GOVT Chapter9

Interest groups are more likely to be successful when they are lobbying for change.

False

How will a legislator react to a lobbying effort on an issue that has high salience or high public attention?

The legislator will seek to understand constituent opinion on the issue.

Why might donors prefer to contribute to a 527 organization instead of to a PAC?

They want to give more than a million dollars to be spent on an issue their preferred candidate supports.

Collaborations between interest groups tend to be short-term.

True

Which of the following are resources that interest groups use to support their lobbying efforts?

expertise people money

When members send letters and make telephone calls to their elected officials on behalf of their interest group, it is called _______ lobbying. This contrasts with _______ lobbying, which is designed to mimic a spontaneous outpouring of support by members but is in actuality carefully orchestrated by an interest group.

grassroots Astroturf

Organizations that seek to influence government policy by lobbying elected officials and bureaucrats are known as which of the following?

interest groups

One way in which interest groups can get members to join is by stressing how important the cause is that members are helping the group work towards. These are known as _________ benefits.

purposive

What kind of benefits derive from the experience of working with like-minded people?

solidary

What is the chief goal of a trade association?

to lobby for policies that would benefit related companies in a particular industry

Match the type of benefit on the left with the example on the right.

An individual joins an environmental protection organization to meet and network with other local environmentalists. Correct label: solidary An individual draws pride from having contributed to an interest group's introduction of a particular piece of legislation. Correct label: purposive An interest group member receives discounts from local businesses related to the interest group. Correct label: selective incentive An interest group member receives a free t-shirt for joining. Correct label: selective incentive

Which of the following scenarios is/are likely to produce success for the interest group involved?

An interest group lobbies for a change of which the public is largely unaware. An interest group lobbies for a single minor change related to a larger, more complex issue.

How is a peak association different from a mass association?

Individuals cannot join a peak association.

Match the type of organization to the advantage or disadvantage it has in the electioneering process.

It can spend any amount to support or oppose a candidate but cannot coordinate with that candidate or the candidate's party. Correct label: Super PAC It can only engage in very limited political activities. Correct label: 501(c)(3) Half or more of all its activities must be nonpolitical. Correct label: 501(c)(4) It can contribute directly to candidates but only under strict limits. Correct label: PAC

Which of the following statements about patterns in electioneering by interest groups is accurate?

Super PACs and 501(c)(4) organizations emerged only in recent elections, partly as a result of Supreme Court decisions. Most interest groups lack the resources to employ very large electioneering efforts.

Securing media coverage, contributing to election campaigns, and starting a grassroots social media campaign are examples of what kind of lobbying strategy?

outside

Match the characteristic to the type of interest group structure.

Centralized: typically headquartered in Washington, D.C. more efficient deployment of resources Confederation: better able to learn the needs or wants of its members involves more independent sub-units

Choose all of the following reasons that interest groups try to cultivate media contacts.

Coverage helps publicize a group's concerns without spending money. The media can help attract new donors and members for a group. Favorable coverage can show members how active their group is.

What has research revealed about interest group power over the government?

Even having lots of members or money does not provide groups with reliable influence over government decisions.

How is interest group lobbying regulated?

Lobbying firms must disclose how much each of their clients pay annually. An interest group must disclose which employees spend more than 20 percent of their time lobbying. Lobbying firms must annually disclose who their clients are.

Why might we not be worried about well-funded groups overcoming public opinion to dominate the policy process?

There are usually well-funded groups on both sides of an issue.

Interest groups tend to be more successful on low-conflict issues.

True

Lobbying expenditures go up as federal spending increases.

True

Some groups have become so successful at offering selective incentives that people do not even realize they are an interest group.

True

Which of the following is an example of electioneering?

an interest group forms a political action committee

An interest group such as the Sierra Club that seeks promotion of a wide range of policies related to the environment, involving various industries, legislation, and locations, is most likely to fit into which category of interest group?

citizen group

How do labor unions overcome the collective action problem?

coercion

Match whether the strategies below are inside or outside strategies.

contributing to election campaigns: outside providing research or testimony: inside grassroots e-mail and phone drive: outside drafting legislation: inside

Campaign contributions are one tool that interest groups can use to influence members of Congress, but which of the following is another effective strategy used by the NRA to advance their agenda?

mobilizing grassroots action among dedicated members to contact their representatives in great numbers

Drag the description on the left to whether it makes it more or less likely that a group will succeed in the lobbying process (found on the right).

more likely: low conflict preventing change less likely: lots of public attention

A trade association is a type of ____________ because only businesses, not individuals, can constitute the membership. The Sierra Club is an example of a ___________ due to its more than two million individual members.

peak association mass association

Senator Potter retires from the Senate and goes to work as a highly-paid lobbyist for an interest group that had long supported him. Meanwhile a member of a different interest group leaves to take a job in a government bureaucracy that regulates causes that his former employer lobbies on. These are examples of which concept?

revolving door

College clubs use a variety of methods to recruit members, not unlike interest groups. Sometimes they offer pizza to people who show up to meetings, which is an example of a _________. Clubs also stress how you can meet new friends and fun people to spend time with, which is an example of a ___________.

selective incentive solidary benefit

An interest group is most effective in direct lobbying when it does which of the following?

targets government officials already friendly to its goals