Interest groups are becoming incredibly influential in American politics. An interest group is an assembly of people who share common interests or ideals. They then work together to influence the government by promoting whatever their interest may be. These groups vary in size, tactics, and aims (Sparknotes, Editors). There are three main components to be considered an interest group: non-party, organization, and political activity. Non-party means there is no formal affiliation with a political party, however most groups do have direct interest in a particular party and their candidates. To be organized they need to have a budget, employees and maybe an office. If a group is not organized it cannot be considered an interest group, for example the African American community as a whole, despite sharing several traits, similar ideas for the government and voting habits, are not an interest group. However, the NAACP is an interest group because they are an organized group of people sharing the same interests. Political activity by an interest group, is done mostly through lobbying, the act of trying to influence government decisions. They may also conduct research and report findings to the necessary people to help push their interests through the government (Nownes, 17-19). Lobbying is usually done in two ways, the first is to support and assist in the passing of bills that favor their group, the second is to prevent bills or provisions of bills from going through. This can be done by getting a decision-maker to side with your interest group and agree that what the interest group wants is good for his/her constituents (Greenberg and Page, 211-212). One of the largest and most influential interest groups in America is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It has spent over $1 billion between 1998 and 2014, most of which is for lobbying, having spent $136.6 million in 2012 alone (Opensecrets.
