Proportionately, more Americans than ever are exercising their right to lobby and communicate their feelings to their representatives in Congress. Such high levels of citizen participation may conjure up images of ordinary Americans spontaneously organizing to voice their concerns to policy makers. Furthermore, the fact that Americans are writing, calling, telegramming, faxing, and even e-mailing their representatives more than ever might seem like grounds for celebration to those concerned with low rates of electoral participation.

This book, however, has demonstrated that the ringing of phones, the flurry of letters, and the whirring of faxes is not necessarily evidence that Main Street is talking to Washington and that all is well with participatory democracy in the United States. Recent events, such as the National Federation of Independent Business's activity against the employer mandate in the Clinton health care plan, the American Energy Alliance's struggle against the BTU tax, the American Association of Retired Persons' fight against Medicare cuts, and the National Rifle Association's tactics in opposition to the crime bill demonstrate that little about mass participation in the United States is spontaneous.