Deck 13: Interest Groups

Question 1

Which of the following is a standard collective action problem that must be overcome for an interest group to promote or defend a shared interest?

A) There is a constitutional prohibition on unauthorized group activity.
B) The inability to communicate on a large-scale basis because of the size of the country increases the coordination problems.
C) Conformity costs are exceedingly low for such an activity, but the transaction costs of agreeing on goals can be quite high.
D) Rational self-interest leads to universal free riding, which dooms the organization as well as the effort unless some way can be found around this difficulty.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The fact that interest groups vary widely in wealth and how readily they can be organized for action combined with policy gridlock and political paralysis raises concerns that ______.

A) successful lobbying subverts the basic principles of democratic equality and majority rule
B) successful lobbying enhances the power of the executive branch at the expense of the legislature
C) there are too many constitutional protections for lobbyists and not enough protections for ordinary citizens
D) the panoply of interest groups creates equal outcomes because the government tries to minimize conflicts

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The largest interest group in the United States, AARP, was formed to market insurance to senior citizens, and it thrives by ______.

A) also allowing nonmembers to buy insurance
B) providing members with a variety of selective benefits
C) overcharging members for the insurance
D) operating at nothing more than a break-even point

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The Sons of Liberty and the English Bill of Rights Society were early examples of ______.

A) public interest lobbies
B) public good lobbies
C) public participation lobbies
D) public purpose lobbies

Question 5

Madison and de Tocqueville both believed that voluntary groups ______.

A) threatened democracy and should be prohibited
B) despite the risks, were essential to an egalitarian social and political system
C) were unlikely to form in a republic
D) were a nuisance; placing the right to assemble in the Constitution had been a mistake because it led to the establishment of so many interest groups

Question 6

The formation of interest groups in the pluralist argument occurred because ______.

A) the government controlled the means of production
B) groups formed spontaneously whenever shared interests were threatened or could be enhanced by political action
C) wealthy individuals were willing to bankroll interest groups that promoted the public good since the government would not
D) the parties exercised so much control that the only way to generate more public input was through the creation of new groups

Question 7

Lobbying is defined as ______.

A) the press's habit of waiting just outside congressional hearings to interview politicians as they depart
B) the movement of a bill back and forth between the House and the Senate
C) informal news conferences held by politicians on the steps of the legislature
D) appeals from citizens and groups to legislators for favorable policies and decisions

Question 8

For James Madison, factions were by definition ______.

A) pernicious because they pursue selfish aims contrary to the rights of others or the public interest
B) critically important for the efficient operation of a unitary executive, who needs information from organized interests
C) not a serious problem in a democracy
D) the only real check on Congressional power

Question 9

How did James Madison propose to deal with factions?

A) by limiting the rights of free speech and free association
B) by ensuring that every citizen has the same opinions, passions, and interests
C) by dividing authority among federal institutions
D) by encouraging the development of political parties

Question 10

Which of the following criticisms of interest groups is most accurate?

A) Groups brought in large numbers of people who were only interested in material benefits rather than the specific purpose of the group.
B) The development of so many interest groups increased the fragmentation of American politics because politicians tried to avert any electoral threats.
C) The proliferation of so many interest groups created gridlock because each side of an issue was defended by a passionate group of supporters.
D) The power and resources possessed by lobbyists tend to reflect the power that the groups they represent have in society.

Question 11

The scope of the interest group universe has ______.

A) shrunk considerably after Congress passed new laws limiting how much contact lobbyists could have with legislators
B) remained constant at the federal level but exploded at the state level because devolution has shifted more policies to the states
C) more than tripled between the 1960s and 1990s, as both private and public interests employ lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
D) remained steady because the policy gridlock in Washington, D.C., has meant fewer opportunities to lobby

Question 12

Why does modern politics breed professional lobbyists?

A) because money is the most important consideration of modern American politics
B) The growing scope and complexity of government requires agents who understand how institutions work.
C) Since the government concentrates on providing few detailed policies, it increases the competition for scarce resources.
D) Politicians need more information about how voters and other interested parties will react to any changes in government programs.

Question 13

What did the experiences of walnut growers and poultry men in 1959 illustrate about the success of interest groups?

