TOTAL LOBBYING

This book offers a scholarly yet accessible overview of the role of lobbying in American politics. It draws upon extant research as well as original data gathered from interviews with numerous lobbyists across the United States. It describes how lobbyists do their work within all branches of government, at the national, state, and local levels. It thus offers a substantially broader view of lobbying than is available in much of the research literature. Although tailored for students taking courses on interest group politics, Total Lobbying offers an indispensable survey of the field for scholars and others concerned with this important facet of American politics.

Anthony J. Nownes is an associate professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he has taught since 1994. His research on interest groups has appeared in a number of outlets including the British Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, and American Politics Research. His first book, Pressure and Power: Organized Interests in American Politics, was published in 2001.

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Total Lobbying

WHAT LOBBYISTS WANT
(AND HOW THEY TRY TO GET IT)

Anthony J. Nownes
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo

Cambridge University Press
32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USA

www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521838177

© Anthony J. Nownes 2006

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2006

Printed in the United States of America

A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Nownes, Anthony J.
Total lobbying : what lobbyists want (and how they try to get it) / Anthony J. Nownes.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-521-83817-7 (hardback) – ISBN 0-521-54711-3 (pbk.)
1. Lobbying – United States. 2. Lobbyists – United States. I. Title.
JK1118.N693    2006
328.73^′078–dc22    2006002229

ISBN-13 978-0-521-83817-7 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-83817-7 hardback

ISBN-13 978-0-521-54711-6 paperback
ISBN-10 0-521-54711-3 paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for
the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or
third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication
and does not guarantee that any content on such
Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

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Contents

Preface			page vii
1		STUDYING LOBBYISTS AND LOBBYING	1
		Lobbying: A Complex Phenomenon	2
		Some Important Terms	5
		Data and Methods	8
		The Plan of the Book	11
2		LOBBYING AND LOBBYISTS IN THE UNITED STATES: A PRIMER	12
		An Overview of Nine Findings	12
		Conclusion: What We Have Learned about Lobbying and Lobbyists	35
3		PUBLIC POLICY LOBBYING, PART ONE	37
		Public Policymaking in the United States	38
		Public Policy Lobbyists: Background Information	42
		What Public Policy Lobbyists Do Other Than Lobbying	43
		What Public Policy Lobbying Looks Like	56
4		PUBLIC POLICY LOBBYING, PART TWO	57
		Legislative Lobbying	57
		Executive Branch Lobbying	68
		Grassroots Lobbying	74
		Electoral Lobbying	80
		What Does Public Policy Lobbying Look Like?	83
		Conclusion	100
5		LAND USE LOBBYING	103
		Government Regulation of Land Use: Planning and Zoning	105
		Land Use Lobbyists: Background Information	111
		What Land Use Lobbyists Do Other Than Lobbying	115
		Lobbying to Affect Land Use Decisions	121
		What Does Land Use Lobbying Look Like?	137
		Conclusion	146
6		PROCUREMENT LOBBYING	148
		Government Buying	149
		Procurement Lobbyists: Background Information	156
		What Procurement Lobbyists Do Other Than Lobbying	159
		Lobbying to Affect Procurement Decisions	164
		What Does Procurement Lobbying Look Like?	181
		Conclusion	194
7		RECAP AND FINAL THOUGHTS	197
		Recap of Substantive Findings	197
		Final Thoughts	205
Appendix A. The Classification System: Public Policy, Land Use, and Procurement Lobbying			219
Appendix B. Methodological Notes			225
Notes			233
Index			257

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Preface

This book is about lobbying in the United States. What separates it from most books on lobbying is its broad focus. As you will see, the book examines two types of lobbying – land use lobbying and procurement lobbying – that are seldom mentioned, much less studied, by scholars of lobbying and lobbyists. Of course, the book also takes an extensive look at public policy lobbying – the type of lobbying that is the focus of most studies of lobbying and lobbyists. This book is also unique in that it uses the words of actual lobbyists to illuminate the process of lobbying.

   As much as possible, in the pages that follow I attempt to eschew jargon and make the book accessible to a broad audience of undergraduates and graduate students studying lobbying and/or interest groups in the United States, as well as interested laypeople. My hope is that by the time you are finished reading this book, you will have a thorough understanding of who lobbyists are, where they operate, what they want, what they do, and how influential they are.

Before moving on, I must acknowledge my debts to the many people who have helped make this book a reality. First, I would like to thank Ed Parsons, the magnificent editor who shepherded this book through the writing and production process. Ed’s instincts are excellent, and his patience seems to know no bounds. Second, I would like to thank Rogan Kersh, who introduced me to Ed. Professor Kersh is a fine scholar (whose work provided inspiration for much of this book) and a good man, and I appreciate his graciousness and magnanimity. Third, I would like to thank my academic gurus, Allan J. Cigler and Paul E. Johnson. It is not in jest that I refer to Dr. Cigler as my “faculty dad.” As for Professor Johnson, both personally and professionally he has proven to be a fine lodestar over the years. Fourth, I would like to thank my wife, Elsa, who listened far more than should have been required to stories about zoning variances, government procurement practices, and the pitfalls of elite interviewing as a research method.

   Intellectually, I owe debts to literally dozens of people, including the following: Robert M. Alexander, Jeffrey Berejikian, Regis F. Boyle, Clint Cantrell, William K. “Bubba” Cheek, Christopher Cooper, David Elkins, R. Kenneth Godwin, David J. Houston, Frankie Sue Howerton, Jeffrey G. Johnson, Debra P. McCauley, Emil Nagengast, Gregory Neddenriep, Lilliard Richardson, Bryan Schmiedeler, and Marc Schwerdt. Finally, for inspiration, I would like to thank Jason Falkner, Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., and Luke Steele.