Chapter 6

The 8F Crowd

A group of extremely wealthy Texans who met in Suite 8F of the Lamar Hotel in Houston and controlled Texas politics for 40 years

The most important thing interest groups need to be effective is

Access to politicians

interest group

An organization established to influence the government's programs and policies

Lobbyists are individuals who

Are employed by interest groups to try to influence government policies

Individuals have the best change to influence public policy when they

Are not opposed by organized interest groups

Texas lawmakers receive only $600 a month, plus an additional $150 a day when on legislative business, but they

Are permitted to use campaign contributions from interest groups for expenses associated with holding office

When interest groups combine small contributions from many sources to form one large contribution, it is called

Bundling

In Texas, the most powerful interest groups represent which interests

Business

Campaign contributions come primarily from ____ interest groups

Business or corporate

Litigation was practiced extensively by the ____ and ___ interest groups in the 1950s and 1960s

Civil rights; Environmental

Interests groups provide public officials with all of the following except

Committee assignments

Dark money refers to

Donated money that does not have to be reported by a campaign

Interest groups have certain advantages over private citizens, including

Expertise

Interest-group capture

Government agency that serves the objectives of the interests that the agency is supposed to regulate

Issue advocacy

Independent spending by individuals or interest groups on a campaign issue but not directly tied to a particular candidate

Interest groups form to

Influence government to adopt policies favored by the group's membership

Which PAC spent the least amount of money on lobbying and campaigns in Texas

Labor

Which of the following is an example of a civil rights group

League of United Latin American Citizens

The goals of interest groups DO NOT include

Maintaining a heterogeneous membership

Interest groups have an advantage over individuals in influencing policy because interest groups usually have

More time, more expertise, more money, more staff

A ___ is formed by an interest group to donate campaign funds to political candidates

Political action committee

Dark Money

Political money where the donors of the money do not have to be disclosed

The Texas Medical Association is an example of a ____ interest group

Professional

Trial lawyers are which type of interest groups

Professional group

Common Cause is an example of a____ interest group

Public

Sam Rayburn referred to his fellow legislators who would accept gifts as

Steak Men

PACs are used to

Stir the public's interest in politics, raise money from individuals, which is then bundled and given to candidates, create media campaigns to influence the course of government, create grassroots campaigns

Free Rider problem

The incentive to benefit from others' work without making a contribution, which leads individuals in a collective action situation to refuse to work together

Bundling

The interest group practice of combining campaign contributions from several sources into one larger contribution from the group, so as to increase the group's impact on the candidate

Capture theory refers to the idea that

Through long-term relationships, government interests come to serve the objectives of an interest group

One of the most important grassroots tactics of interest groups is

To Get Out The Vote

Laws in Texas dealing with lobbying by former government officials are described by the authors of the textbook as

Weak

According to the authors of the Textbook, when an interest group supports the losing candidate in an election, that interest group

Will often make a substantial contribution to the winning candidate whom it formerly opposed

Texas is known as a state that has had long powerful interest groups, mostly representing the business sector, is this true?

Yes

Political action committee

a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns

Interest groups participate in the political process by engaging in all of the following activities EXCEPT

running candidates under the interest groups' names