Deck 10: Interest Groups

Question 1

​Ultimately it was by means of a __________ that the success of Cesar Chavez's attempt to attain recognition of the United Farm Workers was achieved.

A)grape boycott
B)​​bombing campaign of farms
C)​occupation of the state capitol building in Sacramento, California,
D)​​refusal to harvest lettuce throughout California
E)​high profile group of Hollywood celebrities applying public pressure

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Alexis de Tocqueville believed that the American tendency to join associations

A)would decline as the country grew.
B)was a threat to democracy.
C)reflected a strong democratic culture.
D)could lead to factionalism.
E)would cause increased protests.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

_________ believe that interest groups further democracy by broadening representation within the system.

A)Majoritarians
B)Elitists
C)Oligarchs
D)Humanitarians
E)Pluralists

Answer 3

E

Question 4

In a poll cited in the text,_____ percent of Americans ​said they favored universal background checks for gun ownership.

A)​8
B)21
C)​52
D)​76
E)​92

Question 5

Today the largest sector of unionized workers is

A)auto workers.
B)university employees.
C)agricultural workers.
D)municipal government employees.
E)pipefitters and plumbers.

Question 6

Cesar Chavez's work to organize California workers into the United Farm Workers makes him an example of a(n)

A)primary mover.
B)policy maintainer.
C)interest group entrepreneur.
D)monitoring agent.
E)public proponent.

Question 7

The primary goal of interest groups is to

A)educate the public about issues.
B)sponsor candidates for elections.
C)fight corruption in government.
D)influence public policy.
E)provide campaign donations.

Question 8

To accomplish the successful organization of the United Farm Workers,Cesar Chavez copied the tactics of​ __________.

A)​patriots during the American Revolution
B)​anti-slavery abolitionists
C)​the civil rights movement
D)​Franklin Roosevelt's attempt to create his "New Deal" program
E)​anti-globalization activists

Question 9

Which of the following potential interest groups would likely be the most difficult to organize for political action?

A)Social welfare recipients
B)Certified public accountants
C)Alumni of a prestigious college
D)Employees of a manufacturing company
E)Retired social security recipients

Question 10

James Madison made all but which of the following arguments in his essay,Federalist No.10?

A)The development of differences between interest groups is inevitable.
B)The fundamental causes of faction are sown into man's nature.
C)In a democratic republic, government can mediate among opposing factions.
D)Factions can be eliminated without removing Americans' freedoms.
E)The size and diversity of the nation is an important factor restraining majority factions.

Question 11

The issue of urban renewal in Boston's West End illustrates the point that

A)mass-based interest groups can effectively block government policy.
B)government policies are designed to maintain a political equilibrium.
C)groups faced with policies harmful to their interests often lack the leadership and resources to organize.
D)interest groups will arise whenever there is a need.
E)minority groups, even when organized, often fail.

Question 12

​One might say of Americans that "We hate interest groups,except those that ________________."

A)oppose terrorism
B)​speak on our behalf
C)​support environmental issues
D)​include children among their beneficiaries
E)​advocate reduced government spending

Question 13

Which of the following is not an argument made by the authors for why interest groups benefit our political system?

A)Interest groups represent people before government.
B)Interest groups always form when the corresponding need for them develops.
C)Interest groups are vehicles for political participation.
D)Interest groups educate their members, the public at large, and government officials.
E)Interest groups bring new issues into the political limelight.

Question 14

With no one taking the lead in ​an interest group's traditional agenda building role,in the wake of the Newtown massacre the only legislation that passed was ______________.

A)​prohibiting those younger than 18 from possessing firearms without a gun-handling skills test
B)​closing the loophole in current law whereby people buying firearms at gun shows and in the internet are not subject to a background check
C)​clarifying the definitions of medical and mental health conditions that disqualify a person from handgun ownership
D)​expanding the list of laws for which convictions may disqualify a person from handgun ownership
E)​No legislation was passed in response to the Newtown massacre.

Question 15

An environmental group publishes scientifically-documented lapses in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)oversight of toxic-waste-dump monitoring.Which function is the environmental group performing?

A)Education
B)Program monitoring
C)Agenda building
D)Representation
E)Issue definition

Question 16

What role do interest groups play in educating policymakers about political issues?