A) Groups developed in response to economic development, so there would be competition.
B) Small groups with intense interests have an organizational advantage.
C) Large groups with diffuse interests have an organizational advantage.
D) The universe of interest groups was biased toward those who had money and resources.

Question 14

What kind of incentives motivate individuals to contribute to groups espousing causes they care about without worrying whether their contribution will make an appreciable difference?

A) selective
B) personal
C) doctrinal
D) moral

Question 15

What does the fight over financial reform legislation tell us about the role of interest groups in the United States?

A) They may be omnipresent in American politics, but they are not omnipotent.
B) Well-organized groups always get more of what they want than groups without organization.
C) Members of Congress are easily influenced by lobbyists because of the need for campaign money.
D) Recent changes in laws have reduced the power and influence of lobbyists, so lawmaking has improved.

Question 16

Although groups like the American Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1833, and the National Trades Union, founded in 1834, had political aims, they are not referred to as "political interest groups" because ______.

A) they did not charge for membership in the groups
B) they were ultimately unsuccessful in achieving their goals
C) they stopped operating once they achieved their political goals
D) they sought to achieve their ends without involving the government

Question 17

What factors influence the challenge of organizing collective action?

A) scale of the group and the stakes of its involvement in public policy
B) scale of the group and the presence of a political entrepreneur
C) whether the problem is federal or state and whether the issues involve spending
D) stakes of its involvement in public policy and whether the issue is new or old

Question 18

Most successful large organizations circumvent the collective action problem by offering "selective incentives," which are ______.

A) benefits available to everyone regardless of membership in the group
B) in essence, the threat of some consequence to the group whenever an individual defects
C) benefits that can be denied to individuals who do not join and contribute
D) the foundation of the rationale behind free riding

Question 19

Which of the following statements about spending by efforts of interest groups to influence government is accurate?

A) The amount of money spent on campaign contributions dwarfs all other types of spending by interest groups.
B) Despite public concerns about campaign contributions, the amount of money donated to candidates has decreased.
C) Interest groups spend billions more every cycle on lobbying than they do on campaign contributions.
D) Most of the attention is focused on campaign contributions, but interest groups spend considerably more on research and television advertising.

Question 20

Why did David Truman and other scholars argue that the American political system was particularly conducive to pluralist politics?

A) The strong national government made it much easier for groups of all sizes to participate in the lobbying process.
B) The fact that most policies were handled at the state and local level allowed groups to target their appeals more effectively.
C) The decentralized structure offered numerous points of access where groups could bid for favorable policies.
D) Having a system of strong parties gave interest groups a powerful way to demonstrate their value in mobilizing supporters.

Question 21

One way that lobbyists increase the credibility of their messages is by ______.

A) threatening electoral retaliation against any politician who disagrees with them
B) hiring scientists or scholars to testify at congressional hearings to back technical claims made by the lobbyists
C) repeatedly using phrases such as "studies have shown"
D) taking public officials on exotic vacations or "junkets"

Question 22

What do the developments in farm policy and federally sponsored medical research tell us about interest groups?

A) Only groups who have a broad agenda have influence within the political system.
B) More complex issues and a fragmented policy process force groups to specialize to be effective.
C) Interest groups are more successful when lobbying on narrowly focused matters of domestic policy.
D) The only way groups can continue to convince supporters that they are effective is by developing a wide-ranging agenda that allows them to influence more policy areas.

Question 23

Congressional decision makers need which of the following two related types of information before they can implement policy?

A) technical information and political information
B) information provided by lobbyists and information provided by other branches of government
C) information provided by journalists and information provided by state governments
D) substantive legal information and procedural legal information

Question 24

In general, the more government does ______.

A) the less need there is for organized political action
B) the less citizens agitate for new policies
C) the more it undermines the incentives for organized political action
D) the more incentives it creates for organized political action

Question 25

There is a common assumption about pluralist politics that government programs emerge in response to interest group demands.

A) This assumption has been shown to be true with respect to all the post-New Deal programs.
B) Although in reality, interests and interest groups arise in defense of government programs.
C) This is true with the exception of those groups narrowly tailored to business interests.
D) Although in reality, interests and interest groups are not connected to government programs in any meaningful way.

Question 26

New policies create constituencies ripe for organization in part because ______.

