide information about legislation that will support their causes. Members of Congress, legislators agree, need to listen to competing sides of ...
Pressure Politics: Unity: A Rare but Essential Commodity
The actions of a unified team, working together, provide the foundation from which change is achieved. Many interest groups lack such unity. Until ordinary workers organize themselves into meaningful coalitions to put pressure on politicians their i...
Pressure Politics: Benefits of Organizing for a Cause
Coming together with people of like minds has benefits of its own, benefits that go beyond the issue or cause in question. It allows people to feel connected. The greatest challenge is whether or not a group, whatever the cause, can come together wi...
Living Constitution, The: Limitations on the Power of the People
The very basis of government as it is established in the United States suggests that people have the power to govern themselves. The Framers agreed that the majority should rule but that all voices should have a chance to be heard. In order to prote...
Pressure Politics: Strategies to Enlist Government Support
Interest groups use a number of approaches to solicit support from government officials. They hire professional lobbyists to provide information to and fundraising support for members of Congress. The Institute for Policy Studies uses films, books, ...