A review of this article
shows that interest groups are critical organizations for representing constituents on topics such as voting rights, insurance reform, trade policy, and climate legislation, among other things. The world is split into two main networks: liberals and conservatives. There are significant gaps in these two networks, with conservatives wielding more clout in statehouses thanks to a well-organized funding mechanism. Liberals, on the other hand, center their attention more on the extension of their policy networks (Hertel-Fernandez and Skocpol). The main point, therefore, is that such disparities can lead to an imbalance in representation and advocacy hence the need to develop networks that are competitive for improved representation.
Article Thesis
Issues such as rights, policies, and regulation concerning voting, health, work and the environment must be at the forefront of the issues addressed by interest groups and networks. Regarding Texas, interest groups vary concerning membership, resources, and power. This is the reason as to why networks with interests in business, agriculture, oil and professional aspects dominate. For this reason, the well connected, heavily funded interest groups overshadow those with relatively lower resources and level of organization. Underlying the apparent disparity is the possibility of imbalanced citizen representation hence the need for the Liberal state network developers to adapt organizational strategies from their counterparts to improve competitiveness for the effective practice of pluralist democracy.
Role of Interest Groups Texas Politics
As mentioned before, interest groups in Texas have roles that include the movement of bills to statehouses, participation in the development of laws, policies and regulations especially concerning the interests of the people the group represents, funding of campaigns and most of all, influencing the voting events during elections. The diversity does exist where some teams concentrate on a single aspect while others opt to divulge in a broader perspective of the public policy realm. Similarly, some networks appear and disappear while other persist for a long time and offer continuous influence to policy and elections. Furthermore, some of the entities concentrate on government related issues while the others indulge in additional activities including the push for government support of their proposals. In line with the article's supposition concerning the imbalance between these networks, Texas interest groups do not hold equal capabilities despite the possession of equal rights. This is due to disparities in funds, membership, and coverage. As such, not all citizens of Texas are equally represented since the groups present varying levels of resources hence different levels of intensity. Simply put, the business, agriculture, oil and related professional bodies are better represented in Texas than the other groups (University of Texas). This realization, therefore, show that networks with adequate resources and large memberships are better placed concerning the influence exerted in policy-making, member representation and most of all, convincing the government to consider their respective proposals. Due to this imminent imbalance, other interest groups must adapt to the tactics exhibited by their successful counterparts.
Article Enhancement of Understanding
Without the active participation and representation of citizen interests by the interest groups, then the act of democracy will not be fully exercised. By seeking public policy influence, real challenges that residents experience are not only illuminated, but also practical solutions developed. The challenge facing these essential functions of interest networks is inequality regarding age, size, organization, finances, policy concentration, coverage, and ideologies. While not all these factors require being the same, pertinent elements such as the strength to exert influence in public policy must be addressed. The establishment of groups with balanced competing interests is thus the best way to ensure stability in the political sphere coupled with adequate representation of issues in the government.
Works Cited
Hertel-Fernandez, Alexander and Theda Skocpol. “Why U.S. Conservatives Shape Legislation Across the Fifty States Much More Effectively than Liberals.” October 2015. Scholars Strategy Network. http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/brief/why-us-conservatives-shape-legislation-across-fifty-states-much-more-effectively-liberals-0. 1 August 2017.
University of Texas. “Introduction: Interest Groups and Representation in Texas.” 2006. Texas Politics. https://www.laits.utexas.edu/txp_media/html/ig/index.html. 1 August 2017.
