Pols 1100 Final Chapter 8

Grassroots mobilization involves - interest group members contacting their elected officials. - professional lobbyists contacting members of Congress. - the press contacting the president. - interest group leaders contacting members of Congress.

A - One of the forms of "going public" is grassroots mobilization. In such a campaign, a lobby group mobilizes its members throughout the country to contact government officials in support of the group's position.

Which of the following is a brief filed in court? - amicus curiae - initiative - PAC - iron triangle

A - One of the legal strategies an interest group can use to try to influence policy is to file a companion brief, such as an amicus curiae (literally "friend of the court"), to an existing court case.

Iron triangles form among - executive branch programs, legislative committees, and interest groups. - judges, executive branch programs, and legislative committees. - judges, legislative committees, and interest groups. - executive branch programs, interest groups, and party leaders.

A - The iron triangle is a form of politics and policymaking that has one angle in an executive branch program, another angle in a Senate or House legislative committee or subcommittee, and a third angle in some highly stable and well-organized interest group. The angles in the triangular relationship are mutually supporting, especially if a committee member has seniority in Congress.

____ try to influence government policy while ____ try to win elections. - Political action committees; social movements - Interest groups; political action committees - Social movements; interest groups - Political action committees; political parties

B - Interest groups are sometimes confused with PACs, which are private groups that raise money to influence elections. Interest groups, by contrast, try to influence the policies of government.

Collective goods are those which are ____ available and ____ be reasonably denied to others: - Broadly; can - Broadly; Cannot - Narrowly; Can - narrowly; Cannot

B - Many interest groups have trouble recruiting and retaining members because the benefits of a group's success are often broadly available and cannot be denied to nonmembers. Such benefits can be called collective goods.

Members of interest groups are most likely to be - less educated. - Wealthy - Female - Democratic

B - Membership in interest groups is not randomly distributed in the population. People with higher incomes, higher levels of education, and management or professional occupations are much more likely to become members of groups than those who occupy the lower rungs on the socioeconomic ladder.

What might be an example of a solidary benefit? - discount purchasing - Networking - Health insurance - a training program

B - Solidary benefits are selective benefits of group membership that include friendship, networking, and consciousness raising; these benefits provide the satisfaction of working toward a common goal with like-minded individuals.

Initiatives were originally promoted by Populists for what reason? - to give interest groups a way of circumventing bad legislation - to allow people to govern more directly - to advance liberal causes - to take power away from the judiciary

B - The initiative was originally promoted by late nineteenth-century Populists as a mechanism that would allow the people to govern directly—an antidote to interest group influence in the legislative process.

When items are put on the ballot, bypassing the state's legislature, it is known as - a referendum - an initiative - an amicus curiae brief - a political action committee

B - The initiative, a device adopted by a number of states around 1900, allows proposed laws to be placed on the general election ballot and submitted directly to the state's voters, bypassing the state legislature and governor. Interest groups sometimes sponsor initiatives as a political tactic.

Selective benefits help overcome which problem? - Contribution limits - Free riders - Registration deadlines - apathy

B - To combat the free-rider problem, interest groups offer numerous incentives to join. Most important, they make various "selective benefits" available only to group members. These benefits can be information-related, material, solidary, or purposive.

Which of the following is an example of a professional association? - Sierra Club - American Medical Association - People for the American Way - IBM

B -Professional associations include professional lobbies such as the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association, as well as organizations such as the American Bankers Association and the National Savings and Loan League that represent financial institutions.

In staff organizations, most of the work is done by - Members - Paid professionals - volunteers -Candidates for office

B- In staff organizations, a professional staff conducts most of the group's activities. Members are called upon only to pay dues and make other contributions.

PACs can contribute ____ an individual can to a candidate running for office. - Less than - The same as - More than - None of the other choices is correct

C - A PAC can contribute $5,000 to a candidate in primary or general elections, provided it contributes to at least five different federal candidates each year. Individuals, however, may now contribute no more than $2,600 to any candidate for federal office in any primary or general election.

What is the primary reason that the AARP has been so successful at increasing and maintaining a huge membership? - providing informational benefits - limiting the impact of their legislative successes to members - providing good selective benefits - exhibiting positive solidary benefits

C - AARP has been more successful than any other organization at providing the selective benefits necessary to overcome the free-rider problem. It helps that AARP began as an organization to provide affordable health insurance for aging members rather than as an organization to influence public policy.

We call someone who enjoys the benefit of a collective good without paying the cost a - Roustabout - iron Triangle - Free rider - pluralist

C - One of the problems that occurs when a group produces collective goods, which are broadly available and cannot be restricted, is that free riders may arise to benefit from those goods without making any contribution or doing any work to produce them.

The ______ theory of government is chiefly criticized for its inherent bias toward the wealthy and business-oriented interests in society. - libertarian - Socialist - Pluralist - Liberalist

C - The Madisonian principle of regulation through the competition between many interests is called pluralism. Pluralism in practice, however, has been chiefly criticized for its tendency to skew toward the wealthier, more-educated, business-connected elements of society.

Which of the following best describes the organization Anonymous? - staff organization for liberal causes - boycott and violent public protest group - citizen-based political action committee - online grassroots organization

D - Anonymous is a particularly notorious online grassroots organization. This loosely associated network of activists and hackers specializes in online protests.

Which of the following was part of a new package of ethics rules passed by Democrats in 2007 with respect to lobbying? - Interest groups were completely prohibited from paying for meals, trips, parties, and gifts for members of Congress. - Interest groups were prohibited from spending more than $5,000 per year per Congressman. - Interest group members were prohibited from visiting legislators directly in legislative offices. - Interest groups were required to disclose the funds they used to rally voters to support or oppose legislative proposals.

D - In 2007, congressional Democrats secured the enactment of a new package of ethics rules designed to end lobbying abuses. These new measures included requiring interest groups to disclose the funds they used to rally voters to support or oppose legislative proposals.

Which of the following could be considered a part of the New Politics agenda? - increasing military spending - reducing government spending - restricting abortion rights - improving environmental protection

D - The New Politics movement, formed in large part through the crusade against racial discrimination and the Vietnam War, encouraged its members to see themselves as a political force that should focus on such issues as environmental protection, women's rights, and nuclear disarmament.

What did political scientist David Truman refer to as "potential interest groups?" - campaign fundraisers - grassroots campaigns - religious groups - unrepresented interests

D - Unrepresented interests are difficult to categorize precisely because they are not organized and are not able to present to governments their identity and their demands. The political scientist David Truman referred to these interests as "potential interest groups."