The contact between the two groups is not always straight forward, and is often fought officially, through judicial practices, and unofficially, through dubious backstage arrangements and activities. However, there is also a legal manner through which interest groups have been given the right to influence political decisions and the laws voted upon. Lobbying is one such activity.
Although lobbyists are the subject of heated debate, as many citizens consider them to be just "wheeler-dealers continually wining and dining public officials in order to secure political favors at the expense of the general public" (Volkomer 282), their main function is to supply "information about their specialized interests to a few select public officials, communicating with members and others who are concerned with their problem" (283). However their role is rather interpretable. On the one hand, they represent the interests of a certain segment of the population, such as farmers, or railway workers. Through constant collaboration with law makers in the Congress, they could help improve the quality of legislation concerning them. On the other hand however, in most cases concerning especially lobby firms stationed in Washington, most of them represent the interest of high profile multi-billion dollars companies which rarely share the same interests with the commoners. So, when regulations are passed in order to accommodate private interests, they most often harm public one. From this perspective, lobbying is indeed harmful for the democracy.
Nonetheless, the influences of the lobby activity are seen even in the early stages of the electoral process, through the Political Action Committees, that have as main task to pool campaign contributions from group members and donate these funds to candidates for political office. The problem of campaign finance is a major concern because nowadays, there are more and more interest groups organizing PACs: it is an opportunity to choose to support a candidate favorable...
" For most this is generally seen as a reference to the Federal Judiciary. One thinks of the Warren Court, and the great number of decisions concerning civil rights, voting rights, etc. It is often not realized, however, to what an extent state judges play ar ole in shaping these issues. In many state court systems, the state system was actually more liberal than the Federal: First and foremost, state constitutions
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