GOVT 2305 Quiz: Chapter 13
There is a common assumption about pluralist politics that government programs emerge in response to interest group demands
Although in reality, interests and interest groups arise in defense of government programs
How did James Madison propose to deal with factions
By dividing authority among federal institutions
When the National Rifle Association wants to prevent new restrictions on firearms, its members shower Congress with letters, e-mails, faxes, and phone calls, and this is an example of what kind of lobbying
Grassroots
During the colonial times, American interests cultivated parliamentary leaders, bombarded members of Parliament with information, and arranged for expert testimony as part of what kind of strategy
Insider lobbying
How do insiders and outsiders use electoral politics differently to influence elected officials
Insiders offer electoral help, while outsiders more commonly threaten electoral harm
Which of the following statements about spending by efforts of interest groups to influence government is accurate
Interest groups spend billions more every cycle on lobbying than they do on campaign contributions
Although almost everyone advocates a balanced budget, every spending program and tax break is defended by organized beneficiaries but why does deficit reduction have less organized support
It is a diffuse collective good
What kind of incentives motivate individuals to contribute to groups espousing causes they care about without worrying whether their contribution will make an appreciable difference
Moral
What do the developments in farm policy and federally sponsored medical research tell us about interest groups
More complex issues and a fragmented policy process force groups to specialize to be effective
Why do lawmakers want information about public policies
Officials want to avoid disastrous and costly mistakes; want information that reduces uncertainty and the likelihood of nasty surprises
How is successful lobbying similar to the actions that the President takes when trying to gain support from members of Congress
One strategy is getting people to do what he or she wants them to do by convincing them that the action serves their goals
How do outsider tactics differ from insider tactics
Outsider tactics impose real pressure to push politicians to act in ways they otherwise would prefer not to
Interest group leaders and their constituents are involved in what relationship with all the familiar problems and challenges such relationships pose
Principal-agent
Which of the following is a standard collective action problem that must be overcome for an interest group to promote or defend a shared interest
Rational self-interest leads to universal free riding, which dooms the organization as well as the effort unless some way can be found around this difficulty
What factors influence the challenge of organizing collective action
Scale of the group and the stakes of its involvement in public policy
What is one of the major concerns for specialized interest groups working in an issue area
Similar groups appeal to the same supporters and this makes the formation of coalitions tricky
Why does the competition between competing groups lead to policy gridlock
Since there are many groups capable of vigorously defending themselves, it is impossible to initiate any change that imposes concentrated costs to achieve general benefits
What did the experiences of walnut growers and poultrymen in 1959 illustrate about the success of interest groups
Small groups with intense interests have an organizational advantage
Congressional decision makers need which of the following two related types of information before they can implement policy
Technical information and political information
Why did David Truman and other scholars argue that the American political system was particularly conducive to pluralist politics
The decentralized structure offered numerous points of access where groups could bid for favorable policies
Why does modern politics breed professional lobbyists
The growing scope and complexity of government requires agents who understand how institutions work
Why has the encouragement of the federal government itself been the most important of the dynamics behind the expanding interest group universe
The growing scope of government activity has encouraged the proliferation of organizations in the nonprofit and public sectors
Which of the following criticisms of interest groups is most accurate
The power and resources possessed by lobbyists tend to reflect the power that the groups they represent have in society
Why do factions continue to raise serious problems for American democracy
The resources needed to gain influence-money, access, and expertise-are distributed very unevenly
Which of the following is true about the conflicts to be found among organized interests
These mirror and sometimes crystallize divisions and uncertainties prevalent among Americans
Which of the following statements about PACs is not true
They are only permitted to donate money in congressional elections
What does the fight over financial reform legislation tell us about the role of interest groups in the United States
They may be omnipresent in American politics, but they are not omnipotent
What influence have labor unions had on American politics
Unions use a portion of dues paid by members to fund the campaigns of sympathetic candidates, and union members are the primary foot soldiers for knocking on doors and making phone calls
The credibility of political information provided by lobbyists to political officials is enhanced when
