Chapter 6 Interest Groups and Lobbying

Political Action Committee (PAC)

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

Individuals have the best chance to influence public policy when they

a. are not opposed by organized interest groups

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

a. bundling

Trial lawyers are which type of interest group?

a. professional group

lobbyist

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

interest group

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

One of the most important grassroots tactics of interest groups is

b. to get out the vote

The "8F Crowd"

b. was a group of extremely wealthy Texans who met in Suite 8F of the Lamar Hotel in Houston and con- trolled Texas politics for 40 years

In Texas, the most powerful interest groups represent which interests?

c business

Interest groups often hire former legislators as lobbyists to

d. all of the above

Dark money refers to

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

The most important thing interest groups need to be effective is

e. access to politicians

PACs are used to

e. all of the above

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

e. all of the above

Interest groups provide public officials with all the following except

e. committee assignments

The goals of the interest groups include all except

e. maintaining a heterogeneous membership

interest-group capture

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

Lobbyists are

important sources of information for legislators

issue advocacy

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

Dark Money

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

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