Deck 9: Interest Groups

Question 1

The amount of money currently spent on lobbying the federal government is roughly $_________ per year.

A)100 million
B)750 million
C)3.5 billion
D)9 billion

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Tocqueville noted that Americans are unusually fond of __________.

A)running for office
B)forming associations
C)joining political parties
D)lobbying the government

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which statement expresses a normative element of pluralism?

A)Government-created interest groups should be banned from lobbying activities.
B)Interest groups should be regulated to minimize the power of business interests.
C)The government should support competition and interaction among interest groups.
D)Interest groups tend to develop around the goal of preventing cuts to government programs.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which term describes a democratic system where all kinds of people with different opinions and values compete to influence government policy?

A)homogeneous
B)liberal
C)paternal
D)pluralist

Question 5

Which of these statements describes the theory of countervailing power?

A)Courts and public opinion provide effective checks on the power of interest groups.
B)Interest groups tend to develop in a way that drives them to pursue extremist goals.
C)The influence of interest groups tends to balance out because groups emerge on both sides of any issue.
D)Interest groups cannot become too powerful in a democracy because of the power of the government.

Question 6

Which statement explains why government bureaucracies tend to become influential interest groups?

A)Bureaucrats in specialized agencies have a major role in crafting legislation.
B)Bureaucrats in umbrella agencies have a major role in setting the legislative agenda.
C)Bureaucrats in specialized agencies have a major role in vetting presidential appointees.
D)Bureaucrats in umbrella agencies have a major role in getting Congressional candidates elected.

Question 7

Political parties differ from interest groups because parties __________.

A)are less responsive to public opinion
B)must win elections to influence policy
C)influence policy outside of the electoral process
D)rely only on public money to finance their activities

Question 8

In which of these ways is a pluralist most like the role an interest group plays in society?

A)They distort public opinion.
B)They undermine the practice of democracy.
C)They require regulation to function properly.
D)They make a positive contribution to the political system.

Question 9

In a weak state,interest groups _________.

A)are largely government-created ones
B)often include powerful criminal gangs
C)cannot participate in lobbying activities
D)tend to be even weaker than the government

Question 10

Interest groups in the United States tend to over-represent __________.

A)business interests
B)social welfare causes
C)specialized labor groups
D)non-profit organizations

Question 11

Government programs tend to be difficult to cut back or eliminate in the United States because __________.

A)the federal budget is renewed annually
B)interest groups lobby to protect their benefits
C)reduced government spending hurts the economy
D)politicians are inherently conservative about change

Question 12

Which statement explains why the 2010 health care reform bill contained no provision for a public insurance option?

A)President Obama threatened to veto any bill containing public option provisions.
B)Opinion polls showed that the public option was strongly opposed by most Americans.
C)Bureaucrats in the Medicare system testified before Congress that a public option would be highly inefficient.
D)Lobbyists for the health insurance industry were able to convince Congress to drop consideration of a public option.

Question 13

For interest groups to function properly,there must be __________.

A)a two-party system
B)an adversarial media
C)a strong government
D)an educated citizenry

Question 14

A government-created interest group is one that results from __________.

A)a schism within a political party
B)passage of campaign-finance limits
C)creation of a government program or bureaucracy
D)the deregulation of private fund-raising activities

Question 15

Which group has the most influence over politics in the United States?

A)women
B)senior citizens
C)wealthy individuals
D)racial and ethnic minorities

Question 16

In order to prevent interest groups from influencing politics,it would be necessary to curtail their __________.

A)right to bear arms
B)freedom of expression
C)ability to seek new members
D)access to equal protection under the law

Question 17

The National Rifle Association generally supports __________ candidates.

A)Democratic
B)independent
C)Republican
D)third-party

Question 18

Which of these is an example of two distinct interest groups working for the same cause?

A)gay men and lesbians both supporting same-sex marriage
B)social conservatives and the Religious Right both supporting school prayer
C)fiscal conservatives and business owners both opposing minimum wage hikes
D)libertarians and cancer patients both opposing laws against medical marijuana

Question 19

Rousseau influenced French attitudes toward pluralism by arguing that __________.