a group mobilizes its constituency as part of the lobbying effort
Lobbying is defined as
appeals from citizens and groups to legislators for favorable policies and decisions
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention agreed to meet behind locked doors and to keep their deliberations secret until the convention was over in order to
avoid becoming "beset by a horde of citizens seeking to advance their own interests"
Most successful large organizations circumvent the collective action problem by offering "selective incentives," which are
benefits that can be denied to individuals who do not join and contribute
Since politicians know that lobbyists are advocates, they can only trust a lobbyist's information when
both sides expect to have a continuing relationship
Madison and de Tocqueville both believed that voluntary groups
despite the risks, were essential to an egalitarian social and political system
The experiences of Uber demonstrate that
digital social networks can reweigh the calculus of political activism by making it almost costless and that can deliver policy victories
Most politically active interest groups
do not form PACs at all but rely on other methods to influence politics
The use of litigation for interest groups is
especially attractive to groups that can rest claims on constitutional rights and that do not have the clout to influence elected politicians
Most scholarly research has found that political action committees
exert, at most, only a modest effect on a legislator's decisions
The formation of interest groups in the pluralist argument occurred because
groups formed spontaneously whenever shared interests were threatened or could be enhanced by political action
One way that lobbyists increase the credibility of their messages is by
hiring scientists or scholars to testify at congressional hearings to back technical claims made by the lobbyists
The scope of the interest group universe has
increased substantially during the past 50 years as both private and public interests employ lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
The Anti-Saloon League, whose successful lobbying led to the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment, was successful in part because
it focused only on electing "drys" and defeating "wets"
The generation of journalists and social critics who exposed the lobbying methods used by the newly emerging industrial corporations and trusts in the post-Civil War era are collectively referred to as
muckrakers
The insider and outsider strategies interest groups use to affect policy are
not mutually exclusive, and the groups use either or both depending on circumstances and opportunities
Groups like the "Occupy" movement and Tea Party have galvanized sizable segments of society and will likely inspire other groups because
organizers of social movements quickly imitate successful innovations, and each new group can draw on the experience of its predecessors
Reports to the media, news conferences, and demonstrations are all examples of
outsider tactics used by interest groups
New policies create constituencies ripe for organization in part because
people who adapt their plans to existing policies develop a stake in their continuation
For James Madison, factions were by definition
pernicious because they pursue selfish aims contrary to the rights of others or the public interest
The largest interest group in the United States, AARP, was formed to market insurance to senior citizens, and it thrives by
providing members with a variety of selective benefits
The Sons of Liberty and the English Bill of Rights Society were early examples of
public interest lobbies
Before a rule or regulation can be adopted, the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 requires administrative agencies to
publish the rule or regulation in the Federal Register and hold public hearings if anyone objects to it
The fact that interest groups vary widely in wealth and how readily they can be organized for action combined with policy gridlock and political paralysis raises concerns that
successful lobbying subverts the basic principles of democratic equality and majority rule
When polled, a representative sample of lobbying group offices in Washington identified their most important activities as
testifying at hearings and contacting government officials directly to present the group's point of view
One formidable barrier to PAC influence is
that many important issues generate conflicts among well-organized interests so politicians could have access to PAC money regardless of which side they take
In general, the more government does
the more incentives it creates for organized political action
Social ferment, a growing and increasingly well-educated and affluent middle class, and technological innovations have contributed to
the rapid proliferation of interest groups since the 1960s
Although groups like the American Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1833, and the National Trades Union, founded in 1834, had political aims, they are not referred to as "political interest groups" because
they sought to achieve their ends without involving the government
Prominent public interest groups like Common Cause and Public Citizen that rely on moral incentives find that
they tend to grow when opponents run the government
By helping office holders plan legislation and assemble legislative coalitions, among other things, lobbyists
will not so much change minds as activate politicians are already on their side