Deck 11: Groups and Interests

Question 1

James Madison called an interest group a ________.

A) mob
B) faction
C) plutocracy
D) corporation
E) social movement

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Interest groups are concerned with the ________ of government, while political parties are concerned with the ________ of government.

A) values; goals
B) membership; authority
C) policies; personnel
D) lawfulness; political feasibility
E) legitimacy; power

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Members of interest groups in the United States are typically people

A) with higher levels of income and education.
B) from the lower socioeconomic levels.
C) who do not participate in politics.
D) who work in manual labor and unskilled occupations.
E) who identify as Democrats.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The Teamsters and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations are examples of ________.

A) public interest groups
B) business groups
C) labor groups
D) ideological groups
E) professional associations

Question 5

When a coalition of credit card companies form an interest group called the Partnership to Protect Consumer Credit, this indicates that

A) credit card companies are interested in the public good.
B) private interests are hiding behind the ideals of public interests.
C) public interest groups are now actively involving private corporations.
D) the free-rider problem does not apply to private corporations.
E) the credit card companies lack solidary benefits to offer their customers.

Question 6

Public interest groups differ from other types of interest groups in that

A) they claim to serve the common good, not just their own particular interests.
B) they were the first political associations to use the strategy of direct mailing.
C) they were the first group to abandon lobbying and take up only grassroots activism.
D) unlike other interest groups, their status is like that of a charity, not a political organization.
E) unlike other interest groups, they have no membership requirements and allow any member of the public to join.

Question 7

Organized interest groups enhance American democracy by

A) fielding large numbers of electable candidates.
B) financing large numbers of election campaigns.
C) empowering less potent segments of society.
D) representing the interests of large numbers of people and encouraging political participation.
E) placing initiatives on the ballot.

Question 8

What is the primary variable for predicting the likelihood of joining an interest group?

A) having an interest shared by others
B) having a higher income and education
C) already being a member of a political party
D) having connections with government officials
E) the region of the country in which an individual lives

Question 9

Which group is best adapted to organizing the lower classes?

A) a public interest group
B) an ideological interest group
C) a professional association
D) a political party
E) a business group

Question 10

It is difficult for political scientists to categorize unrepresented interests because

A) there are no constitutional means for unorganized interests to compete for attention.
B) there are no organizations that can present their identities and demands.
C) there are no measurements of interests and needs outside of representation.
D) there are no legitimate interests that do not already have representation.
E) these interests often want to stay hidden from public view.

Question 11

Grandparents, tall people, and undergraduates are all examples of ________.

A) political parties
B) pluralist interest groups
C) political action committees
D) potential interest groups
E) public interest groups

Question 12

The National Governor's Association is a good example of a ________.

A) public-sector interest group
B) professional association
C) political party
D) political action committee
E) public interest group

Question 13

The best description of the ideal of pluralism is that

A) the public good should always trump individual interests.
B) interests should be free to compete with each other for governmental influence.
C) interest groups are factions that endanger liberty.
D) democracy is best served by legalizing but regulating the influence of interest groups.
E) interest groups are factions that endanger political and economic equality.

Question 14

The Christian Coalition is a(n) ________ group.

A) public interest
B) ideological
C) labor
D) professional
E) business

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT an economic group?

A) Exxon
B) Microsoft
C) Apple
D) Dow Chemical
E) National Right to Life

Question 16

What are political parties more capable of doing than interest groups?

A) raising money
B) providing solidary benefits
C) providing purposive benefits
D) articulating a clear and persuasive ideology
E) organizing people on a mass scale

Question 17

Which of the following statements about political parties and interest groups is most accurate?

A) Political parties have remained nearly unchanged throughout American history while interest groups have become considerably less numerous, active, and influential in recent years.
B) Both political parties and interest groups have become much more active and influential in recent years.
C) Both political parties and interest groups have become much less active and influential in recent years.
D) Political parties have become more influential in recent years while interest groups have become less numerous, active, and influential.
E) Political parties have declined in influence in recent years while interest groups have become more numerous, active, and influential.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a function of interest groups?

