Chapter 3 Interest Groups Flashcards
Interest Group
A number of people who are organized to defend an interest they share or wish to promote; the interest can be narrow (rice-growers, for example) or broad (consumers, for example)
Political Interest groups
A private organization that attempts to influence politicians and through them public policy to the advantage of the organization
First Amendment
To the U.S Constitution, containing a clause protecting the right of the people to “peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances,” among other protections
Political action Committee
A group formed by a corporation, trade association, labor union, or other organization or individual for the purpose of collecting money and then contributing that money to one or more political candidates or causes
527s
An organization that collects money and uses it to try to influence public opinion, mainly through the media, and mainly during election campaigns
510c4s
An organization that collects money and uses it to try to influence public opinion, mainly through the media, and mainly during election campaigns, but differs from a “527” mainly in that it does not have to publicly reveal the names of its donors
Lobby
To try to influence government policy through face-to-face contact
Lobbyist
A person who attempts to influence government policy through face-to-face contact
Ethics Commission
A Texas government agency created by the 1991 Ethics Bill and charged with the task of enforcing the provisions of the bill
Cooptation
The process by which industries and their interest groups come to dominate administrative agencies that were originally established to regulate the industry’s activities
Revolving Door
A name given by political scientists to the process in which government regulatory agencies hire their personnel from within the industry being regulated; after they leave the agency, employees are typically hired once more by the regulated industry
