Deck 6: Interest Groups and Lobbying

Question 1

Who argued in Federalist 10 that "factions" would play an important role in American politics?

A) George Washington
B) Ben Franklin
C) Thomas Paine
D) James Madison

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Lobbyists can do all of the following EXCEPT

A) provide information to politicians.
B) write bills.
C) testify at hearings.
D) provide bribes to lawmakers.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following groups have had notable political success by litigating in federal courts?

A) professional groups
B) public employee interest groups
C) civil rights groups
D) chemical company lobbyists

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The practice of combining several individual campaign contributions into one larger contribution from a group in order to increase the group's impact is known as

A) bribery.
B) PAC-ing.
C) bundling.
D) soft money.

Question 5

The primary goal of interest groups is to

A) influence all branches of government at all levels.
B) mobilize citizens.
C) testify before legislative committees.
D) inform and educate public officials.

Question 6

One of the most influential professional groups in Austin is the

A) Mexican American Legal Defense Fund.
B) Texas Lawyers Association.
C) Texas Medical Association.
D) Teachers Association.

Question 7

What do interest groups want from policy makers?

A) They want policy that is beneficial for their groups.
B) They want information that benefits their groups.
C) They want monies for their special projects.
D) They want unlimited access to the policy makers.

Question 8

During the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875,which interest group played an important role?

A) 8F Crowd
B) Halliburton Company
C) the Grange
D) AAA

Question 9

Which incentives do interest groups engage in to overcome the free rider problem?

A) special discounts
B) subscription to a magazine
C) access to special information on the Internet
D) All of these are correct.

Question 10

Most lobbyists

A) are women.
B) are less educated but politically astute.
C) have expertise in policy matters or personal relationships with legislators.
D) are corrupt.

Question 11

Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment enabled people to join together and seek policy change in a number of ways EXCEPT by

A) providing like-minded individuals an organizational structure for discussing problems and offering solutions.
B) providing a vehicle for working with other organizations like the Texas Association of School Administrators, which was also concerned with testing.
C) raising money to help pay for their efforts.
D) successfully removing the end-of-year course exams.

Question 12

Which of the following is/are employed to express the values of interest groups?

A) pressure group
B) lobbyists
C) executive appointees
D) legislative assistants

Question 13

The Texas Medical Association is best described as what kind of interest group?

A) professional
B) public employee
C) public interest
D) ideological

Question 14

Which of the following advantages do better-funded interest groups have?

A) time
B) money
C) expertise
D) All of these are correct.

Question 15

Interest groups are best seen as

A) an organization established to influence the government's programs and policies
B) basically the same as political part.
C) largely irrelevant in Texas politics today.
D) corrupt entities that harm democracy.

Question 16

The largest and most effective public employee interest group in Texas is made up of

A) firefighters.
B) police officers.
C) teachers.
D) justices of the peace.

Question 17

Which of the following is the best example of a public interest group?

A) the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund
B) the Texas Medical Association
C) Common Cause
D) Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Question 18

The situation in which individuals receive the benefits of collective action without contributing is known as

A) the "free rider problem."
B) the "welfare state."
C) "benefit stealing."
D) "coattailing."

Question 19

What resource(s)are interest groups able to use to influence politics?

A) members
B) ability to raise money
C) credibility
D) All of these are correct.

Question 20

According to Mancur Olson,which of the following is a basic dilemma in interest group politics?

A) free rider problem
B) game theory
C) proportional theory
D) multi-party theory

Question 21

________ was the former Texas Speaker of the House who was indicted for taking an illegal gift from a law firm that specialized in collecting delinquent taxes for local governments.

A) Gib Lewis
B) James "Pete" Laney
C) Bill Ratliff
D) Tom Craddick

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a typical threat to an incumbent running for re-election?

A) scandal
B) the greater fund-raising opportunities of challengers
C) redistricting
D) controversial voting record

Question 23

If an interest group "gets on the late train," it means

A) the group's lobbyists are unable to gain access to key politicians until after all opposing lobbyists have been heard.
B) an interest group gives contributions after the election to a winning candidate the group had earlier opposed.
C) a political action committee donates money for a candidate in the general election but not in the primaries.
D) an interest group picks up on an issue only after public-opinion polling shows a great deal of support.

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT a common way for interest groups to gain access to politicians and policy makers?

A) hiring former politicians as lobbyists
B) spending money on entertaining politicians
C) building support on an issue with constituents
D) threatening elected officials

Question 25

Which is NOT a reason for forming a political action committee?

A) Candidates are more likely to notice a substantial contribution from a political action committee than small individual contributions.
B) A political action committee that makes a substantial donation to a candidate can more likely gain political access than a lobbyist who simply asks.
C) A political action committee sends a message that its members care strongly enough about their agenda.
D) Candidates are more likely to allow political action committees to purchase media access during election season.

Question 26

Battleground Texas is the latest attempt by the Democratic Party to do all of the following EXCEPT

A) identify potential Democratic voters.
B) identify potential candidates.
C) make voters familiar with Democratic positions.
D) make voters familiar with Democratic candidates.

Question 27

What was the problem Speaker Sam Rayburn identified with the "steak men" at the beginning of the twentieth century?