A)Interest groups are never considered a valid source of information because they are so biased.
B)So few people are members of interest groups that any communication policymakers receive from such groups is considered insignificant.
C)They are an important source of political information.
D)They tend to confuse policymakers and often alienate them.
E)They serve to overwhelm policymakers with too much information.

Question 17

An important idea of pluralist theory is that

A)most interest groups work for the good of the majority.
B)the institutions of government will ignore interest groups regardless of their orientation.
C)interest groups will ultimately fade from the political scene.
D)new interest groups naturally form when the need arises.
E)people join groups for benefits, regardless of current circumstances.

Question 18

​Which of the following is not a role of interest groups?

A)​Representation
B)​​Program monitoring
C)​Agenda building
D)Electing their members to public office
E)​All of these choices are roles of interest groups.

Question 19

Individual lobbies spend vast sums as they try to influence legislation and recent filings with the Congress listed at _________ in annual spending through lobbying.

A)$100 million
B)$500 million
C)$750 million
D)$1 billion
E)more than $3 billion

Question 20

A veterans' group publicizes reports of excessive wait times at VA (US Department of Veterans Affairs)hospitals and resulting harm to patients.Which function is the veterans' group performing?

A)​Education
B)​Program monitoring
C)​Agenda building
D)​Representation
E)​Issue definition

Question 21

The greater the potential number of members of a group,the more likely that individuals will ___________________.​

A)​contribute to the activities of the group
B)​see the group as influential
C)​make a financial contribution
D)​decide to be free riders
E)​question the sincerity of commitment to the stated goals of the group of its leaders

Question 22

A recent study of seventy-seven members of Congress who were defeated for reelection or left voluntarily found that more than __________ of them took jobs with firms that lobby.

A)10 percent
B)25 percent
C)40 percent
D)60 percent
E)80 percent

Question 23

Almost all political contributions made by unions go to

A)Democrats.
B)Republicans.
C)conservatives.
D)independents.
E)challengers.

Question 24

Some sophisticated research has shown that PAC donations

A)can have a greater influence within congressional committees than on affecting floor votes.
B)are influential based on an exponential scale of the actual amount given.
C)have been declining in effectiveness over the past 15 years.
D)influence the behavior of the executive bureaucracy more than Congress.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 25

When the air you breathe is made cleaner as a result of lobbying done by an interest group to which you do not belong,you are an example of

A)a program monitor.
B)an interest group entrepreneur.
C)the PAC problem.
D)a freeloader.
E)a free rider.

Question 26

​Which of the following PACs contributed the most during the 2012 congressional elections?

A)​National Association of Realtors
B)Facebook PAC
C)​​International Garment Workers Union
D)​DEFPAC (Defense Contractors)
E)​Letter Carriers Political Action Fund

Question 27

​Groups that rely on ideological appeals for new members have a special problem because

A)most ​people do not want to join ideological groups.
B)​they have to meet special stricter government guidelines.
C)​ideological groups do not qualify for tax exemptions.
D)​competition in policy areas of these groups is intense.
E)​they have to convince their "purist" members to do the mundane work of recruitment.

Question 28

Lobbyists have greatly increased their numbers in Brussels,Belgium,a convenient location for international businesses work on trade issues with the world's largest economy,____________.

A)​China
B)​Russia
C)​The European Union
D)​the United States
E)​the Association of South East Asian countries (ASEAN)

Question 29

Which of the following groups is most dependent on the Internet to gain new supporters?

A)Business associations
B)Labor associations
C)Professional associations
D)Political parties
E)Ideological citizen groups

Question 30

Nonconnected PACs are highly ideological and tend to give

A)to liberal Democrats.
B)to conservative Republicans.
C)to well-connected incumbent politicians of any ideological stripe.
D)to presidential candidates but not to congressional ones.
E)either to conservatives or to liberals, but not both.

Question 31

A strategy that relies on a group representative's personal contact with policymakers is

A)grassroots lobbying.
B)coalition building.
C)information campaigns.
D)direct lobbying.
E)insider lobbying.

Question 32

The lobbyist's primary job involves

A)passing information on to their employers and to policymakers.
B)assisting campaigns.
C)trading on favors.
D)mobilizing campaign contributors.
E)exchanging goods for services.

