Active at Every Stage

Organized interests and well-organized individuals endeavor to shape election-year debate at every stage of the nominating process, from the pre-campaign period to the transition. 

Organizations advocating on subjects from abortion and the environment to 2nd Amendment rights and taxes mount efforts big and small to see that their points of view are represented during the long presidential campaign. 

There are myriad ways in which an interest group can seek to influence the campaign debate.  A hands-on approach may entail organizing candidate forums, developing a network of local volunteers and supporters and encouraging them to show up for candidate events, producing collateral items such as brochures and signs, issuing a pledge, or opening offices in a key states such as Iowa or New Hampshire.  A group may also opt to run a media campaign using some combination of direct mail, print, radio and/or television ads.

Social conservatives and Tea Party activists are two key groups the Republican primary candidates are focusing great efforts on wooing. 

Social Conservatives
Social conservative activity has included:

- Nationally, the annual Values Voter Summit, a major gathering of social conservatives, occurred Oct. 7-9, 2011.  The Summit also marked the launch of "Values Voter Bus Tour."  FRC Action, the lead organization in these efforts, issued a voter guide on Dec. 21, 2011 (PDF).

- The Faith & Freedom Coalition, headed by Ralph Reed, formed in 2009 and is seeking to "mobilize and train people of faith to be effective citizens;" it claimed 58.8 million voter contacts in the 2010 cycle.  The Faith & Freedom Coalition held a Conference and Strategy Briefing in Washington, DC June 3-4, 2011 which drew all the major candidates.  FFC's kickoff event on Sept. 22, 2011 in conjunction with the Presidency 5 event in Orlando, FL drew all the major candidates except Huntsman.  Six candidates spoke at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition's forum in Des Moines, IA on Oct. 22, 2011; on Nov. 30, 2011, the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition announced it would not endorse (+).  The South Carolina Faith & Freedom Coalition held several events in Myrtle Beach on Jan. 15-16, 2012 in conjuntion with the SC GOP Experience and debate.

- Susan B. Anthony List issued a "Pro-Life Leadership Presidential Pledge" in June 2011, and the National Organization for Marriage issued a pledge in August 2011 (PDF). 

- In Iowa, The FAMiLY LEADER was quite active.  It organized a Presidential Lecture Series starting in February 2011 (+), issued "The Marriage Vow – A Declaration of Dependence Upon Marriage and FAMiLY" in July 2011 (the pledge generated some controversy) (+), and held a candidate forum on Nov. 19, 2011 (+).  However, after weighing an endorsement (+), the group ultimately opted not to endorse (+). 

- On Jan. 14, 2012 about 150 religious conservatives met in Brenham, TX and voted to endorse former Sen. Rick Santorum in the Republican primary contest (+).  This was a very significant effort to unify behind an alternative to former Gov. Mitt Romney, but many commentators opined that it came too late

Tea Party
Tea Party influence has seemed to wane somewhat as the campaign progressed into 2011 and 2012, but most of the candidates have sought to attract support of Tea Party activists. 

- The Iowa Tea Party organized a three-week, 20-stop bus tour around the state from June 13-July 2, 2011, which drew several candidates. 

- The Tea Party Express (which is actually the Our Country Deserves Better PAC) co-sponsored a debate with CNN in Tampa on Sept. 12, 2011, and is working on a "Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama." 

- Another group of Tea Party activists had attempted to organize a "Freedom Jamboree & Tea Party National Straw Poll Convention" in Kansas City, KS from Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2011, but they cancelled the event in July due to low registration. 

The lower profile of the Tea Party coincided with the rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement.  Both movements have their roots in frustration with the political system, but have different prescriptions and focuses.  Republican candidates were generally quite critical of the Occupy movement, the major exception being longshot candidate former Gov. Buddy Roemer.  Occupy activists have disrupted a few candidate events with "mic checks" and are planning "Occupy the Caucuses" and "Occupy the NH Primary" efforts.

More Groups
Groups are active on the economic side.  The Club for Growth has been issuing "white papers" on the presidential candidates.  As in past cycles, Americans for Tax Reform is circulating a "Taxpayer Protection Pledge."  The Peter G. Peterson Foundation launched one of the more creative efforts, a satirical presidential campaign to inject the national debt into the discussion.

And, there are groups with a more general ideological focus.  On the progressive side American Bridge, which is aligned with David Brock's Media Matters Action Network, has trackers following and videoing the Republican presidential candidates.  More broadly, Democracy Alliance, formed in 2005, "was created to build progressive infrastructure that could help counter the well-funded and sophisticated conservative apparatus..."  Super PACs (independent expenditure only committees) including Crossroads GPS on the conservative side and Priorities USA Action on the liberal/pro-Obama side have started running ads and are expected to spend tens of millions of dollars over the course of the cycle tarring the opposing side.  (note)

Different Groups Can Do Different Things

There are rules, of course, as to what various groups can do.  Congress passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), in 2002, but various FEC rulemakings or rulemaking efforts and court decisions have left matters so that, according to Paul Ryan of The Campaign Legal Center, "the 2010 general election became a wild west of undisclosed political spending." 

On January 21, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, allowing labor unions, corporations and incorporated membership organizations to engage in direct electioneering communications with general treasury funds.  (Note that these organizations are still prohibited by federal election campaign laws from making direct contributions to federal elections campaigns).  As of one year later, in January 2011, the FEC still had not been able to agree upon on rules in response to Citzens United [press release]. 

