Judicial Decisions and Interest Groups essays

Judicial Decisions and Interest Groups essays One reason why interest groups form and grow strong is the relative weakness of American political parties. This weakness is due, in turn, to the separation of the three branches of government. Every legislator must summon a winning coalition in his or her own state or district and the coalition is not the same as the majority coalitions of successful assemblies. Splintered party loyalties thus enhance the influence of interest groups (Hays) - during election when financial support becomes critical and after election when the winning candidate gets closely Another reason is the decentralization of political power to states and localities, called federalism or federal system. This conduces to the growth of interest groups, which begins from the state or local level and which, as a consequence of the social and economic diversity, further weakens the party system. Furthermore, the independence of the judiciary encourages the expansion and strength of interest groups on issues not under the control of legislature or bureaucracy (Hays). These groups can, thus, use this clout to achieve policy objectives through the judiciary if they cannot do so by legislative action. And a third reason is public airing of an unlimited range of views and the freedom of the press and assembly. The various media have also been decentralized and this has made it more difficult to pay real attention to these groups. Only the internet has made access to these views easier. But these traditional realities, in general, provide the momentum and venue for the formation and power of such groups. The three major types of interest groups are business, labor and agriculture. Agricultural interest groups have waned because of the decline in the number of farmers in the USA (Hays). Major corporations are also major players in the economy, for which elected officials are held accountable. This w...