Question 33

With regard to PAC contributions and congressional votes,political scientists

A)have found a very strong correlation between the two.
B)have not been able to document any consistent link between the two.
C)have found that contributions have a greater impact on votes in the Senate.
D)have found that contributions have a greater impact on votes in the House of Representatives.
E)have found that votes are determined by contributions when members are up for reelection.

Question 34

The free-rider problem increases the difficulty of attracting ___________.​

A)​young people
B)​paying members
C)​media attention
D)​votes in Congress
E)​cooperation from other interest groups

Question 35

Under current federal law,the amount that the PAC you belong to can donate to its favored candidate running for the U.S.Senate is

A)unlimited.
B)$2,000 a month during the election cycle.
C)$5,000 per election.
D)$27,500 per year.
E)equal to a percentage of the group's membership.

Question 36

Large interest groups are often difficult to organize because

A)many of their potential members prefer to let someone else shoulder the interest groups' financial burden.
B)as they grow in size, they attract more unfavorable publicity.
C)they usually suffer from diseconomies of scale.
D)the Internet has not made it easier to convince individuals to join.
E)they often do not represent compelling interests.

Question 37

The phenomenon of ______________ is referred to as the "revolving door".​

A)​former elected officials taking lobbying jobs
B)​movement of experienced workers from one interest group to another
C)​interest group success on one issue, followed by identification of a new issue, followed by success on that issue, etc.
D)​interest group officials achieving such a high profile that they are then elected to public office
E)​elected officials having to deal with a seemingly endless series of interest groups on some topics

Question 38

There were an estimated __________ PACs contributing to congressional candidates during the 2011-2012 campaign cycle.

A)1,000
B)7,000
C)25,000
D)250,000
E)one million

Question 39

__________ make sure that people in government know what their members want and that their organizations know what the government is doing.

A)Cabinet officials
B)Federal agency administrators
C)Lobbyists
D)Governors
E)Political parties

Question 40

Which influential Washington interest group has a membership of 40 million?

A)Sierra Club
B)Catholic Charities
C)Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
D)American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
E)The Masons

Question 41

​The most common form of grassroots lobbying is

A)​telephone calls.
B)​picketing.
C)​e-mailing.
D)​letter writing.
E)​web page building.

Question 42

The main drawback of protest activity as a tool in influencing the policymaking process is that

A)it is basically a short-term tool, whereas policymaking is a long-term process.
B)it almost always generates more opposition than support.
C)no one pays attention to protest.
D)it is illegal.
E)it often results in the arrest of interest group members.

Question 43

Interest groups that lobby for poor people often gain key financial support from

A)philanthropic foundations.
B)government grants.
C)corporations.
D)wealthy individuals.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 44

Which of the following involves an interest group's rank-and-file membership as well as outreach to ordinary people outside the organization?

A)Direct lobbying
B)Grassroots lobbying
C)Information campaigns
D)Coalition building
E)Shotgun marketing

Question 45

Organizing public relations campaigns and sponsoring research are examples of

A)coalition building.
B)information campaigns.
C)grassroots lobbying.
D)direct lobbying.
E)marketing strategies.

Question 46

The money from PAC donations comes disproportionately from

A)religious or ethnic organizations.
B)public interest and consumer groups.
C)labor unions.
D)business and professional interests.
E)foreign countries.

Question 47

People who ___________ are most likely to belong to interest groups.​

A)​have low income
B)have ​the most urgent need for government benefits
C)​have high income
D)​are retired
E)​have an interest in ideological issues

Question 48

Day-to-day direct lobbying is largely an attempt by interest groups to ____________________.​

A)​ensure that legislators abide by agreements made with interest groups
B)​encourage elected officials to follow-through on promises made in exchange for contributions
C)​allow members of Congress to have access to interest group members
D)​maintain a high profile so they can continue to demand contributions from their members
E)​frame issues in terms most beneficial to their point of view

Question 49

Elections inject some of the benefits of _________ into our political system because the winning party will have a stronger voice than its opponent in policy decisions.​

A)​economics
B)​majoritarianism
C)​liberalism
D)​pluralism
E)republicanism

Question 50

A critical thing to remember when considering the overrepresentation of business interests in Washington is that they

A)are frequently divided and mobilize to lobby against each other.
B)are generally concerned about the public welfare.
C)cannot engage in many forms of lobbying during election years.
D)rarely have an influence on legislation except as it affects their narrow interests.
E)lose a considerable amount of resources during election years.