A) it is easier to mobilize people to pursue benefits they do not yet enjoy than to defend what they already have
B) no one ever mobilizes unless they have an economic interest that is directly threatened
C) people who adapt their plans to existing policies develop a stake in their continuation
D) the hope of gain is a more powerful incentive than the threat of loss

Question 27

Groups like the "Occupy" movement and Tea Party have galvanized sizable segments of society and will likely inspire other groups because ______.

A) organizers of social movements quickly imitate successful innovations, and each new group can draw on the experience of its predecessors
B) they were able to circumvent the law without any repercussions
C) they merely relied on selective incentives, not moral arguments, for its success
D) it was such an elaborate failure that the other organizations could easily see what actions to avoid

Question 28

Prominent public interest groups like Common Cause and Public Citizen that rely on moral incentives find that ______.

A) these rarely account for membership
B) these have no place in the analysis of lobbying
C) these are the only important incentives in organized outsider lobbying
D) they tend to grow when opponents run the government

Question 29

By helping office holders plan legislation and assemble legislative coalitions, among other things, lobbyists ______.

A) will mostly change the minds of legislators about issues
B) have almost eliminated the role of the parties from the legislative process
C) have removed the political consideration of the reaction of voters from the legislative process
D) will not so much change minds as activate politicians are already on their side

Question 30

Why do lawmakers want information about public policies?

A) They are seeking an alternative point of view to those party leaders and committees promote.
B) Officials want to avoid disastrous and costly mistakes; want information that reduces uncertainty and the likelihood of nasty surprises.
C) The most effective way to explain Washington activity to constituents is by having as much information as possible.
D) They are lazy and prefer to free ride on the actions of those who care deeply about particular policies.

Question 31

The credibility of political information provided by lobbyists to political officials is enhanced when ______.

A) it is privately communicated rather than publicly communicated
B) a group uses only its professional lobbyists to convey the information
C) it comes in the form of a lengthy technical report instead of through constituent letters and postcards
D) a group mobilizes its constituency as part of the lobbying effort

Question 32

Since politicians know that lobbyists are advocates, they can only trust a lobbyist's information when ______.

A) the lobbyist donates a substantial campaign contribution
B) information is independently confirmed by an expert
C) both sides expect to have a continuing relationship
D) party leaders vouch for the lobbyist

Question 33

Before a rule or regulation can be adopted, the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 requires administrative agencies to ______.

A) obtain an advisory opinion about the constitutionality of the rule or regulation from the Supreme Court
B) publish the rule or regulation in the Federal Register and hold public hearings if anyone objects to it
C) invite lobbyists to comment privately to the leadership of the House and Senate on the rule or regulation
D) obtain prior approval of the specifics of the rule or regulation from the Joint Committee on Regulation in Congress

Question 34

What is one of the major concerns for specialized interest groups working in an issue area?

A) Small groups will be swallowed by larger groups with more resources.
B) Similar groups appeal to the same supporters and this makes the formation of coalitions tricky.
C) Politicians will focus their attention on the group that can deliver the greatest electoral advantages.
D) Too many groups working at cross-purposes undermines any effort to secure policy changes from the government.

Question 35

Reports to the media, news conferences, and demonstrations are all examples of ______.

A) insider tactics used by interest groups
B) ineffective efforts at changing policy
C) outsider tactics used by interest groups
D) insider tactics used by PACs

Question 36

Social ferment, a growing and increasingly well-educated and affluent middle class, and technological innovations have contributed to ______.

A) a decrease in interest groups because it is easier for people to work on their own
B) the rapid proliferation of interest groups since the 1960s
C) the replacement of large interest groups with smaller and more focused groups
D) replacing traditional lobbying activities with more grassroots activism

Question 37

How is successful lobbying similar to the actions that the President takes when trying to gain support from members of Congress?

A) The easiest strategy that wins supporters is by threatening electoral harm by opposing something popular.
B) Getting people to do what he or she wants them to do by convincing them that the action serves their goals.
C) Mobilizing public opinion through speeches and television commercials is the easiest way to build support.
D) Cutting off access and limiting benefits help political actors understand what actions are in their best interests.

Question 38

Why has the encouragement of the federal government itself been the most important of the dynamics behind the expanding interest group universe?

