Linking Citizens to Government

Interest Group Politics at Common Cause

By: Lawrence S. Rothenberg

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Paperback | 28 December 1992

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328 Pages

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Lawrence Rothenberg examines some of the most elusive aspects of interest group operations through an in-depth study of one of the largest interest groups in Washington, Common Cause. In developing what might be called a membership theory, he asks such questions as: Why do members join a group? Who stays and who leaves and why? What is the nature of the relationships among the activists, the group leaders and the rank-and-file members? How do these relationships shape the lobbying policies of the group? How is the lobbying impact of a group related to the nature of its membership? In addition, Rothenberg analyzes the impact the lobbying efforts of Common Cause have had through case studies of the Congressional vote on the MX missile system and of the agenda setting behind the campaign finance reform bill.

Industry Reviews

"Among the book's considerable strengths are its methodological sophistication, its use of the concept of experiential search, and its treatment of the connectedness of decisions at individual. organizational, and policy levels." Contemporary Sociology "To my knowledge this is the first time someone has made the useful distinction between members, activists, and leaders in an interest group and actually produced data about the activists. I believe it is one of the best interest-group studies ever done." Andrew McFarland, University of Illinois at Chicago "To my knowledge this is the first time someone has made the useful distinction between members, activists, and leaders in an interest group and actually produced data about the activists. I believe it is one of the best interest-group studies ever done." Andrew McFarland, University of Illinois at Chicago "...an important book that should be read by interest group scholars and those interested in general represenation matters in American politics...What Rothenberg has provided is a way to think about and conduct research on individual groups as integrated entities. It is a large step in the right direction." Allan J. Cigler, American Political Science Review

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Non-Fiction Politics & Government Political Structure & Processes Elections & Referenda Political Activism Pressure Groups & Lobbying Central Government

List of figures
List of tables
Preface
Organized groups and the political system	p. 1
Understanding organized groups: The lack of consensus	p. 1
Moving ahead	p. 4
The focus of analysis: Common Cause	p. 7
Some caveats	p. 12
Structure of the analysis	p. 13
A unified framework for understanding citizens' decision making: A theory of experiential search	p. 15
Toward a unified view	p. 15
General analytic approaches to citizens' decision making	p. 15
Members' decision making	p. 17
A theory of experiential search	p. 21
Common Cause and experiential search	p. 24
Conclusions: Experiential search as a unified framework	p. 28
Who contributes?	p. 29
Common Cause members: Painting a portrait	p. 29
Common Cause members and the national citizenry	p. 30
Sociodemographic differences	p. 31
Political attitudes	p. 36
Participatory activities	p. 41
Summary	p. 42
The Common Cause membership: Activists versus rank and file	p. 43
Sociodemographic differences	p. 44
Political attitudes	p. 47
Participatory activities	p. 54
Summary	p. 56
Conclusions: Group members--external and internal comparisons	p. 56
Appendix 3.1. Question wording of Common Cause and National Election Study questions	p. 58
General political attitudes	p. 58
Specific political attitudes	p. 59
Participatory activities	p. 62
Why do citizens join groups?	p. 63
Joining--the first step	p. 63
Studying the membership choice	p. 64
Why members think they joined	p. 66
The determinants of membership: An individual-level analysis	p. 69
Measurement	p. 75
Estimation	p. 77
Results	p. 78
An aggregate-level replication	p. 82
Choosing among public interest groups	p. 86
Conclusions: The determinants of membership	p. 93
Appendix 4.1. Critique of Kau and Rubin	p. 95
Appendix 4.2. Formal presentation of WESML estimator	p. 99
The internal politics of organizations I: Learning and retention	p. 100
Life in the organization	p. 100
Do members learn?	p. 102
Exploring the retention process	p. 108
Measurement	p. 110
Understanding retention	p. 111
A validity check	p. 120
Conclusions: Learning, the retention choice, and experiential search	p. 123
Appendix 5.1. Testing the retention model	p. 124
The internal politics of organizations II: Activism	p. 127
Separating the activists from the rank and file	p. 127
Checkbook versus temporal activism	p. 128
Checkbook activism and its determinants	p. 130
Temporal activism: An introduction	p. 134
Alternative scenarios	p. 136
The costs and benefits of Common Cause activism	p. 137
An empirical test: Activism and Common Cause	p. 139
Measurement and estimation	p. 140
Results	p. 144
Activism: A validity test	p. 151
A final note: Activism and retention as a joint commitment decision	p. 152
Conclusions: Moving up	p. 156
The internal politics of organizations III: Leadership behavior and the determinants of group goals	p. 158
Moving from the "demand" to the "supply" side	p. 158
Democratic processes at Common Cause	p. 160
Members' attitudes toward representation	p. 166
Shifting the issue agenda	p. 169
The MX missile debate	p. 171
A strange match: Common Cause versus MX	p. 173
Theoretical perspectives on organizational goals	p. 176
Common Cause, goal formation, and the MX missile	p. 180
Making sense of it all: The politics of organizational goals	p. 186
Conclusions: Leadership behavior and goal formation	p. 187
Does group activity make a difference? The case of the MX missile	p. 190
The policy linkage	p. 190
Lobbying strategy and voting behavior	p. 194
Setting the stage: The battle for the Peacekeeper	p. 196
The role of the MX's opponents	p. 202
Does lobbying make a difference?	p. 203
Measurement and estimation	p. 205
Results	p. 209
The structural determinants of lobbying	p. 215
Conclusions: Voting, lobbying, and public policy	p. 221
Does group activity make a difference? The politics of campaign finance	p. 223
Returning to course	p. 223
Campaign finance, the MX, and Common Cause	p. 224
Charting the divisions	p. 229
Events of 1985-1991	p. 234
The entrepreneurs: Boren and Byrd	p. 235
The first offensive: The push for PAC reform	p. 237
The second offensive: Byrd joins the fray	p. 241
Life after Byrd	p. 244
Common Cause and campaign finance reform	p. 247
Conclusions: Coalition formation and group influence	p. 252
Conclusions: Citizens' preferences, internal politics, and public policy	p. 255
Interest groups and representation	p. 255
Individual choice, internal politics, and systemic influence	p. 256
Individual choice behavior	p. 257
Internal politics and goal formation	p. 259
Systemic impact	p. 260
The big picture	p. 262
Linking citizens to policy	p. 262
Viewing organizations	p. 265
Some final thoughts	p. 266
Notes	p. 267
References	p. 293
Index	p. 303
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Linking Citizens to Government

Interest Group Politics at Common Cause

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

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How to return your order

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