Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
Alternatively, cite just ONE group of poor people that holds power status in its own right [without needing a caucus, sub-committee, or lobbying group with enough money to influence legislators].
Nice way to shift the argument from "you must have money to matter" to "you must matter to matter". Of course any interest group with influence is going to need some mechanism for exerting that influence, but that influence need not be money. Church groups certainly have a lot of influence despite having no direct role over the funding of candidates. The NRA and the Sierra Club have substantial influence despite not having much money. Unions do provide funding, but their influence is much higher than those funding levels would indicate. The same is true of the AARP. The key criteria for being an influential interest groups are: being well-organized, having large membership, and having a permanent structure. It just so happens that each of those factors make it easier to raise money.