Special Interests and Public Discourse

Since the early 1980s, no charge has been pressed so relentlessly—and effectively—against the Democratic party and the American left as that of being captive to “special interests.” Like other buzzwords—choice, family, opportunity, and (most recently) “politically correct” —the phrase “special interest” can be used seriously as a neutral and descriptive term or, as is usually the case, as a rhetorical device, to defeat, bypass, or enflame rather tha...