A) They were politicians who were in the pocket of the cattle industry.
B) They were legislators who would "sell" their votes on a bill for free steak dinners.
C) They were legislators who would attempt to cut all the meat out of the budgets.
D) They were lobbyists who Rayburn said were full of "bull."

Question 28

Since the early 1980s,testing has been considered one of the best ways to ensure accountability by identifying schools that work and those that do not.

Question 29

What are the top two reasons Texans give for NOT voting?

A) bad weather and inconvenient hours for voting
B) busy and forgot to vote
C) not interested/vote does not matter and don't like the candidates
D) busy/conflict with work and not interested/vote does not matter

Question 30

When individuals or interest groups take out ads concerning a campaign issue but do not tie them directly to any particular candidate it is called

A) soft-money spending.
B) bundling.
C) issue advocacy.
D) direct advocacy.

Question 31

One important way for interest groups to gain access to those in Texas government is to employ ________ as lobbyists.

A) retired sports stars
B) political science majors
C) Republican campaign consultants
D) former legislators and government officials

Question 32

A private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns is called a(n)

A) interest group.
B) political action committee.
C) campaign revenue association.
D) advocacy association.

Question 33

As in the U.S.Congress,most campaign contributions in Texas go to

A) incumbents.
B) supporters of environmental interests.
C) Democrats.
D) political parties.

Question 34

What is the function of EMILY's List?

A) It provides early campaign funding for female candidates.
B) It is the largest victims' rights group in Texas.
C) It is designed to help raise money for the Texas teachers' unions.
D) It is a political action committee that raises money from the petrochemical industry.

Question 35

What did Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim do in 1989?

A) He distributed $10,000 checks to state senators while lobbying them on a bill.
B) He established the first political action committee devoted solely to Texas politics.
C) He united a number of food production companies to create a single-industry lobbying group.
D) He was convicted of bribing three Texas legislators with promises of free fried chicken for life.

Question 36

One major way for interest groups to promote the political interests of elected officials who support their viewpoints and oppose the interests of those who do NOT is by engaging in

A) campaign contributions.
B) hiring staff personnel.
C) buying media access.
D) letter writing.

Question 37

Which U.S.Supreme Court case in 2009 created the opportunity for organizations opposed to powerful incumbents NOT disclose their donors?

A) Clinton v. Patriot Citizens
B) Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission
C) McCutcheon v. Federal Elections Commission
D) Bush v. Federal Elections Commission

Question 38

Which political action committees spend the least amount of money in Texas elections?

A) single-issue political action committees
B) labor unions
C) business groups
D) lawyers

Question 39

Scandals about the "steak men," Bo Pilgrim,and Gib Lewis resulted in

A) restrictions on speaking fees.
B) the creation of a state ethics commission.
C) restrictions on pleasure trips.
D) limits on lobbying behavior.

Question 40

Texas has ________ laws dealing with lobbying by former government officials.

A) no
B) numerous
C) weak
D) strong

Question 41

Incumbents are most likely to receive large campaign contributions.

Question 42

Lobbyists may gain access to legislators by building support for an issue among their constituents.

Question 43

Civil rights groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund represent their groups' interests only through litigation,especially in the federal courts.

Question 44

Interest groups representing labor organizations dominate Texas politics.

Question 45

Interest groups typically have more time,money,and expertise to offer politicians than do average citizens.

Question 46

Texas has strong laws dealing with lobbying from former government officials.

Question 47

Political action committees help interest groups bundle campaign donations.

Question 48

Describe some of the different types of interest groups operating in Texas.Which ones have been the most influential? What are some interests that have been underrepresented in Texas?

Question 49

One of the most influential professional groups in Austin is the Texas Medical Association.

Question 50

Gaining access to politicians through personal connections is a violation of Texas state laws.

Question 51

Some of Texas's biggest lobby spenders are groups that include the interests of consumers,the environment,or human services.

Question 52

EMILY's List is a national political action committee that is funded by men and provides early campaign contributions to female candidates.

Question 53

Dark money is political money that comes from donors who do NOT have to be disclosed.

Question 54

Upper-class business interests are more likely to be represented than lower-class minority interests.

Question 55

A lobbyist is an individual employed by a political action committee who tries to influence governmental decisions on behalf of that group.

Question 56

In Texas,teachers make up an important public employee interest group.

Question 57

Entertaining politicians is one of the most critical ways for lobbyists to gain access.

Question 58

Redistricting and scandal are the two greatest threats to an incumbent's electoral advantage.

Question 59

One important way of gaining access to those in government is to employ former officials as lobbyists.

Question 60

Because of the incumbency advantage,it is far safer for interest groups to try to work with incumbents than challengers.

Question 61

Explain the revolving door and the Texas legislature.Should ex-legislators be able to become lobbyists? Should there be a ban on such activities? If so,should there be laws in place that will determine the time period of this kind of ban? Do you see any long-term dangers to permitting former lawmakers to serve as lobbyists?

Question 62

What are interest groups and why are they important in our political system? How are they important to legislators?

Question 63

Is there anything Texas can do to limit the impact of large campaign donors without limiting free speech?

Question 64

It is vital for lobbyists to gain access to politicians and policy makers.Describe some of the ways in which interest groups and their representatives gain access in Texas politics.What are some of the potential abuses of this process?