Chapter 9
PAC contributions account for about ________ of total congressional campaign spending.
20%
About ________ of people who regularly listen to National Public Radio do not donate money to their local station.
90%
Which of the following groups primarily uses litigation as its lobbying method?
ACLU
The limits of interest groups' use of extreme tactics might be gauged by the congressional Democratic backlash against the ________, which tried to block the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993.
AFL-CIO
A basic reason for the existence of so many interest groups in the United States is
All of these answers are correct. 7
Which of the following organizations is NOT an example of a single-issue group?
American Conservative Union
Which of the following statements would NOT be accepted by supporters of the pluralist view of interest groups?
The opinion of the majority should always prevail, in a policy dispute, over the opinion of a more intense and directly affected minority.
How do pluralists counter the argument that well-funded interest groups have more influence on policymaking than other interest groups?
They argue that the system is very open and almost all interests are included.
The term iron triangle refers to
a small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who are concerned with promoting a particular interest.
Which of the following is NOT an interest group function?
addressing a broad and diverse range of public issues
The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
allows corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited funds on campaigns as long as there is no coordination with the candidate.
In the 1830s, the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that the "principle of ________" was nowhere more evident than in America.
association
The largest number of PACs are those associated with
business.
The Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ruling held that corporation and union spending on elections
can be unlimited but not coordinated with election campaigns.
Some groups pursue collective goods. A collective good is one that
cannot be selectively granted or denied to individuals; it belongs to all.
The second-largest number of PACs are those associated with
citizen's group
The air we breathe is an example of a
collective good
Outside lobbying does NOT include
developing and maintaining close contacts with policymakers.
The situation in which individuals are tempted not to contribute to a cause because they will get the benefits even if they do not participate is called the
free-rider problem.
Super PACs have been criticized primarily for
giving too much influence to the wealthy
In the dynamics of an iron triangle, what benefit do interest groups provide to friendly government agencies?
lobbying support for agency programs
According to a study by the Center for Responsive Politics, what was roughly the amount spent on lobbying per hour that Congress was in session?
more than $1 million
Roughly how many American workers currently belong to unions?
one in nine
The theory that society's interests are most effectively represented through group action is
pluralist theory.
Grassroots lobbying is based on the assumption that officials will respond to
pressure from constituents
Another name for an interest group is
pressure group
Effective inside lobbying is based upon
providing useful and persuasive information to key officials.
An interest group that focuses on achieving legalization of marijuana at the federal level would be an example of a(n)
single-issue group.
In recent decades, lobbyists in Washington, D.C., have increasingly
targeted the executive branch in their efforts to influence policy decisions.
Which citizens' group did a Fortune magazine survey rank as the nation's most powerful lobbying group?
the AARP
The dominant labor interest group is
the AFL-CIO.
The citizens of ________ have the largest number of organized interest groups at their disposal.
the United States
Why have issue networks become more prevalent?
the increasing complexity of policy problems
Economic groups have an advantage over noneconomic groups in part because
they have greater access to financial resources.
In an effort to overcome the free-rider problem, noneconomic groups have
used Internet resources and computer-assisted mailing lists to target potential donors.
PAC contributions account for about ________ of total congressional campaign spending.
$10,000
Under federal law, PACs can contribute up to ________ per candidate for federal office in a primary election.
$5,000
The most numerous economic groups are
business groups.
Economist Mancur Olson refers to what aspect of interest groups as "the size factor"?
Small groups are ordinarily more united on policy issues and often have more resources, enabling them to win out more often than large groups.
To have great influence, an outside lobbying group must generally have one of two things: a lot of money or
a committed membership
Which of the following is an interest group more likely to champion than a political party?
a controversial issue
The influence of interest groups through the courts occurs through
both initiating lawsuits and lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench.
A main difference between iron triangles and issue networks is that
issue networks are generally less stable than iron triangles, in that the members of an issue network may change as the issue develops.
The most fully organized interests are those that have which of the following as their primary purpose?
economic activity
James Madison argued
for regulation of interests through a governing system of checks and balances.
PACs tend to contribute the most money to
incumbents
Most lobbyists receive support from elected officials in direct exchange for
information.
An amicus brief
is a written document in which a group explains to a court its position on a legal dispute the court is handling
An informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who come together temporarily around a policy problem is a(n)
issue network.
"Agency capture" occurs when
regulatory agencies side with the industries they are supposed to regulate rather than with the public
James Madison's solution to the problem of factions (special interests) has, in the modern policy process, actually contributed to the problem by
resulting in greater divisions of power that allow special-interest groups more points of access and outsized influence in the policy process.
The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ultimately led to the creation of
super PACs.
A flaw in pluralism theory is the fact that
the interest group system is unrepresentative because some interests are far better organized and more powerful than others.
A purposive incentive is defined as
the satisfaction of contributing to a worthy goal
Political scientist Theodore Lowi has questioned pluralist theory by suggesting that
there is no concept of the public interest in a system that gives special interests the ability to determine the policies affecting them.
Citizens' interest groups are distinguished from economic interest groups by the fact that
there is no material incentive for members in their pursuit of the group's goals.
In acknowledging the dilemma inherent in group activity, James Madison
worried that government would be overly dominated by groups, but recognized that a free society is obliged to permit the advocacy of self-interest.