Deck 3: Interest Groups

Question 1

Interest groups enhance democratic government by supplying information to citizens,contributing to debates about issues,getting people involved in politics,and changing the established order by influencing institutions.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The term "co-optation" describes the process by which administrative agencies come to dominate the industries they are responsible for regulating.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

In the case of Smith v.Allwright (1944),the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that segregated political party primaries were unconstitutional.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In Texas,the political system is organized so as to limit the impact of private influence on public policy.

Question 5

The rights of interest groups to assemble and petition the government for change are not protected in the U.S.Constitution.

Question 6

Many successful lobbyists are former state legislators or executives.

Question 7

The fact that the people who regulate industry often come from the industry being regulated is often called the revolving door.

Question 8

Economic producing groups are more likely to be organized than consuming groups.

Question 9

A political interest group is an interest group that attempts to influence politicians to make public policy in line with its preferences.

Question 10

Citizens who are organized,informed,and willing to talk to politicians can sometimes influence public policy.

Question 11

Because officials within the executive branch of administrative agencies have substantial discretion to determine the intent of the legislature,interest groups try to influence the way administrative officials interpret the laws.

Question 12

Common Cause and the League of Women Voters are examples of public interest groups.

Question 13

Public interest groups are very well funded and as a result,dominate on issues where they lobby.

Question 14

In Texas,the oil and gas industry has a close working relationship with state government and is well represented by several interest groups.

Question 15

One of the most important assets a lobbyist can offer a legislator is information.

Question 16

Because the state government has always protected the interests of petroleum producers,there are no significant groups representing the oil and gas industry in Texas.

Question 17

A political action committee (PAC)is a committee formed by an organization,industry,or an individual for the purpose of collecting money and making contributions to selected political candidates and causes.

Question 18

People with less income and education are more likely to join groups than people with more income and education.

Question 19

Interest group power in Texas is classified as dominant/complementary.

Question 20

The NAACP is an example of an interest group that promoted its interests effectively in the courts after having been unsuccessful in the legislative and executive branches.

Question 21

Governor Rick Perry's initiative in 2007 to require young women to have an HPV vaccine to prevent cancer that can be transmitted through sexually transmitted disease was largely sponsored by the Christian Right.

Question 22

Which of the following statements is not accurate with regard to the general rules of interest group formation?

A) Those in the working class are more likely to join groups than those in the upper class.
B) Economic-producing groups are more likely to be organized than are consuming groups.
C) People with more education are more likely to join groups than those with less education.
D) Passionate believers are more influential than citizens who are less emotionally involved.
E) All of the statements above are accurate.

Question 23

A political interest group is

A) an organization that tries to influence politicians to make public policy in line with their preferences.
B) a group of individuals who influence policymaking by manipulating citizens' opinions.
C) An organization that runs primary elections and nominates candidates for office.
D) any group of individuals who share a common interest.
E) a group that is focused on recruiting candidates for office.

Question 24

Like other white-collar workers in Texas,many of the state's teachers resist unionization,and many belong to no professional organization.

Question 25

Texas makes little attempt to regulate the activities of interest groups except in the area of lobbying.

Question 26

When people from an industry go to work for the agency regulating that industry,this movement is called

A) a revolving door.
B) co-optation.
C) plutocracy.
D) lobbying in the bureaucracy.
E) a "right-to-work law."

Question 27

Although public school teachers in Texas are divided among many different teachers' organizations,these organizations share the same goals and cooperate well with each other.

Question 28

The Texas Trial Lawyers Association normally represents interests such as hospital and medical insurance corporations.

Question 29

Which of the following is not one of the categories used by the authors of the text to classify interest groups?

A) Economic groups
B) Spiritual groups
C) Artistic-recreational organizations
D) Public interest groups
E) Political groups

Question 30

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)was formed to address discrimination in public schools.

Question 31

Which of the following is not correct about interest groups?

A) Interest groups provide information to officeholders in all branches of government.
B) Interest groups engage in the electoral process by nominating their members for public office.
C) Interest groups help to inform public opinion.
D) Interest groups engage in the electoral process by contributing money to candidates.
E) Interest groups politicize and inform members of their groups.

Question 32

Despite the fact that unions have traditionally allied themselves with the Democratic Party nationally and with the liberal wing of that party within the state,the relative weakness of liberals in Texas has meant that labor unions are even less powerful than their membership would suggest.

Question 33

Organized labor has relatively little influence on Texas politics.

Question 34

From the perspective of democratic theory,efforts of wealthy special interests to create public support through campaigns to "educate" the public

A) have both reassuring and troubling aspects.
B) help to expand the amount of information available to citizens.
C) reflect private, one-sided viewpoints.
D) tend to ignore the general public interest.
E) All of the above reflect efforts of wealthy special interests.

Question 35

Types of economic interest groups include all except which one of the following?

A) Banking and financial organizations
B) Labor unions
C) Environmental protection groups
D) Professional associations
E) Groups representing specific types of industries

Question 36

When government policy is made for the benefit of a few wealthy interests,it is called a plutocratic system.

Question 37

In which of the following arenas do interest groups attempt to affect public policy?

A) Electoral politics
B) The legislature
C) Administrative agencies
D) The courts
E) All of the above

Question 38

Interest groups and political parties are similar in that they both

A) are narrowly focused.
B) are broadly focused.
C) run candidates in elections.
D) are concerned with public policy.
E) work entirely behind the scenes.

