AP Gov: 5.3 Interest Groups

Which of the following is the main reason interest groups are often successful in getting legislation passed to benefit their members?

A narrow constituency derives the benefits from such legislation but the costs are spread broadly across the population

Which of the following best describes an "iron triangle"?

A relationship between bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists, all of whom seek policies in their particular interest

Which of the following Supreme Court cases is most relevant to the topic of the cartoon?

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010)

Which of the following best describes the message in the political cartoon?

Contributions from special interests have undermined air and competitive political campaigns

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) did which of the following?

It banned soft money donations to national parties

Which of the following makes a correct comparison between political parties and interest groups in the US?

Political parties recruit and run candidates in elections // Interest groups seek to influence public policy

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) was designed to curtail which of the following?

Soft money

Two interest groups are competing for influence in Congress. One group represents banking institutions, while the other advocates for consumer protections. A critic of the influence of interest groups would make which of the following claims?

The banking interest group likely has greater financial resources and access to policy makers than the consumer protection group

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of iron triangles?

The long-term relationships between agencies, congressional committees, and interest groups in specific policy areas

A nonprofit advocacy group seeks to block an expensive subsidy to what it believes is an environmentally destructive project. Which of the following accurately depicts the free-rider problem in this scenario?

The public can expect to reap the benefits of blocking the subsidy without making any contribution to the nonprofit group

Which of the following is true of political action committees (PACa)?

They make campaign contributions in hopes of gaining access to legislators

The three points of an iron triangle include

an administrative agency, an interest group, and a congressional committee

A non litigant group or individual that want to attempt to influence the court in a particular case can file

an amicus curiae brief

How do interest groups lobby the courts?

by bringing lawsuits to the courts or filing amicus curiae briefs

Interest groups are protected under the Constitution by the

first amendment

In response to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold Act), the US Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), ruled that

independent campaign expenditures by corporations and unions are protected by the First Amendment

All of the following tactics used by interest groups to influence the political process EXCEPT

keeping all lobbying records confidential

One of the best strategies that interest groups can use to achieve their goal is

lobbying members of Congress to make small changes in existing policy

The free rider problem occurs when

people benefit from an interest group's efforts without making any contribution

The theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in government, resulting in healthy democratic compromise and balance, is called

pluralism

A major difference between political parties and interest groups is that

political parties seek to gain control of government, while interest groups seek to influence public policy

Interest groups use political action committees (PACs) to

raise and spend money on election campaigns

The legislative success of the National Rifle Association, antiabortion activists, and other powerful interest groups demonstrate that

the intensity of a minority's commitment to activism can override majority opinion on an issue

Lobbying is

the process by which interest groups attempt to influence the decisions of policymakers