A) to influence governmental decisions
B) to lobby government officials
C) to get their members elected to political office
D) to educate their members and the public about the issues that affect them
E) to monitor government programs to make sure their members are not adversely affected

Question 19

________ once wrote that "America was a nation of joiners."

A) James Madison
B) Alexis de Tocqueville
C) David Truman
D) Robert Dahl
E) Mancur Olson

Question 20

Interest groups most effectively serve ________.

A) the working classes
B) the powerless
C) the upper classes
D) government bureaucrats
E) racial and ethnic minorities

Question 21

A ________ exists when paid staff conduct most of the daily business of a group.

A) staff organization
B) free-rider group
C) lobbyist firm
D) political action committee
E) 527 committee

Question 22

A criticism of interest group pluralism is

A) its inherent propensity for compromise, the character of which tends to be antidemocratic.
B) its class bias in favor of those with greater financial resources.
C) that its ideals are too closely associated with Marxist-Leninist ideology and are therefore unacceptable to the majority of Americans.
D) that it favors the interests of large states over those of small states.
E) that it gives too much influence to religious organizations and therefore threatens the separation of church and state.

Question 23

Since the 1930s, the number and scale of interest groups at the national level has ________.

A) dramatically increased
B) experienced relatively modest growth
C) remained relatively stagnant
D) dramatically decreased
E) experienced relatively modest decline

Question 24

Which of the following is a main theoretical assumption of pluralism?

A) Competition among interests will produce balance with all interests regulating each other.
B) Competition among interests will produce extreme public policy with one interest dominating all others.
C) Every interest should not be free to compete for influence in the United States.
D) All interests are not equally free to compete for influence in the United States.
E) Interests inherently present a danger to liberty.

Question 25

Why is it important for interest groups to offer selective benefits?

A) It is necessary to limit the extent of the free-rider problem.
B) If they do not, people will join political parties instead.
C) Selective benefits are the only way to measure the success of an interest group.
D) If they do not, people will accuse the groups of being antidemocratic.
E) Selective benefits allow interest groups to make the profits they need to continue operating.

Question 26

If one enjoys the benefits of a group's collective efforts but did NOT contribute to those efforts, one is called a ________.

A) citizen
B) subject
C) free rider
D) lobbyist
E) political activist

Question 27

When a group is called a membership association, it means that

A) the group accepts anyone as a member.
B) members play an important role in the daily activities of the group.
C) members vote directly for the leaders.
D) membership is a mandatory requirement for receiving any of the group's benefits.
E) every decision the group makes must be voted on and approved by every member.

Question 28

One way that AARP has been effective at overcoming the free-rider problem is by providing ________ benefits to its members.

A) selective
B) elective
C) free-rider
D) pluralism
E) public good

Question 29

The major organizational factors shared by most interest groups are

A) very close links with the national news media, direct ties to a member of Congress, a headquarters in Washington, D.C., and members.
B) very close links with the national news media, connections with Hollywood, direct ties to the president of the United States, and members.
C) leadership, money, an agency or office, and members.
D) leadership, a rigid hierarchical structure, access to loans from the Federal Reserve, and members.
E) direct ties to a member of Congress, a rigid hierarchical structure, very close links with the national news media, and members.

Question 30

Many interest groups are initially organized because

A) most state-level government agencies will only negotiate policy implementation with organized groups.
B) funding opportunities provided by the federal bureaucracy encourage collective action.
C) a political entrepreneur with a strong commitment to a particular set of goals believes a group will promote his or her goals and enhance his or her political influence.
D) activists realize that it is easier to form an interest group than it is to engage in other forms of political participation.
E) a politician has lost an election and wants to challenge the results.

Question 31

Successful interest groups quickly become ________.

A) bureaucratized
B) corrupted
C) outdated
D) rich
E) legally prohibited

Question 32

If citizens were motivated to join an environmental organization because they strongly believed in protecting the environment and supported the goals of the group, then we can conclude that they were motivated by ________.

A) pluralism
B) solidary benefits
C) purposive benefits
D) informational benefits
E) material benefits

Question 33

When membership in an organization allows for a reduction in the price of museum tickets, it is called a ________.

