Summary
Contents
Guide to Interest Groups and Lobbying in the United States offers a thematic analysis of interest groups and lobbying in American politics over the course of American political history. It explores how interest groups have organized and articulated their support for numerous issues, and how they have they grown – both in numbers and range of activities – to become an integral part of the U.S. political system. Beginning with the foundations of interest groups during the late 19th-century Gilded Age, to the contemporary explosive growth of lobbying, Political Action Committees, and new forms of interest group cyberpolitics, readers are provided with multiple approaches to understanding the complex and changing interest advocacy sphere. This authoritative work will find an audience not only with students and scholars, but also with policy advocates.
The Growth of Government and the Expansion of Interest Groups
The Growth of Government and the Expansion of Interest Groups
Elections are tough times for lobbyists. There is nothing like an election to bring out the strongest anti-interest group statements from politicians. During the 2007 Democratic presidential primary, Sen. John Edwards proclaimed:
In the past 10 years, the number of lobbyists in Washington has tripled to 36,000. That means there are sixty registered lobbyists for each member of Congress and 20 ...
