Special interest groups bipartisan in Congress, scholar finds

The same groups that line up on two sides in elections come together afterward to advance the same bills, said Matt Grossmann, assistant professor of political science.

Grossmann cited the current debate over national health care as an example. "Pharmaceutical companies, unions and doctors have all come out in support of President Obama's plan," he said. "It is the public and legislators that are closely divided, not interest groups."

Grossmann's research challenges the conventional view on several fronts. In a paper appearing in the September issue of the journal American Politics Research, Grossmann and Casey Dominguez of the University of San Diego argue that:

• Interest group alliances on bills before Congress have no partisan structure. Groups allied with different political parties join many of the same broad-based coalitions.
  
• The Democratic Party coalition is not made up of a mishmash of small groups plagued with internal conflict, as many believe. In reality, the Democratic groups are more closely linked than Republican groups.

Grossmann was surprised at the finding. "I expected interest group support to at least help legislators move bills toward passage, but the evidence suggests otherwise," he said. "Interest groups are not the all-powerful, behind-the-scenes actors that many envision."

Grossmann and Pyle will present their study at the American Political Science Association annual meeting in Toronto on Sept. 5.

Source: Michigan State University (news : web)