A) solidary benefit
B) promotion offer
C) material benefit
D) bribe
E) purposive benefit

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a key organizational component of interest groups?

A) members
B) money
C) leadership
D) newsletter and website
E) an agency or office

Question 35

A ________ is the best example of an informational benefit provided by many interest groups.

A) consciousness-raising workshop
B) free T-shirt
C) newsletter
D) health insurance program
E) travel discount

Question 36

The free-rider phenomenon

A) becomes increasingly problematic in very large groups.
B) becomes increasingly problematic in very small groups.
C) is not affected in any way by the size of the group in question.
D) is not related to groups in any way because it is an individual-level problem.
E) makes collective action considerably easier.

Question 37

The free-rider problem occurs because

A) members of Congress are presented with many opportunities to amend a piece of legislation.
B) the government subsidizes most forms of transportation in the United States.
C) the benefits of a group's actions are available only to a specific segment of society.
D) the benefits of a group's actions are broadly available and cannot be denied to nonmembers.
E) members of Congress listen only to organized interest groups and not to public opinion polls.

Question 38

A benefit that is sought by an interest group and that once achieved cannot be denied to nonmembers is called a ________.

A) free rider
B) collective good
C) right
D) solidary benefit
E) purposive benefit

Question 39

The solidary benefits of interest groups include ________.

A) friendship and consciousness-raising
B) special services and goods
C) information and money
D) identification with the purpose or ideology of the group
E) representation before government

Question 40

AARP has approximately ________ members today.

A) 3,800
B) 38,000
C) 338,000
D) 3,800,000
E) 38,000,000

Question 41

The practice of lobbying is protected by ________.

A) the First Amendment
B) state and federal laws dating from the 1930s
C) internal rules of Congress
D) the personal relationships between lobbyists and politicians
E) a 1961 Supreme Court decision

Question 42

What is the most important attempt to limit the influence of lobbyists in recent years?

A) the USA Patriot Act
B) the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
C) the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act
D) the indictment of Jack Abramoff
E) the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990

Question 43

What happened in the late nineteenth century?

A) The Constitution was ratified.
B) The Civil War ended.
C) Federal officials attempted to regulate more aspects of interstate commerce and combat monopolies.
D) The New Deal policies were implemented.
E) The New Politics movement started.

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT a job regularly performed by lobbyists?

A) testifying before congressional committees
B) holding interviews with reporters
C) helping raise funds for political campaigns
D) placing ads in newspapers
E) nominating a candidate to run for political office

Question 45

________ was an important Washington lobbyist who was indicted in 2005 on charges of violating federal lobbying laws.

A) Valerie Plame
B) Jack Abramoff
C) Paul Wolfowitz
D) Michael Bloomberg
E) Karl Rove

Question 46

Which of the following groups was NOT established through the New Politics movement?

A) the Common Cause
B) the National Organization for Women
C) the National Association of Manufacturers
D) the Environmental Defense Fund
E) the Sierra Club

Question 47

Which of the following groups is most likely to belong to the New Politics movement?

A) blue-collar workers whose formative experience was the Great Depression
B) veterans of World War II and the Korean War, who entered college on the G.I. bill
C) upper-middle-class professionals, for whom the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s were key experiences
D) conservative evangelical southerners, reacting to the cultural changes of the 1960s
E) recent immigrants to the United States

Question 48

Lobbying is

A) an attempt by an individual or group to influence the passage of legislation by exerting indirect pressure, through advertisements and media coverage, on members of Congress or a state legislature.
B) an attempt by an individual or group to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on members of Congress or a state legislature.
C) an attempt by an individual or group to influence the passage of legislation by exerting indirect pressure, through phone calls or e-mails, on members of Congress or a state legislature.
D) the act of working on a re-election campaign.
E) making illegal campaign contributions to government officials.

Question 49

Another name for lobbying is ________.

A) stalking
B) mobilizing
C) petitioning
D) litigating
E) soliciting

Question 50

The Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 was designed to

A) forbid lobbying of administrative agencies.
B) reduce the number of lawsuits by encouraging interest groups to solve conflicts with administrative agencies through mediation.
C) limit the campaign contributions lobbyists can raise on behalf of clients.
D) encourage administrative agencies to negotiate with important interest groups.
E) eliminate iron triangles.