A)interest groups were vital to a strong civil society
B)the general will was more important than particular wills
C)individual freedom was more important than the collective welfare
D)a decentralized state promoted liberty more effectively than a centralized one

Question 20

An interest group whose membership is dominated by retired persons is most likely to lobby __________.

A)for an expansion of Medicare benefits
B)against legislation banning age discrimination
C)for grants to the states to expand homeschooling efforts
D)against efforts to trim the costs of the federal bureaucracy

Question 21

Interest groups typically approach __________ looking for a favorable interpretation of existing rules and regulations.

A)legislators
B)bureaucrats
C)wealthy donors
D)third-party candidates

Question 22

Which two industries contribute the most money to candidates of both major American political parties?

A)mining and agriculture
B)health care and finance
C)real estate and insurance
D)technology and manufacturing

Question 23

Which of these concepts is most strongly associated with Henry David Thoreau,Mahatma Gandhi,and Martin Luther King,Jr.?

A)civil disobedience
B)corporatism
C)racial profiling
D)structured access

Question 24

Which of the following,if they existed in Germany,would dramatically change the way German national elections are financed?

A)bans on soft money
B)weaker political parties
C)constitutional protections for campaign donations
D)a campaign financing approach similar to Sweden's

Question 25

According to Olson,small,well-organized groups often override the broader public interest because they __________.

A)have much to gain from favorable but narrow laws and rulings,so they lobby intensely
B)have an easier time attracting wealthy donors,so they are better-funded than other groups
C)know that their interests are not well understood,so they spend a lot of money on advertising
D)understand how to manipulate public opinion better,so they influence politicians more than other groups

Question 26

An interest group with structured access has __________ relationship with government.

A)an adversarial
B)a short-term
C)a co-dependent
D)a stable and beneficial

Question 27

Which of these is a strategy that interest groups tend to avoid?

A)filing cases in the federal and state courts
B)nominating a candidate to run for public office
C)attending a public hearing on a proposed regulation
D)meeting with lawmakers to discuss common interests

Question 28

A strong state is necessary for a healthy interest group environment because strong states have __________.

A)a highly active citizenry
B)high levels of economic achievement
C)well-established relationships with corporations
D)the ability to keep groups from acting outside the law

Question 29

The courts are most likely to become an arena for interest group competition in a country __________.

A)where the rule of law is strong
B)that accepts the corporatist ideal
C)with a relatively weak central government
D)that has a parliamentary form of democracy

Question 30

Which statement describes how France differs from the United States with respect to the interest group system?

A)French interest groups are publically accountable.
B)French interest groups only lobby the executive branch.
C)French interest groups operate in a more constrained atmosphere.
D)French interest groups are informally controlled by the government.

Question 31

What are two reasons that elections are so much more expensive in the United States than in Western Europe?

A)constitutional protections and the size of the U.S.population
B)bureaucratic inefficiency and the strength of special interest groups
C)the size of U.S.territory and the strength of the federal government
D)the weakness of American political parties and the decentralized nomination process

Question 32

Which statement explains why the issue of access challenges the pluralist theory?

A)Pluralists assume that larger interest groups have greater access to fund-raising opportunities.
B)Pluralists argue that access to government benefits should be evenly distributed to all interest groups.
C)Pluralists argue that access to policy makers should be limited to those groups whose interests align with the public good.
D)Pluralists assume that all groups have access to policy makers when some groups are actually shut out of the system almost entirely.

Question 33

The central concern behind the formation of single-issue interest groups tends to be __________.

A)anti-political
B)material
C)moral
D)personal

Question 34

Which of these was most helpful to the Occupy Wall Street protesters?

A)the use of social media
B)support from the Tea Party
C)positive coverage in the elite media
D)highly visible government crackdowns

Question 35

Lobbyists often call themselves __________ to get around the registration and reporting requirements for lobbyists.

A)influence peddlers
B)Congressional aides
C)strategic consultants
D)interest group managers

Question 36

Which statement explains why a candidate for office in the United States would find the issue of abortion politically challenging?

A)Supreme Court rulings protect abortion rights from political meddling.
B)Catholics and Protestant fundamentalists are highly influential interest groups.
C)Many Americans base their vote solely on a candidate's position on social issues.
D)American voters who support abortion rights are also likely to oppose same-sex marriage.

