Government Post Test Ch. 11

___ have been one of AARP's most effective methods of mobilizing thousands of its members for political action a. Robocalls b. "telephone trees" c. direct mailings d. email lists

"telephone trees"

_____ once wrote that "America was a nation of joiners" a. Robert Dahl b. Alexis de Tocqueville c. James Madison d. David Truman

Alexis de Tocqueville

__ is the theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government; the outcome of this competition is compromise and moderation a. Democracy b. Fairness c. Republicanism d. Pluralism

Pluralism

The best description of the ideal of pluralism is that a. interest groups should be free to compete for governmental influence b. democracy is best served by legalizing but regulating the influence of interest groups c. interest groups are factions that endanger liberty d. the public good should always trump individual interests

interest groups should be free to compete for governmental influence

Which of the following is a theoretical assumption of pluralism a. only some interests should be free to compete for influence in the US b. all interests are not equally free to compete for influence in the US c. competition among interests will produce extreme public policy with one interest dominating all others d. competition among interests will produce balance with all interests regulating each other

competition among interests will produce balance with all interests regulating each other

Which of the following categories make up the plurality of interest groups?

economic and corporate groups

James Madison called an interest group a ___ a. mob b. social movement c. faction d. plutocracy

faction

Netroots groups are less expensive to organize than traditional interest groups because they a. are always run entirely by volunteers who take no salary b. do not provide any selective benefits to their members c. have a streamlined staff structure with fewer staff who often work from virtual offices d. spend much less time communicating with their members and much more time lobbying policy makers

have a streamlined staff structure with fewer staff who often work from virtual offices

Legislative items placed on the ballot so people can vote on them directly, bypassing the state's legislature, are known as a(n)

initiative.

How the Constitution balances the threat posed by organized interests with the need for liberty is discussed in the a. Federalist Papers, no. 51 b. Federalist Papers, no. 10 c. Federalist Papers, no. 7 d. Federalist Papers, no. 78

Federalist Papers, no. 10

Many interest groups are initially organized because a. a politician has lost an election and wants to challenge the results. b. most state-level government agencies will only negotiate policy implementation with organized groups. c. a political entrepreneur with a strong commitment to a particular set of goals believes that a group will promote and enhance his or her goals and political influence. d. funding opportunities provided by the federal bureaucracy encourage collective action.

a political entrepreneur with a strong commitment to a particular set of goals believes that a group will promote and enhance his or her goals and political influence.

Successful interest groups quickly become ________.

bureaucratized

Why is it important for interest groups to offer selective benefits a. if they do not, people will accuse the groups of being antidemocratic b. selective benefits are the only way to measure the success of an interest group c. if they do not, people will join political parties instead d. it is necessary to limit the extent of the free-rider problem

it is necessary to limit the extent of the free-rider problem

A criticism of interest group pluralism is a. its inherent propensity for compromise, the character of which tends to be antidemocratic b. that it gives too much influence to religious organizations and therefore threatens the separation of church and state c. its class bias in favor of those with greater financial resources d. that its ideals are too closely associated with Marxist-Leninist ideology and are therefore unacceptable to the majority of Americans

its class bias in favor of those with greater financial resources

The Teamsters and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) are examples of ________ a. public interest groups b. business groups c. ideological groups d. labor groups

labor groups

A ___ is the best example of an informational benefit provided by many interest groups a. newsletter b. consciousness-raising workshop c. free T-shirt d. health insurance program

newsletter

A bias in the interest group system that favors the wealthy is a criticism of which theory of government a. liberalism b. pluralism c. monarchical d. socialism

pluralism

Interest groups are concerned with the ____ of government, while political parties are concerned with the ___ of government a. values; goals b. membership; authority c. policies; personnel d. legitimacy; power

policies; personnel

What is the first and foremost part of a lobbyist's job a. fund-raising b. testifying on behalf of their clients at congressional committee hearings c. providing information to lawmakers about their interests and the legislation at hand d. placing advertising in newspaper and on the Internet

providing information to lawmakers about their interests and the legislation at hand

The Sierra Club is a(n) ___ group a. business b. ideological c. labor d. public interest

public interest

The National Governor's Association is a good example of a ___ a. professional association b. political action committee c. public-sector interest group d. public interest group

public-sector interest group

Organized interest groups enhance American democracy by a. representing the interests of large numbers of people and encouraging political participation b. financing large numbers of election campaigns c. empowering less-potent segments of society d. fielding large numbers of electable candidates

representing the interests of large numbers of people and encouraging political participation

Political Scientists Elisabeth Gerber finds that citizen groups are MOST effective at ___ whereas business, trade associations, and professional associations are more effective at ___.

sponsoring ballot measures; lobbying state legislatures

A ________ exists when paid staff conduct most of the daily business of a group.

staff organization

It is difficult for political scientists to categorize unrepresented interests because

there are no organizations that can present their identities and demands.

Public interest groups differ from other types of interest groups in that a. they were the first group to abandon lobbying and take up only grassroots activism b. they were the first political associations to use the strategy of direct mailing c. they claim to serve the common good, not just their own particular interests d. unlike other interests groups, their status is like that of a charity, not a political organization

they claim to serve the common good, not just their own particular interests

Members of interest groups are MOST likely to be a. less educated b. wealthy c. female d. Democrats

wealthy