[Before Citizens United these groups could engage in a broad array of nonpartisan political education activities such as distributing voter guides, holding forums, etc.  They could also establish separate segregated funds or political action committees which were allowed to make partisan communications to their members]. 

A new entity in the 2010 elections was the "super PAC."  Unlike an ordinary PAC which makes contributions to candidates and party committees, super PACs are "independent expenditure only committees."  According to the Center for Responsive Politics, these "can raise unlimited sums from corporations, unions and other groups, as well as wealthy individuals" which they then use to "advocate for the defeat or election of federal candidates."

Section 527 organizations, named after a section of the tax code, emerged as a channel for soft money funds after the passage of BCRA.  527's can engage in voter mobilization efforts, issue advocacy and other activity short of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a federal candidate.  They are not subject to regulation by the FEC and there are no limits to how much they can raise.  Perhaps the most famous of the 527s to date was the Swiftboat Veterans in the 2004 campaign.  Swiftboat Veterans was found to have violated the limitations on campaign activity, thereby falling within the jurisdiction of the Federal Election Campaign Act, and were forced to pay substantial penalties—albeit two years after the campaign was over.

501(c)(4)'s are tax-exempt, not-for-profit social welfare organizations.  501(c)(4)'s are allowed to engage in political advocacy, provided that such advocacy is not their "primary activity," and they do not have to disclose their donors.  During the 2010 cycle, several of these groups including Crossroads GPS and the American Action Network (AAN) appeared on the conservative side, and their activities were viewed with great skepticism by public advocacy groups.   

501(c)(3)'s include charities and foundations, and their tax-exempt status is predicated on their not engaging in partisan activities.  The IRS has created a Political Activities Compliance Initiative to curtail prohibited political activity by these groups.  "We wanted to stop improper activity during—not after—the election cycle," stated IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson in a February 2006 speech. 

Advertising Campaigns

Interest group ads affecting the campaign fall into two main categories: independent expenditure ads opposing or supporting a particular candidate and ads that seek to inject specific issues into the debate. 

During the closing weeks of the Iowa and New Hampshire campaigns heading into Jan. 2012, voters are seeing a lot of super PAC ads, which are in many cases difficult to distinguish from campaign ads.  During the 2008 Republican primary campaign for example, Club for Growth.net ran several ads targeting Mike Huckabee for not being sufficiently strong against taxes, Log Cabin Republicans ran ads portraying Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper, and MoveOn.org Political Action targeted Rudy Giuliani and John McCain.  There were likewise many ads on the Democratic side, often from union PACs or union supported groups.  Groups running issue ads included Divided We Fail, Ed in '08, and ONE Vote '08.  The majority of these ads ran in Iowa and New Hampshire in 2007, sometimes coinciding with debates and forums. 

In the general election, dozens of groups entered the fray, running ads for and against Obama and McCain.  Among the more active groups on the pro-Obama/anti-McCain side were MoveOn.org Political Action and SEIU COPE, while on the pro-McCain/anti-Obama side Vets for Freedom, Let Freedom Ring, and NRA Political Victory Fund ran a lot of ads.
Primaries: 2008 (print) | 2004 | 2000.  General: 2008 | 2004 | 2000.

Grassroots Campaigns

While a hands-on, grassroots campaign requires more effort to organize, it can have great effect.  Candidates and their campaigns take notice when activists from a particular group keep showing up at their events.  As with the primary ad campaigns, many of the grassroots campaigns focus on the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire.  For example, the group Strong America Now has done extensive organizing in Iowa.  During the 2008 primary campaign, Ben Cohen's Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, Divided We Fail, ONE Vote '08 and the SEIU's health care effort were very visible in both Iowa and New Hampshire.  

In the fall campaign, labor support is critical for the Democratic nominee.  Union members provide the manpower for everything from turning out large crowds at rallies to working phone banks.  The AFL-CIO's election programs place a heavy emphasis on member to member contacts such as workplace flyers, home visits, and calls. Another key group on the progressive side is America Votes.  Formed in the 2004 cycle, America Votes coordinates the campaign activities of a number of progressive groups thus avoiding duplication of efforts.

Endorsements: Varying Impact

During the primaries backing of an influential group can provide a significant boost to a nascent campaign.  An endorsement obviously carries more weight if it goes beyond the press release or announcement and involves resources.  During the general election, an organization's endorsement of a presidential candidate is probably not going to affect the voting decisions of the group's individual members, but it does give the campaign something to talk about and is a factor for members of the broader public to consider.
2008: Primaries | General.  2004.  2000.

Conventions: A Time to Focus

The national nominating conventions, with thousands of media representatives on hand, prompt many groups to mobilize and try to get out their messages.  Before the conventions actually start, interest groups weigh in on the party platforms.  At the conventions, a fair number of delegates are active members of one group or another, and they take the opportunity to network in various caucuses and meetings.  Groups also organize receptions or forums or they may set up hospitality suites. 

In addition, there is the "outside" scene at the conventions, which has reached extraordinary levels in recent years.  Typically there have been fenced off demonstration areas set aside at the edge of the convention sites where representatives from groups with opposing views can make their points.  However, these are little more than side shows, and it is the street demonstrations that attract most of the attention.
2008: Minneapolis-St. Paul (outside) | Denver (outside)