Question 37

The trend toward negative advertising in political campaigns is spurred in by __________.

A)the use of soft money
B)the growth of social media
C)limits on campaign donations
D)the rollback of FCC regulations

Question 38

Which of these is a potential problem of corporatism?

A)It could undermine the good of society.
B)It could favor the interests of labor unions over businesses.
C)Interest groups play no meaningful role in a corporatist system.
D)Interest groups could supplant government as the source of social stability.

Question 39

The Tobacco Institute maintains a low profile by __________ rather than operating in ways that are obvious to the public.

A)quietly bribing politicians
B)working through minor political parties
C)funding research that supports its agenda
D)supporting feel-good initiatives in the community

Question 40

When an industry such as coal or cotton advertises on television,it is often trying to show the public that it __________.

A)is highly profitable
B)benefits society in general
C)has moderate political views
D)does not need special favors from politicians

Question 41

Governments create interest groups to help them manage society.

Question 42

Interest groups in the United States work through the legislative and executive branches but not the judicial branch.

Question 43

Enron executives benefitted financially from the company's collapse.

Question 44

Democrats and Republicans tend to agree that the tax code is __________.

A)basically fair
B)too confusing
C)not progressive enough
D)efficiently administered

Question 45

Suppose you belong to a single-issue interest group with very little funding.Which of these is your best approach to influencing public policy?

A)expand your focus to multiple issues
B)run a single candidate for political office
C)perform high-profile acts of civil disobedience
D)file an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court

Question 46

Which statement explains what has happened to federal oversight of the financial industry since the 1980s?

A)Interest groups have lined up in opposition to the financial industry,leading to several waves of new regulations.
B)Congress has generally delivered whatever the financial industry wanted,repealing laws and rolling back safeguards.
C)Presidents have generally had an adversarial relationship with the financial industry,pushing successfully to tighten regulations.
D)Citizens have generally pushed back against legislation tightening restrictions on the financial industry,and Congress has responded by heavily deregulating the industry.

Question 47

The Enron energy scandal and the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis illustrate which problem?

A)voter apathy
B)bureaucratic incompetence
C)interest groups setting up laws that favor only themselves
D)too much government regulation of interest group activity

Question 48

Government bureaucracies can become large and powerful interest groups.

Question 49

An interest group's socioeconomic status is correlated with its level of success.

Question 50

The Tillman Act of 1907 was the first attempt to limit campaign financing in the United States.

Question 51

Which statement explains the relationship between lobbying the executive branch and lobbying the legislative branch in the United States?

A)Lobbying the executive branch is more tightly regulated.
B)Interest groups apply roughly the same tactics when lobbying both branches.
C)Large interest groups tend to focus more on lobbying the legislative branch.
D)Interest groups rely more on personal contacts when lobbying the executive branch.

Question 52

The success of an interest group generally depends on how controversial its cause is.

Question 53

Which is a major shortcoming of a government that is heavily influenced by interest groups?

A)Minority rights will receive more attention than the broader public good.
B)Public policy will be skewed toward the groups that have the largest membership.
C)Political parties will become irrelevant because of greater public support for interest groups.
D)Many people do not have the resources to organize into a group that can influence the government.

Question 54

Interest groups and political parties perform the same function in the political system.

Question 55

A "stalemate society" is one in which __________.

A)government is trapped by competing interests
B)interest groups have very little influence over policy outcomes
C)economic progress is considered more important than social progress
D)the public focuses on domestic issues to the detriment of foreign policy

Question 56

What did Olson believe would happen if interest groups became progressively stronger over time?

A)Inequality would decline.
B)Economic growth would stagnate.
C)The country would become vulnerable to security threats.
D)Companies and individuals would become more innovative.

Question 57

Which of the following policies would be most likely to be considered a hot potato?

A)increased funding for cancer research
B)a new law tightening requirements for purchasing a gun
C)expansion of efforts to make the bureaucracy more efficient
D)a new program providing incentives for companies to hire veterans

Question 58

Since the 1970s,the number of single-issue interest groups has risen.

Question 59

Individuals have little power and influence in a democracy; by joining together with others in an interest group,individuals can increase their power and influence.