Deck 9: Interest Groups

Question 1

AIM and LULAC are examples of interest groups representing minority groups.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The American Bankers Association is an example of a trade association.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Which of the following groups calls itself "the citizen lobby," working for campaign finance reform and tighter rules on interest group lobbying?

A)Common Cause
B)Sierra Club
C)Right to Life
D)NRA
E)Christian Coalition

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The statistics concerning public opinion on gun control and the success of the NRA show that

A)interest groups are rarely successful.
B)a successful interest group can change public opinion.
C)an interest group can be successful in spite of public opinion.
D)public opinion is of little value to interest groups.
E)the success of interest groups is dependent on public opinion.

Question 5

In which part of the United States does organized labor enjoy the LEAST political influence?

A)The Sunbelt
B)The large,industrialized states of the Northeast and Midwest
C)The East and West Coasts
D)The mountain states
E)The Frostbelt

Question 6

The strength of an interest group depends on

A)alliances with political parties.
B)the ethnicity of the group's leaders.
C)the region of the country where the group originated.
D)the age of the group's leadership.
E)when the group was formed.

Question 7

What effect does public opinion have on the success of an interest group in getting the group's agenda enacted into law?

A)Having the support of the public makes it more likely.
B)There is no effect.
C)It depends on the type of interest group.
D)It is only significant when the groups form a coalition with other groups.
E)It depends on how much money the group has.

Question 8

Which of the following is a women's group?

A)ACLU
B)Sierra Club
C)AFL-CIO
D)ABA
E)NOW

Question 9

Which of the following groups would more likely be aligned with the Republican Party?

A)AFL-CIO
B)Sierra Club
C)ACLU
D)NRA
E)NAACP

Question 10

Political action committees PACs)are organized to do which of the following?

A)Run candidates for public office
B)Manage protest demonstrations
C)Raise and distribute money in election campaigns
D)Develop ad campaigns
E)Write party platforms

Question 11

Business and trade groups are influential for which of the following reasons?

A)They frequently support third-party candidates.
B)They flood government offices with letters,phone calls,and e-mails.
C)They are well-financed.
D)They rarely challenge the government.
E)They do not use lobbyists.

Question 12

Which of the following groups is organized primarily to support the interests of Latino civil rights?

A)LULAC
B)NAACP
C)Sierra Club
D)ACLU
E)ABA

Question 13

Organized labor is strongest in the Sunbelt,the nation's most rapidly growing region.

Question 14

"An organization of people who join together voluntarily on the basis of some interest they share,for the purpose of influencing policy" is a definition of an)

A)political party.
B)interest group.
C)political action committee.
D)agent of political socialization.
E)social committee.

Question 15

Which of the following groups would be most likely to form a coalition to get their agenda advanced?

A)NOW and the NRA
B)ACLU and the NAACP
C)PETA and the Christian Coalition
D)AFL-CIO and the NRA
E)United Auto Workers and the Chamber of Commerce

Question 16

Which of the following groups would be most likely to lobby Congress on behalf of African American interests?

A)ACLU
B)NAACP
C)AMA
D)LULAC
E)ABA

Question 17

Political scientists believe that groups give campaign contributions to candidates seeking office in hopes of gaining access.Which of the following statements best describes the meaning of access?

A)It is an open door through which a group's lobbyists can influence the details of legislation.
B)It is the ability of an interest group to control the votes of an official on major pieces of legislation.
C)It provides interest groups with the opportunity to have their own officials appointed to important positions in the government.
D)It guarantees that elected officials will always support the position of the interest group.
E)It gives elected officials the cash they need to buy information from think tanks.

Question 18

Which of the following groups would more likely be aligned with the Democrat Party?

A)NOW
B)Taxpayers Against Government Waste
C)NRA
D)Christian Coalition
E)Chamber of Commerce

Question 19

For several decades prior to 1995,PACs gave more money to Democratic candidates for Congress than they contributed to Republican candidates.What is the best explanation for this phenomenon?

A)PACs created by labor unions gave more money than PACs created by business groups,and Democrats were more sympathetic to labor interests than were Republicans.
B)Business PACs liked to contribute to conservatives,and Democrats are more conservative than Republicans.
C)PACs tended to contribute to incumbents,and most incumbents during this period were Democrats.
D)Democrats needed more money than Republicans.
E)Republicans refused PAC contributions.

Question 20

In general,who among the following receive the most PAC contributions?

A)Challengers running against incumbent members of Congress
B)Incumbent members of Congress
C)Republican candidates for Congress running against Democrats
D)Independent incumbents
E)Independent challengers

Question 21

Most PAC money goes to incumbent officeholders rather than challengers.

Question 22

Why are some interest groups stronger than others? Write an essay in which you identify the factors that influence interest group strength.Use these factors to compare and contrast the relative strength of the following types of interest groups: business groups,labor unions,and farm groups.

Question 23

Conservative religious organizations,such as the Christian Coalition,are concerned with such causes as abortion,homosexuality,and prayer in school.

Question 24

What is the "friendly incumbent" rule and why is it significant to interest groups?

Question 25

Most PAC money goes to incumbents.Why?

Question 26

Lobbying is attempts by interest groups to influence policy decisions of government officials.

Question 27

Are 527 groups a good example of the impossibility of campaign finance reform?

Question 28

Define electioneering and give examples of the things interest groups do that would be considered electioneering.

Question 29

What issues are of interest to the religious right and the religious left? Do they have any common concerns?

Question 30

For what reasons do you think interest groups would use public pressure and public relations campaigns to get their agenda passed?

Question 31

Conventional wisdom holds that organized labor and big business counterbalance each other,invariably taking opposing views on public policy issues.On some issues,however,business and labor are on the same side.Give an example of an issue on which business interests and organized labor agree,and explain the reason for their agreement.

Question 32

Under what circumstances do interest groups use protests and demonstrations?

Question 33

What types of groups might form coalitions with each other? Why?

Question 34

Interest groups can contribute an unlimited amount of money to 527 committees.

Question 35

Single-issue groups are not usually successful.

Question 36

Interest groups never use litigation in support of their cause.

Question 37

Choose two interest groups,representing two different types of groups,and compare their strategies.Are their strategies typical for that kind of interest group? Why or why not?

Question 38

Suppose you are a professional lobbyist hired by a national teachers' association.What methods would you use in lobbying on behalf of your group?

Question 39

Anticlericalism in Mexico is aimed at the Catholic religion.

Question 40

What are cause groups? Give a specific example of a cause group,citing the cause it supports.

Question 41

Assume you are a lobbyist for a college that is about to have its budget cut by the state legislature.You have to go to the state capitol and try to prevent this from happening.Write an essay explaining how you would prepare for this job.Which legislators would you try to see once you were in the capitol and what would you say to them?

Question 42

How influential are interest groups in the policymaking process? Write an essay in which you identify and discuss the factors that affect the influence of groups in the policy process and in which you evaluate their overall impact on policy.