FED GOVT 2

The American Association of Retired Persons(AARP) has approx __ members today

38,000,000

A political action committee can contribute ___ to any candidate for federal office, provided it contributes to at least five different federal candidates each year

5,000

Interest groups use litigation as a strategy of influence by

filing amicus curiae briefs, financing lawsuits, and bringing a suit on behalf of the group

____ involves purposefully drawing district boundaries to unfairly advantage one group or party.

gerrymandering

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

A law passed in 2002 that banned soft money, put limits on issue advertising, and increased the amount people can donate to candidates; also called the McCain-Feingold bill.

___ are sums of money spent to influence an election , but the donating organization is not allowed to coordinate with a candidate official campaign

Independent expenditures

The Sierra Club is a ___ group

Public Interest

Which of the following is an "outsider strategy"?

grassroots mobilization

In an iron triangle, the interest group

influence Congressional votes in their favor and can sufficiently influence the re-election of a member of Congress in return for support of their programs.

What is the most important and beneficial resource that lobbyist provide government officials?

information

The increased number and importance of interest groups

is a response to an increase in the size and activity of government.

The right of candidates to spend their money own money on running for office

is protected absolutely by the First Amendment, according to the Supreme Court.

A criticism of interest-group pluralism is

its class bias in favor of those with greater financial resources

Superdelegates

leader in the National Democratic Party who has a vote at the national convention; they are not selected by state party members.

In an iron triangle, the congressional committee

These congressional members support legislation that advances an interest group's agenda.

Which of the following statements about campaign finance is MOST accurate?

Unlike the United States, most democratic countries provide public financing for their elections.

Which of the following Supreme Court cases illustrates the use of litigation by an interest group?

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services

What did the Supreme Court mean by "one person, one vote"?

Within a state, electoral districts must have roughly equal populations.

Lobbying is

an individual employed by an interest group who tries to influence governmental decisions on behalf of that group

The legalization of same sex marriage in 2015 illustrates the impact

an interest group can have through a litigation strategy

Most Europeans nations utilize a

system of proportional representation

Which of the following statements about primary elections is MOST accurate?

the United States is one of the few nations in the world to hold primary elections.

The primary function of a PAC is to

to raise and distribute money to election campaigns

A(n) occurs when a voter can wait until the day of the primary to choose which party to enroll in to select candidates for the general election.

open primary

An election where the winner is the person who receives the most votes, regardless of percentage of votes received is called a ___ system

plurality

Dark money comes from

political advertisements where you don't know who is paying for the ad

In order for a political party to select a candidate to run in the general election, it holds a

primary election

For the presidential primaries, most but not all state parties use what type of election?

proportional representation

Political scientist call voters choices that focus on future behavior ___, voting while those based on past performances are called ___ voting

prospective: retrospective

Primary elections were introduced by

reformers at the start of the 1900s who hoped to weaken the power of party leaders

The Supreme Court landmark decision in citizen united v. federal election commission (2010) was significant because it

ruled that the government cannot restrict independent expenditures by corporations or unions to political campaigns.

The AARP began in

1958

According to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

An Act to promote fair practices in the conduct of election campaigns for Federal political offices, and for other purposes.

In ____ the Supreme Court ruled that the government could not restrict independent expenditures by corporations or unions in supreme court

Citizens United v FEC

The practice of lobbying is protected by

First Amendment

Selective benefits are

Goods (such as information publications, travel discounts, and group insurance rates) that a group can restrict to those who pay their annual dues.

The best description of the ideal pluralism is that

Interest groups should be free to compete for governmental influence

What distinguishes lobbying from other strategies of influence?

Lobbyists try to exert pressure directly on governmental officials themselves

A 501(C)(4)

Nonprofit group that is permitted to lobby and campaign; donations to it are not tax deductible.

The Supreme Court decision in buckey v. valeo was significant because

SC ruled that limiting the amount that a candidate could spend on their own campaign was unconstitutional

Which of the following statements about interest groups is MOST accurate?

a very large number of interest groups would suggest a more pluralistic society

The free-rider phenomenon

becomes increasingly problematic in very large groups.

The majority of political action committee represent

business and professional groups

Retail politics refers to

campaigns where candidates meet citizens face-to-face to discuss politics.

Both 527 committees and 5019(c)(4)s

can spend unlimited amounts on political advocacy as long as their efforts are not coordinated with those of any candidate's campaign.

A occurs when a voter must be register with a party prior to voting in that party's election

closed primary

What is an incumbent?

current office holder

During midterm elections, voters are selecting ________.

members of Congress

When an American voter supports only one party candidate, he or she is said to be using a ___ ticket

straight

Members of interest groups in the Unites States are typically people

with higher levels of income and education.