Quiz 13

All of the following statements concerning direct lobbying are true EXCEPT this one:

It is hard for interest groups to lobby the bureaucracy.

Which statement best reflects the political influence of labor unions?

Labor union membership has decreased, but unions still provide a formidable political force.

The ______ is the interest group that argued a number of key civil rights cases in court, including Brown v. Board of Education.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Which of the following statements best reflects the political situation surrounding women's interest groups?

Numerous groups push for equal treatment of women and reproductive rights, and numerous others push to narrow reproductive rights and favor a more traditional role for women in society.

______ are interest groups that try to influence government to produce collective goods or services that benefit the general public.

Public interest groups

When directly lobbying Congress, interest groups may make use of all of the following EXCEPT this:

Public relations campaigns

______ is a nonpartisan defender of individual rights against the encroachment of a powerful government.

The American Civil Liberties Union

The likelihood that people with a shared interest will form a group is increased when each of the following occurs EXCEPT this:

The potential members are unemployed and have a great deal of time to engage in politics.

Liberals who criticized President Obama's strategy for getting the health care bill passed say he ______ when he dealt with interest groups from the health insurance industry.

"gave away the store" by not insisting on inclusion of the public option

AARP is very large because ______.

AARP provides a wide variety of selective benefits for a small cost

What is often the most important triggering mechanism that causes interest groups to form?

An external threat that causes citizens to band together to protect their well-being

To be a critical consumer of direct mail, one should ask all of the following questions EXCEPT this one:

Are they registered with the federal government as a lobbying organization?

Which of the following is NOT a legal method used by interest groups to gain public support for the group's positions?

Funding a representative's travel for a charity event

The ______ is a business association that represents three million businesses that range from small mom-and-pop stores to large employers.

Chamber of Commerce

_______ is/are crucial to helping interest groups form, sustain, and achieve policy goals, regardless of the group's financial resources.

Effective leadership

Interest groups perform all of the following roles in politics EXCEPT this one:

Electing members to public office

This type of interest group can trace its origin back to Earth Day in 1970:

Environmental groups

After reading the sections of the textbook on group formation and on types of interest groups, one could conclude all of the following EXCEPT this:

Worthy interests will be served regardless of whether or not they are organized.

A key advantage that groups like the Christian Coalition, AARP, and the National Rifle Association have over other interest groups is ______.

a large membership that is intensely dedicated to their causes and can be mobilized quickly to exert pressure on Congress

The Eagle Forum is an interest group that ______.

advocates a more traditional role for women in society

The ______ role of interest groups is reflected in MADD's attempts to increase public awareness of problems related to drunk driving and to direct legislative attention to the issue.

agenda-building

Interest groups are formed with the common goal of ______.

altering public policy

Critics complain about the revolving door, because they believe that ______.

alternating between government service and interest group lobbying for private entities amounts to unethical cashing in on public service for private profit

Americans ______.

are much more likely to belong to interest groups than are citizens of other nations

Even though their goal is to provide a collective good, public interest groups often struggle because they ______.

are often vulnerable to the free rider problem and to disputes over whether some collective goods (like abortion or gun rights) are beneficial

A common feature of all interest groups is that they ______.

are organized around shared interests among members

Social protests are used by groups that ______.

are shut out of more traditional avenues of political action

Interest groups often provide selective incentives, which are ______.

benefits available only to group members

According to the text, ______ should find it easiest to band together to pursue common goals due to the nature of their goals.

business owners

The ability to make sizable and strategically placed campaign contributions helps interest groups ______.

buy access to representatives, senators, the White House, and their staffs

The only way an interest group can directly lobby the judiciary is to ______.

challenge the legality of laws or administrative regulations by filing suit or filing amicus briefs in courts

Traditional social protest has been used most effectively by ______.

civil rights leaders

PAC money is directed primarily toward ______.

congressional incumbents

Following the stricter rules on gifts and travel established by the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act, over the past decade, Congress has ______.

eased the restrictions on gifts and travel provided for representatives and senators by lobbyists

An interest group ______ is an effective leader who is likely to have organized an interest group and can effectively promote its interests.

entreprenuer

Many interest groups face the ______ when recruiting members who can gain the benefits of their activities whether or not they join.

free rider problem

A unique feature of the Children's Defense Fund is that it is ______.

funded by foundations and private donations because its constituents are children and, therefore, not dues-paying members

Pluralists believe that interest groups ______.

give more power to citizens and enhance democratic life

Based on the definitions in the textbook, the difference between factions and other interest groups is that factions ______.

have goals that are opposed to the rights of other citizens or to the interests of the whole community

At the time the health care bill was being debated in Congress, the insurance industry was in a tough position because ______.

if it stayed outside of the political process but was unable to stop health care reform, it risked being stuck with a policy it hated

Astroturf lobbying refers to ______.

indirect lobbying efforts that manipulate public sentiment

The 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission had the effect of ______.

lifting the prior financial contribution restrictions on issue advocacy advertisements, such as the McCain-Feingold Act

Political action committees contribute to congressional campaign funds largely to influence ______.

only members of relevant congressional committees because the contributions directly shape the process of specific legislation

Interest groups overcome the free rider problem by doing all of the following EXCEPT ______.

providing collective goods only to people who join the group

The text indicates that ______ are the type of interest group that is least likely to meet Madison's definition of "factions."

public interest groups

So-called 527 groups are important because they can ______.

raise unlimited amounts of money to mobilize voters with issue advocacy ads

In addition to the usual goals of other types of indirect lobbying, demonstrations and spontaneous protests seek to ______.

recruit those who have not formed an opinion on a certain topic or change the minds of those who have

Expressive benefits are ______.

selective incentives that derive from the opportunity to express values and beliefs and to be committed to a greater cause

The "revolving door" exists because ______.

some of the most effective lobbyists are former government officials

The part of the federal government that is least subject to the revolving-door phenomenon is ______.

the courts

Political action committees, or PACs, are ______.

the fundraising arm for interest groups

Corporate and business interest groups are the most numerous and powerful of all interest groups because ______.

the government plays a key role in regulating the economy and setting the rules for economic competition

When a group provides a collective good or service, ______.

the group will inevitably confront the free rider problem

Information is a key source of power for interest groups because ______.

these groups are often the only sources of information on the potential or actual impact of a law or regulation