Question 51

Which of the following issues is NOT part of the agenda of the New Politics movement?

A) environmental protection
B) occupational health and safety legislation
C) industrial deregulation
D) nuclear disarmament
E) women's rights

Question 52

A loose, informal relationship of public officials, interest groups, and activists who are all concerned with the same policies is called ________.

A) an iron triangle
B) a membership association
C) the New Politics movement
D) an issue network
E) a 527 committee

Question 53

The New Politics movement gave rise to ________ groups.

A) ideological
B) partisan
C) labor
D) public interest
E) professional association

Question 54

In the lobbying world, to be "Microsofted" means that a company has

A) become vulnerable to adverse legislation and investigation as a result of failing to lobby the federal government.
B) only lobbied members of one political party, who have just lost their majority.
C) lobbied only the federal government, opening itself up to adverse actions by state governments.
D) allowed other companies to become free-riders on its costly lobbying efforts.
E) been legally prohibited from lobbying members of Congress as a result of its overuse of political action committees.

Question 55

An iron triangle is made up of an alliance between

A) a legislative committee, an executive agency, and the federal courts.
B) the federal courts, the state courts, and interest groups.
C) a legislative committee, an interest group, and an executive agency.
D) an interest group, an executive agency, and the media.
E) the media, a legislative committee, and the federal courts.

Question 56

A full-page, fully paid spread in the New York Times publicizing a major oil company is best described as ________.

A) going public
B) lobbying
C) institutional advertising
D) an iron triangle
E) an issue network

Question 57

Parties with a direct interest in a regulatory rule or decision are often called ________.

A) amicus curiae
B) stakeholders
C) partisans
D) lobbyists
E) iron triangles

Question 58

Members of the New Politics movement

A) used technology to help them pursue their goals.
B) secured enactment of environmental legislation.
C) secured enactment of consumer rights legislation.
D) secured enactment of occupational health and safety legislation.
E) all of the above

Question 59

What is the most important and beneficial resource that lobbyists provide government officials?

A) legitimacy
B) money
C) information
D) campaign workers
E) legal assistance

Question 60

The increased number and importance of interest groups

A) causes a subsequent expansion in government.
B) is a response to an increase in the size and activity of government.
C) is a response to a decrease in the size and activity of government.
D) is a direct result of a more broadly defined First Amendment freedom of association.
E) is due to the decline in the United States' multiparty system.

Question 61

By 2012, there were approximately ________ PACs in the United States.

A) 150
B) 1,500
C) 5,500
D) 15,000
E) 25,000

Question 62

A PAC can contribute ________ to any candidate for federal office, provided it contributes to at least five different federal candidates each year.

A) $500
B) $5,000
C) $50,000
D) $500,000
E) $5,000,000

Question 63

Why is the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 important to lobbyists?

A) It extends First Amendment protection to interest groups trying to lobby executive agencies.
B) It requires agencies to create opportunities for public comments before implementing new rules and regulations.
C) It allows for former agency officials to work for the industries they had regulated within six months of leaving government service.
D) It requires any regulated groups and corporations to maintain at least one Washington, D.C., liaison.
E) It permits interest groups to spend an unlimited amount of money on issue advocacy during a campaign.

Question 64

________ is a strategy that attempts to mobilize the widest and most favorable climate of opinion.

A) Litigation
B) Creating a "war room"
C) Creating an iron triangle
D) Going public
E) Creating an issue network

Question 65

Interest groups are permitted to spend as much money as they want on issue advocacy during a campaign season, as long as they

A) do not coordinate their efforts with a candidate's own campaign organization.
B) are not also actively lobbying the federal government on behalf of the position taken in the issue ad.
C) are willing to publicize their membership lists.
D) present both sides of the issue in their issue advocacy ads.
E) do not employ any person who has formerly worked on a political campaign.

Question 66

Alexis de Tocqueville argued that the proliferation of groups promoted ________.

