'Special Interests' on Both Sides in Health Fight

In the pluralist model of democracy, pressure groups play an essential role. Political parties cannot provide adequate representation for the full range of diverse interests and opinions in a modern democracy because their key function is to aggregate interests into a coherent political entity capable of governing the country. Pressure groups enable particular interests and causes to be heard and to exert influence in public decision and decision-making. Yet it is precisely the representation of specialist interests and of single issues which may give cause for concern, both in terms of the methods used to achieve objectives and of the undue power and influence which particular lobbies can exert.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/do_pressure_groups_add_to_democr.htm">Do pressure groups add to democracy

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As public pitchman, President Barack Obama accuses special interests of fighting to block his health care overhaul. ''They run their ads. And let's face it, they scare people,'' he told one weekend audience.

Yet Obama has spent months assembling a formidable lineup of special interests of his own, an essential element of a plan to remake the health care system and succeed where President Bill Clinton memorably failed.

''We have the American Nurses Association, we have the American Medical Association on board,'' Obama told the weekend crowd in Grand Junction, Colo. ''We have an agreement from drug companies to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. ... The AARP supports this policy.''

In the parlance of Washington, the organizations on both sides are special interests -- the insurance industry and business groups strongly opposed to the direction health care legislation is taking in Congress, as well as the groups of doctors, nurses, drug makers and labor unions working to pass an overhaul despite any misgivings they may have.



'Special Interests' on Both Sides in Health Fight