Question 1

The influence of interest groups through the courts occurs through

Accepted Answer

A)  initiating lawsuits.
B)  lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench.
C)  outside lobbying only.
D)  PACs.
E)  both initiating lawsuits and lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench.

Question 2

PACs tend to contribute the most money to

Accepted Answer

A)  incumbents.
B)  challengers.
C)  Independents.
D)  liberal Democrats.
E)  liberal Republicans.

Question 3

In an effort to overcome the free-rider problem,noneconomic groups have

Accepted Answer

A)  deliberately restricted the size of their membership.
B)  joined up with economic groups.
C)  convinced government to limit the distribution of public goods to those who have contributed to the group's efforts.
D)  used Internet resources and computer-assisted mailing lists to target potential donors.
E)  adopted taxes for nonmembers.

Question 4

During his visit to this country in the 1830s,Alexis de Tocqueville described the United States as "a nation of ________".

Accepted Answer

A)  freeloaders
B)  loners
C)  joiners
D)  fighters
E)  stalwarts

Question 5

The air we breathe is an example of a

Accepted Answer

A)  private good.
B)  negative externality.
C)  material good.
D)  mass-produced good.
E)  collective good.

Question 6

Which citizens' group did a Fortune magazine survey rank as the nation's most powerful lobbying group?

Accepted Answer

A)  the NAACP
B)  the AFL-CIO
C)  the AARP
D)  MADD
E)  Common Cause

Question 7

According to the Center for Responsive Politics,what was roughly the amount spent on lobbying in the United States in 2009?

Accepted Answer

A)  $250 billion
B)  $10 billion
C)  $350 million
D)  $35 billion
E)  $3.5 billion

Question 8

A pluralist could be expected to argue that

Accepted Answer

A)  the presidency is more representative of society's interests than is the Congress.
B)  society is best seen as a collection of separate interests.
C)  U.S.society is best run by a power elite.
D)  most interests are poorly represented through the group process.
E)  the judiciary is more representative of society's interests than is the Congress.

Question 9

Define a PAC.What limitations do PACs face when raising funds? What limitations do they face when contributing funds? Who are the primary recipients of PAC contributions,and why? In what significant ways does a PAC differ from a Super PAC?

Accepted Answer

A PAC is the political action committee ...

Question 10

Political scientist Theodore Lowi has questioned pluralist theory by suggesting that

Accepted Answer

A)  special interests should never receive benefits from government.
B)  there is no concept of the public interest in a system that gives special interests the ability to determine the policies affecting them.
C)  policies that favor a series of minorities are inherently fairer than policies that ignore small groups in favor of a majority.
D)  the sum of people's special interests is a rough approximation of society's collective interest.
E)  Madisonian theory has created a perfect balance of special interest and common good.

Question 11

Early in the 2012 Republican presidential nominating race,some Super PAC televised ads were so untruthful that they were

Accepted Answer

A)  ordered off the air by the Federal Election Commission.
B)  taken off the air,but only after one candidate filed a slander suit in federal court.
C)  criticized even by the candidates they were intended to help.
D)  criticized by all the candidates,and the Super PAC asked to stay out of the primaries.
E)  None of these answers is correct.

Question 12

The term iron triangle refers to

Accepted Answer

A)  a tightly-knit set of lobbying groups.
B)  the relationship among the Congress,the military,and defense contractors.
C)  a small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats,legislators,and lobbyists who are concerned with promoting a particular interest.
D)  the strategy of lobbying all three branches of government simultaneously.
E)  a corrupt relationship among the president,Congress,and the Supreme Court.

Question 13

James Madison's solution to the problem of factions (special interests) has,in the modern policy process,actually contributed to the problem by

Accepted Answer

A)  suppressing the claims of special interests,thereby making it more difficult for them to get their opinions heard by officials.
B)  resulting in a fragmentation of authority among policymakers,thereby providing groups more opportunities to get their way.
C)  eroding the strength of political parties,thereby increasing the opportunity for group influence.
D)  weakening the legislative branch,thereby allowing groups to bully Congress into accepting their demands.
E)  eroding the power of the mass media,thereby increasing the opportunity for group influence.