Question 51

A group that has as its purpose issues unrelated to its members' vocations is a(n)

A)grassroots coalition.
B)interest collaboration.
C)targeted partnership.
D)professional interest group.
E)citizens group.

Question 52

The recent effort by AT&T to take over T-Mobile shows that

A)direct lobbying campaigns work best when combined with PR campaigns.
B)U.S. courts can be lobbied as effectively as the U.S. Congress.
C)public opinion and grassroots campaigns can be easily manufactured by well-funded corporate interests.
D)large corporations do not achieve all their desired ends in Washington D.C.
E)Congress typically accedes to the wishes of a well-organized lobby, if no opposing lobbies swiftly counter-mobilize.

Question 53

In interest group lobbying,coalitions are often

A)informal arrangements.
B)temporary.
C)formed only for the purpose of lobbying on a single issue.
D)informal arrangements, temporary, and formed only for the purpose of lobbying on a single issue.
E)None of these choices is true.

Question 54

The __________ defied conventional wisdom regarding political change through a broad and sustained series of protests and unconventional actions.

A)antinuclear movement
B)antilobbying association
C)civil rights movement
D)gun control faction
E)right-to-life association

Question 55

___________ was the primary reason for failure of the Occupy movement to achieve a lasting organizational existence.​

A)​Inability to agree on issues, goals, and means
B)​A law enforcement crackdown
C)​Pervasive rioting in cities with Occupy encampments
D)​Lack of intent to do more than provide an emotional outlet for young people
E)​Inability of the public to understand the sophistication of their arguments

Question 56

Any increase in lobbying regulations conflicts with

A)Tenth Amendment provisions.
B)the equal access clause of the Constitution.
C)the Fairness Doctrine.
D)Ninth Amendment provisions.
E)the right to petition the government outlined in the First Amendment.

Question 57

Recently anti-immigration groups have taken to holding public protests on April 15,the day taxes are due,to emphasize economic consequences of illegal immigration.Your textbook might describe this as an example of

A)agenda building.
B)program monitoring.
C)grassroots lobbying.
D)direct lobbying.
E)coalition building.

Question 58

Most lobbyists believe that public testimony before congressional committees

A)is the most effective way of influencing legislation.
B)should be televised so that all citizens have access to this information.
C)should be discontinued.
D)is less important than are private one-on-one meetings.
E)should be a matter of public record.

Question 59

Formation of Super PACs was facilitated by the Supreme Court decision in

A)​Chavez v. Nizon.
B)​Citizens United v. FEC.
C)​Garcia v. Clinton.
D)​Brown v. Bd. of Education.
E)​Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.

Question 60

Which of the following is not necessary for the pluralist model of interest groups to be fair?

A)All significant interests in the population should be represented by groups.
B)Government should listen to the views of all major interests.
C)Lawmakers should attempt to balance perfectly the views of all competing interests.
D)Lawmakers should pay attention to the concerns of lobbyists.
E)The majoritarian model's emphasis on competitive elections should be viewed as compatible with pluralism.

Question 61

What do political scientists know about the relationship between PAC money and votes in Congress?

Question 62

Why has there been a significant increase in Washington,D.C.based health-care lobbyists over the years?

Question 63

Identify and discuss the variables that contribute to ability of interest groups to successfully organize.​

Question 64

Following the Citizens United decision,​contributions such as Sheldon Adelson and his wife's at least _______ million increased the impression that those already most advantaged in the political system will add to their advantages.

A)​$5
B)​$25
C)​$60
D)​$90
E)​$127

Question 65

Explain the difference between direct lobbying and grassroots lobbying.

Question 66

Explain how the free-rider problem makes it difficult to get people to join and contribute to interest groups.

Question 67

Describe how Cesar Chavez changed tactics in his attempt to improve working conditions for farm laborers by forming the United Farm Workers Union,and why Catholic clergy supported Chavez.

Question 68

Explain what citizen groups are,and one of the advantages that business and professional groups have over them in affecting policymaking.

Question 69

Identify five ways that interest groups benefit our political system.

Question 70

Describe lobbyists,their activities,and what they contribute to our political system.​

Question 71

Discuss the tactics used by interest groups as part of information campaigns.​