A) Congress passed laws making it easier for groups to organize such as sending mail for free.
B) Changes in the law have allowed groups to lobby more freely to ensure that members of Congress have enough information.
C) The growing scope of government activity has encouraged the proliferation of organizations in the nonprofit and public sectors.
D) The presence of gridlock has meant that the only way to break through partisan stalemate is organizing separate groups from the parties.

Question 39

Interest group leaders and their constituents are involved in what relationship with all the familiar problems and challenges such relationships pose?

A) principal-agent
B) fiduciary
C) social benefits
D) candidate driven

Question 40

When polled, a representative sample of lobbying group offices in Washington identified their most important activities as ______.

A) making public endorsements of candidates and engaging in protest demonstrations
B) running advertisements about the group's positions and publicizing candidates' voting records
C) testifying at hearings and contacting government officials directly to present the group's point of view
D) contributing work and personnel to electoral campaigns

Question 41

Most politically active interest groups ______.

A) use PACs as the single most important method to influence politics
B) do not form PACs at all but rely on other methods to influence politics
C) have multiple PACs that are utilized to give the appearance of more constituent strength than is accurate
D) are forced to litigate to be able to fully use their PACs

Question 42

Which of the following statements about PACs is true?

A) They must report contributions from those who donate as little as one dollar.
B) The maximum contribution is US$ 5,000.
C) They are only permitted to donate money in congressional elections.
D) They must raise money from at least two thousand people.

Question 43

Why do factions continue to raise serious problems for American democracy?

A) because candidates rationally champion widely shared values and interests
B) The resources needed to gain influence-money, access, and expertise-are distributed very unevenly.
C) There are too many lobbying groups dedicated to some moral vision of the public good.
D) The interest group universe has grown smaller so that those people without resources are always disadvantaged.

Question 44

Why does the competition between competing groups lead to policy gridlock?

A) The interest groups have been completely absorbed by the parties that the policies are nothing more than the existing party platforms.
B) While interest groups can effectively lobby Congress, the President and the Supreme Court have a much freer hand to ignore the threats of electoral harm.
C) The presence of so many groups in the political process has made it easier for candidates to raise the kind of money needed for campaigns so that there are narrow congressional majorities.
D) Since there are many groups capable of vigorously defending themselves, it is impossible to initiate any change that imposes concentrated costs to achieve general benefits.

Question 45

When the National Rifle Association wants to prevent new restrictions on firearms, its members shower Congress with letters, e-mails, faxes, and phone calls, and this is an example of what kind of lobbying?

A) grassroots
B) insider
C) astroturf
D) natural

Question 46

The use of litigation for interest groups is ______.

A) relatively rare because the multiple access points means that there is always a way to influence elected officials
B) the most effective strategy for securing long-term changes in existing policies
C) especially attractive to groups that can rest claims on constitutional rights
D) the dominant strategy for groups with few resources since the court system can be accessed at low cost

Question 47

According to one estimate, the number of lobbying organizations more than tripled between the 1960s and the 1990s; a subsequent analysis indicated a further doubling between 2000 and 2005.

Question 48

The experiences of Uber demonstrate that ______.

A) even with changes in technology that promise to overcome the problems of free riding, efforts still fall flat
B) the most effective way to break existing iron triangles is donating money to candidates who are not beholden to existing interests
C) digital social networks can reweigh the calculus of political activism by making it almost costless and that can deliver policy victories
D) the fragmented universe of interest groups makes it harder for new interests to break in and find a piece of turf on which they can be successful

Question 49

Most of the groups relying on moral incentives arose spontaneously through the actions of concerned citizens although they may receive support from charitable foundations or wealthy individuals.

Question 50

To qualify as a multicandidate committee, a PAC must raise money from at least 50 people and contribute to at least ______ candidates.

A) 3
B) 5
C) 7
D) 9

Question 51

How do insiders and outsiders use electoral politics differently to influence elected officials?

A) Insiders offer electoral help, while outsiders more commonly threaten electoral harm.
B) Insiders offer electoral help, while outsiders are more likely to field their own candidates.
C) Insiders stay neutral in elections to preserve access, while outsiders more commonly threaten electoral harm.
D) Insiders more commonly threaten electoral harm, while outsiders offer electoral help.

Question 52

Although almost everyone advocates a balanced budget, every spending program and tax break is defended by organized beneficiaries but why does deficit reduction have less organized support?