Question 39

____ are formed by an organization,industry,or individual for the purpose of collecting money and contributing to selected political candidates or causes.

A) Political parties
B) Political action committees
C) Election committees
D) Campaign committees
E) Plutocracy committees.

Question 40

The transition of an agency from guarding the public interest to defending the private interest is called

A) appropriation.
B) expropriation.
C) adaptation.
D) co-optation.
E) revolving door interests.

Question 41

Define "co-optation" and discuss how it might occur in Texas politics.Illustrate the phenomenon by discussing an example.

Question 42

Discuss the techniques used by lobbyists to influence the legislative process.What restrictions does Texas law place on the activities of lobbyists? Explain how these restrictions affect the way interest groups operate in the state.

Question 43

Which of the following interest groups is noteworthy for using the courts as an avenue to achieve success in the policy process?

A) The Texas Research League
B) The Texas Good Roads and Transportation Association
C) The Texas Federation of Teachers
D) The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
E) Common Cause

Question 44

Lobbying is an activity that refers to

A) buying favors in Austin.
B) efforts to influence policymakers face-to-face.
C) citizens voting on Election Day.
D) "twisting the arms" of legislators.
E) bribery and corruption.

Question 45

Discuss which interest groups have the greatest influence on the policy-making process in Texas and which have the least influence.Explain how the state's political culture would predict interest group influence.

Question 46

This group's success in passing 90 percent of the legislative agenda it has sponsored and winning 86 percent of its cases before the Texas Supreme Court indicates it is now arguably the most effective interest group in Texas.

A) Texas AFL-CIO
B) Texas Trial Lawyers Association
C) Texas Medical Association
D) Texas State Teachers Association
E) Christian Coalition

Question 47

A plutocratic system is one in which

A) interest groups run candidates for public office.
B) interest groups form Political Action Committees to donate money to political candidates.
C) political participation is equal among all classes of people, promoting democracy.
D) government is dominated by the wealthy.
E) interest group power is not tempered by strong political parties.

Question 48

Given that there are over 200,000 public school teachers and administrators in Texas,discuss the failure of groups representing teachers to have a greater impact on the major issues affecting education.Explain how teachers might gain greater influence on the political process in Texas in the future.

Question 49

The Texas constitutional provision banning union membership a condition for employment is called the

A) Annie's list law.
B) antiunion law.
C) wage and salary law.
D).state umbrella labor law.
E) right to work law.

Question 50

Those legislative attempts to regulate lobbying prior to the enactment of the 1991 "Ethics Bill" were particularly weak because

A) they were almost certainly unconstitutional.
B) they covered only the most costly forms of lobbying.
C) there was no agency charged with enforcing them.
D) they pertained only to public interest groups.
E) they regulated only spending for entertainment.

Question 51

Politically,Texas's teachers have been characterized by

A) disorganization and competition.
B) coordination and cooperation.
C) widespread support for unionization.
D) their loyalty and ability to build alliances.
E) their commitment to conservative political causes.

Question 52

Reforms in Texas' tort law that make it more difficult to win punitive damages against a business and reduce the maximum amount of damages that can be awarded reflect the power of

A) the Christian Right.
B) the Texas Oil and Gas Association.
C) local Chambers of Commerce.
D) Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
E) the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.

Question 53

The success of the Texas Bicycle Coalition illustrates which of the following?

A) Citizens who are willing to get organized, inform themselves, and spend time talking to politicians can sometimes influence policy.
B) Wealthy special interests always win in the legislative process.
C) Groups can influence government without being organized or particularly excited about their issue.
D) By definition, all lobbyists are paid high salaries and serve special economic interests.
E) Most Texas legislators are avid bicycle riders.

Question 54

The NAACP in Texas brought a lawsuit and won a ruling before the Supreme Court banning political parties from excluding citizens from membership based upon race in the case of

A) Brown v. Board of Education.
B) Nixon v. Herndon.
C) Nixon v. Condon.
D) NAACP v. Texas.
E) Smith v. Allwright.

Question 55

Interest groups and political parties play essential roles in democracy.First,define the roles of interest groups and political parties.Second,compare and contrast their roles in the political process.

Question 56

Interest groups representing ____ have had little influence on public policy in Texas.

A) oil and gas companies
B) banking and financial organizations
C) insurance companies
D) organized labor
E) trucking companies

Question 57

The 1991 "Ethics Bill" provided for all but which one of the following?

A) Limits the amount of food, gifts, and entertainment lobbyists can furnish legislators
B) Creates an Ethics Commission to hold hearings on complaints of improper behavior
C) Requires lobbyists to report the name of each legislator on whom they spend more than $50
D) Bans the use of campaign contributions for living expenses
E) Allows the Ethics Commission to refer ethics violations to the Travis County district attorney

Question 58

In 1929,____,the oldest of the Hispanic organizations in Texas,was formed to combat discrimination against Mexican Americans.

A) Mexican American Democrats
B) the League of United Latin American Citizens
C) La Raza Unida
D) El Partido de Amistad
E) Los defensors del Alamo

Question 59

The 2003 Ethics Bill was an improvement over the 1991 bill because it

A) ensures that more information will be available to the public.
B) requires candidates to disclose cash balances in their campaign accounts.
C) forbids legislators who are attorneys to represent a paying client before a state agency.
D) requires candidate to file campaign finance reports via the Internet, with a few exceptions.
E) All of the above provisions are improvements over the 1991.