Shaiko, R. (2005). Making the Connection: Organized Interests, Political Representation, and the Changing Rules of the Game in Washington Politics. In The Interest Group Connection: Electioneering, Lobbying, and Policymaking in Washington (2nd ed., pp. 1-24). Washington: CQ Press.
The author is opening the second edition of this book by describing the changing policy and regulatory context that drove the development of the second edition. While, as he describes it, the Republican Revolution of 1994 created relatively minor changes to the Congressional framework, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 dramatically changed how the government interacted with organized interests. By 2003, the dynamics of the relationships between all three branches had significantly changed.
Looking at the forms of organized interest representation, the author notes that they tend to fall into two forms: political campaigning and lobbying. There are certain types of groups (notably, 501(c)(3) charitable organizations) that are barred from significantly engaging in campaigning, and whose lobbying is limited to certain types of research, education, and outreach. Meanwhile, those who engage in those two behaviors significantly follow one of several paths. The electioneering path can involve the types of research and outreach engaged in by charitable organizations; direct electioneering through the formation of a PAC; and issue advocacy (what was called then "soft money"). In lobbying, organizations can either directly represent themselves, or hire a surrogate (a lobbying firm).
It is important to remember that interest group activity does not take place in a vaccuum; context matters, as the author shows with the case of Microsoft. By comparing the environmental movement to the gay rights movement, the author also shows how the increased organizing tools offered by new technologies and cultural ties can improve interest groups' ability to leverage their assets.
The author now moves into discussing what he calls "the changing rules of the game," or the effect of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. A number of aspects of this law have since been struck down, which renders this section of the chapter less salient. He then explores lobbying disclosures, noting the "grassroots lobbying" loophole (i.e., that issue advocacy that calls on the public to contact officials is not treated as lobbying for purposes of disclosure) remains.
Finally, two truisms are offered: first, that there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests; and second, that nothing happening is usually a winning proposition for most organized interests.
My take: A lot has changed in the ten years since this book came out. The Court struck down a lot of the BCRA provisions designed to help disaggregate money in elections, which means that organized interests become more important in electoral contexts. However, my interest (as of this writing) lies with the role organized interests play in the administrative process. Shaiko doesn't have as much to say about that in this chapter, although he presents a helpful synopsis of the administrative chapters. But the most important take-away from this chapter has to be the two truisms at the end - that today's political opponent is tomorrow's ally; and that for most organized interests, nothing is the highest-preference result they can hope for.