A) tyranny of the majority
B) undemocratic elitism
C) governmental responsiveness
D) assimilation of immigrants
E) economic equality

Question 67

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Spending in U.S. elections is much higher than in any other country on earth.
B) Officials representing super PACs will likely spend more in 2016 than in 2012.
C) both a and b
D) Super PAC officials tend to spend more in midterm rather than presidential elections.
E) The Supreme Court justices determined that super PACs were unconstitutional.

Question 68

In recent years, the religious right has had a great effect on American politics through ________.

A) grassroots mobilization
B) gaining access
C) litigation
D) campaign financing
E) iron triangles

Question 69

________ occurs when interest groups generate phony letters and phone calls in order to resemble a grassroots movement.

A) Sandlot ball
B) Astroturf lobbying
C) Populism
D) Gerrymandering
E) Hardball politics

Question 70

Lobbyists

A) have substantial influence in setting the political agenda.
B) help to craft specific legislation.
C) build coalitions around specific policy issues.
D) build coalitions in Washington, D.C., in particular.
E) all of the above

Question 71

Which of the following has Congress NOT done in recent years in order to limit the influence of interest groups?

A) limited the size of gifts to its own members from lobbyists and interest groups
B) banned the practice of honoraria for giving speeches
C) prohibited lobbyists from paying for most meals, trips, and parties for members of Congress
D) broadened the definition of people and organizations that must register as lobbyists
E) outlawed all contact between lobbyists and members of Congress during legislative sessions

Question 72

________ occurs when interest groups take out advertisements and hold marches.

A) Mobilizing public opinion
B) Partisan politics
C) Lobbying
D) Litigating
E) Issue networking

Question 73

Which of the following has been eliminated as a result of 2002 campaign finance reforms?

A) PACs
B) soft money
C) laws limiting the amount a candidate may spend of his or her personal fortune
D) interest group lobbying
E) grassroots mobilization

Question 74

What distinguishes lobbying from other strategies of influence?

A) Lobbying is the least expensive and the most democratic strategy of influencing government.
B) Lobbyists try to exert pressure directly on government officials themselves.
C) Lobbyists attempt to influence government directly by running for elected office.
D) Lobbying is the only form of influence that has explicit First Amendment protection from regulation.
E) Lobbying involves advertising in order to create a positive image of an organization.

Question 75

How can interest groups use litigation as a strategy of influence?

A) filing amicus curiae briefs, financing lawsuits, and bringing a suit on behalf of the group
B) directly lobbying judges, using direct-mail solicitations, and making campaign contributions to members of Congress
C) engaging in institutional advertising, activating issue networks, and directly lobbying judges
D) breaking apart iron triangles, directly lobbying judges, and starting political action committees
E) working with 527 committees, directly lobbying judges, and engaging in institutional advertising

Question 76

Which of the following Supreme Court cases illustrates the use of litigation by an interest group?

A) Roe v. Wade (1973)
B) Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989)
C) Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
D) United States v. Nixon (1974)
E) Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Question 77

Which of the following groups has had the greatest success with a strategy of litigation?

A) the National Chamber of Commerce
B) the National Rifle Association
C) the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
D) the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
E) the AARP

Question 78

Most initiative campaigns today are sponsored by

A) candidates for political office who see it as a way to engage in money swapping.
B) issue networks that want to change government policies without attracting attention from the public.
C) citizens who care deeply about a given issue.
D) interest groups seeking to circumvent legislative opposition to their goals.
E) political parties seeking to raise public awareness about a particular issue.

Question 79

A grassroots lobbying campaign occurs

A) when an interest group mobilizes its members and their families throughout the country to write their representatives in support of the group's position.
B) when a spontaneous show of political support for a particular position manifests itself.
C) when interest groups organize to support a dark-horse presidential candidate.
D) before a session of Congress formally begins.
E) when an interest group buys advertisements in newspapers around the country in order to publicize an issue.

Question 80

What happens to interests that do not engage in extensive lobbying?

A) They generally do well in advancing their interests in Congress.
B) They often find themselves "Microsofted."
C) They typically advance their interests by being free-riders.
D) They typically bribe members of Congress directly.
E) They typically try to advance their interests through litigating in the state courts.