A) It is an unrealistic goal.
B) It is an economically unsound idea.
C) It is a concentrated particularized benefit.
D) It is a diffuse collective good.

Question 53

Under the pluralist argument, interest groups were regarded as essential and valuable participants in the democratic politics of a modern industrial society.

Question 54

How do outsider tactics differ from insider tactics?

A) Outsider tactics rely on information that suggest that decision makers could make a mistake by opposing the group.
B) Outsider tactics impose real pressure to push politicians to act in ways they otherwise would prefer not to.
C) Outsider tactics rely heavily on building coalitions that can run television commercials to move public opinion.
D) Outsider tactics capture political leaders through donations and the leadership sanctions members who do not support policies.

Question 55

Citizens who were outraged by corruption in the 19th century formed new associations to agitate for reform and succeeded in reorganizing government at all levels and rewriting the rules of electoral and party politics.

Question 56

Most scholarly research has found that political action committees ______.

A) virtually control policy outcomes through their activities
B) easily circumvent the policy preferences of political constituents
C) exert, at most, only a modest effect on a legislator's decisions
D) are more influential on legislators than are party affiliation, ideology, or state and district interests

Question 57

Which of the following is true about the conflicts to be found among organized interests?

A) These are more divisive and diverse than those that are prevalent among the general public.
B) These typically are resolved by mergers between the conflicting groups.
C) These precisely mirror the differences between the parties.
D) These mirror and sometimes crystallize divisions and uncertainties prevalent among Americans.

Question 58

One formidable barrier to PAC influence is ______.

A) the express prohibition in the Constitution against PACs contributing money to politicians
B) many issues generate conflicts among interests so politicians have access to PAC money no matter what side they take
C) the press keeps such a close watch on the financial activity of PACs and politicians and it is very hard to buy real influence
D) the complicated reported and filing requirements of the Internal Revenue Service

Question 59

The insider and outsider strategies interest groups use to affect policy are ______.

A) mutually exclusive, and the groups never use both
B) indistinguishable from each other in either form or impact
C) usually not disclosed to the groups' constituencies
D) not mutually exclusive, and the groups use either or both depending on circumstances and opportunities

Question 60

Merchants, manufacturers, and ethnic and religious minorities during the colonial era rarely sought favorable policies from the authorities in London as well as from colonial governors and assemblies.

Question 61

Uber's lobbying success shows that the best way to achieve policy successes even in a changed technological environment is relying on providing information to lawmakers.

Question 62

Campaign contributions far outweigh the sentiments of constituents, when they can be estimated, in determining roll call votes.

Question 63

Explain the pluralist defense of interest groups.

Question 64

Interest groups that potentially compete for the same constituency avoid mutually destructive poaching on issues and constituencies through informal accommodations and deference to each other's turf.

Question 65

Why have interest groups proliferated since the 1960s?

Question 66

What is policy gridlock and why has the proliferation of interest groups contributed to its occurrence?

Question 67

Why are small groups easier to organize than large ones?

Question 68

What is the difference between moral and selective incentives? Give examples of groups founded on each.

Question 69

Explain E. E. Schattschneider's observation: "The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent."

Question 70

What are the differences between insider and outsider tactics and what determines which strategy a group uses?

Question 71

Organizations that survive on small contributions from a mass membership have no choice but to find new issues to focus on in order to keep growing the membership base.

Question 72

Why do interest groups provide volumes of technical information to politicians?

Question 73

When PACs pursue the short-term goal of access to those in control of Washington's policy machinery, they will shift their contribution patterns as control of Congress shifts.

Question 74

Narrow private interests thus often enjoy an advantage over broader ones.

Question 75

Business organizations and other groups representing well-heeled interests still account for the large share of lobbying expenditures.

Question 76

Regulators hope to avoid writing rules that get shot down by appeals to the courts or Congress keep in touch with politically potent groups in the sectors they regulate.

Question 77

Specialized, fragmented groups are not dependent on members of Congress or White House officials to build and lead legislative coalitions.

Question 78

Are members of Congress in a stronger position to influence PACs, or are PACs able to influence members of Congress? Explain the underlying logic of your answer.

Question 79

How does the Constitution encourage the creation of interest groups in the United States and what were some of the early observations of them?

Question 80

The interest group universe, though remarkably large and diverse, favors some interests at the expense of others.