“Since interest groups have become too powerful, the Constitution needs to be amended so that the government can limit their influence.”
Pros… Some public interest groups “alienate public interest groups rather than use it to their cause” and “use deceptive tactics that exploit the public’s fears or hide their true intent.” One such group is the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, led by the eldest son of FDR, James Roosevelt. It sends government imitated letters to senior citizens convincing them to send money to the Committee to help its alleged efforts to save the Social Security and Medicare systems. Another is the Citizens for Sensible Control of Acid Rain, who are funded by “utilities, coal producers, and manufacturing companies,” posing as a public interest group. It sent out 800,000 letters asking for signatures that happened to oppose a bill to control acid rain (McWilliams, 1988). Interest groups often hire lobbyists to fight for their causes. In 2003, Jack Abramoff, who used to be one of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington, convinced many Indian casino owners to contribute millions of dollars to supposedly help legislation affecting their casinos. Because the money coming in did not have to be disclosed to the public, Abramoff and his partners thought they could get away with spending this money themselves. Three years later he “pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe public officials.” In the battle for national health insurance, advocates must take on the “American Medical Association, representing more than 244,000 physicians, residents, and medical students,” which spends millions of dollars opposing national health insurance. The American Medical Association’s Political Action Committee gave $2 million to congressional candidates in 2004. The motives of such generosity can only be guessed. Who would’ve guessed that George W. Bush received more than $1.42 million dollars in campaign contributions from oil and gas companies(Wise and Cummings Jr. 205-207)? The connection between Bush’s ill-advised War in Iraq, following his in father’s footsteps, and the charity of the oil and gas companies could certainly exist.
Cons… Public interest groups have provided us with many of the comforts we take for granted today. We can attribute nonsmoking airplane seats, nutrition labels on cereal and soup packaging, smoke detectors in apartment complexes, flame-resistant clothing for children and cleaner air much to efforts of interest groups. The Nature Conservancy has “preserved some 2.6 million acres of selected wetlands, deserts, forests, prairies, and islands” and protects over 150 endangered species with the largest privately owned nature sanctuary. Another group whose strife has played a big role in protecting the environment is the NRDC, or the National Resources Defense Council. Its expert lawyers have influenced many laws dealing “air and water pollution, toxic wastes, drinking water, pesticides, nuclear energy, energy conservation, and land use” (McWilliams, 1988). Adding a constitutional amendment to limit the influence of public interest groups would be extremely difficult and most likely an unpopular plan in Congress. Making changes at the state and local levels are much more probable. Some laws have already been passed to achieve this goal. To protect bribing legislators, a 1962 statute makes it illegal for Congressmen to accept anything of value in exchange for a vote. In 1995, Congress passed a law limiting the lobbyists’ money spending “generosity” towards their buddies in Congress. In addition, when trying to limit the influence the bad interest groups one must remember that the majority of interest groups have legitimate causes and can use all the help the can get (Wise and Cummings Jr. 206). Even with a Constitutional amendment limiting the power of interest groups, there would still be many other ways of illegitimately influencing representatives in Congress and important court decisions.
Works Cited:
McWilliams, Rita (1988, March, 1). The best and worst of public interest groups; from
lifting up the poor to shaking down the elderly. Washington Monthly, 20, Retrieved March 9, 2007, from
Wise, David, and Milton C. Cummings Jr. Democracy Under Pressure. 10. Belmont:
Thomas Wadsworth, 2007.
