ABSTRACT
The proliferation of groups expands the amount of information available to decision makers. Critics of the proliferation of interest groups argue that the situation poses a strong threat to democratic values. The perceived threat to democracy is predicated on the belief that interest groups in pursuit of their own selfish objectives lost sight of the public good. The analysis centers on a discussion of the major interest groups involved in the decision and the coalitions they had formed to influence the final outcome. As Arthur Bentley argued in 1908, when groups are adequately stated, everything is stated and there are no political phenomena except group phenomena. Some people suggests that Bentley's observations are too strong, there is little doubt that much of contemporary politics is organized around groups. Proponents of the federal financing of congressional elections argue that it would help to protect members of Congress from the pressures and financial influence of single-interest groups.