Question 14

Most lobbyists receive support from elected officials in direct exchange for

Accepted Answer

A)  money.
B)  information.
C)  bribery.
D)  coercion.
E)  deception.

Question 15

Which of the following statements would NOT be accepted by supporters of the pluralist view of interest groups?

Accepted Answer

A)  People's separate interests are a legitimate basis of public policy.
B)  The idea of the public interest or the collective interest does not have much meaning in cases where the public is sharply divided in its policy opinions.
C)  The opinion of the majority should always prevail in a policy dispute over the opinion of a more intense and directly affected minority.
D)  Most interests benefit from the workings of the group system,which is a reason to support a policy process that is responsive to groups.
E)  Public policy should represent the diversity that exists in society.

Question 16

________ wrote that "Liberty is to faction what air is to fire".

Accepted Answer

A)  James Madison
B)  Alexis de Tocqueville
C)  Thomas Jefferson
D)  Theodore Lowi
E)  Theodore Roosevelt

Question 17

Which of the following organizations is NOT an example of a single-issue group?

Accepted Answer

A)  Sierra Club
B)  National Rifle Association
C)  Izaak Walton League
D)  right-to-life groups
E)  MoveOn.org

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

A)  size factor.
B)  free-rider problem.
C)  special-interest paradox.
D)  disincentive factor.
E)  zero-sum game.

Question 19

Grassroots lobbying is based on the assumption that officials will respond to

Accepted Answer

A)  well-reasoned policy arguments.
B)  the opportunity for extensive media publicity.
C)  moral pleas.
D)  the efforts of party organizations.
E)  pressure from constituents.

Question 20

An amicus brief

Accepted Answer

A)  is a written document in which a group explains to a court its position on a legal dispute the court is handling.
B)  is a written document in which an interest group lays out its policy preference for targeted lawmakers.
C)  prevents a lobbyist group from making campaign donations to policy makers over a specific issue.
D)  provides evidence for prosecutors of an illegal monetary relationship between a lawmaker and an interest group or PAC.
E)  prevents PACs from donating more than $5,000 to a single candidate during a primary election.

Exam 9: Interest Groups: Organizing for Influence

________ wrote that "Liberty is to faction what air is to fire".

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The air we breathe is an example of a

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Grassroots lobbying is based on the assumption that officials will respond to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

An amicus brief

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

James Madison's solution to the problem of factions (special interests) has,in the modern policy process,actually contributed to the problem by

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In an effort to overcome the free-rider problem,noneconomic groups have

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which citizens' group did a Fortune magazine survey rank as the nation's most powerful lobbying group?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Define a PAC.What limitations do PACs face when raising funds? What limitations do they face when contributing funds? Who are the primary recipients of PAC contributions,and why? In what significant ways does a PAC differ from a Super PAC?

Correct AnswerverifiedA PAC is the political action committee ...View AnswerShow Answer

During his visit to this country in the 1830s,Alexis de Tocqueville described the United States as "a nation of ________".

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The term iron triangle refers to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

According to the Center for Responsive Politics,what was roughly the amount spent on lobbying in the United States in 2009?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements would NOT be accepted by supporters of the pluralist view of interest groups?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Most lobbyists receive support from elected officials in direct exchange for

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The influence of interest groups through the courts occurs through

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following organizations is NOT an example of a single-issue group?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A pluralist could be expected to argue that

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

PACs tend to contribute the most money to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Early in the 2012 Republican presidential nominating race,some Super PAC televised ads were so untruthful that they were

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Political scientist Theodore Lowi has questioned pluralist theory by suggesting that

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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A PAC is the political action committee ...
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