Chapter Eight: Interest Groups

Question 1

Interest group

Answer 1

an organization of people who enter the political process to try to achieve their shared goals that puts pressure for change on elected officials and policy makers on all levels of government

Question 2

Political action committees and 527s

Answer 2

outside organizations that have joined parties and interest groups as a major influence on policy making in this country

Question 3

Parties v. Interest groups

Answer 3

parties seek office while interest groups seek to effect through legislative means

Question 4

PACs vs. Super PACs

Answer 4

PACs can give money directly but are limited in amount

Super PACs can give unlimited money to candidates but not directly

Question 5

PACs

Answer 5

the political arms of interest groups, legally entitled to raise voluntary funds to contribute to favored candidates or political parties - focus on influencing election results but their interest in the candidates is narrowly based because they are almost always affiliated with particular interest groups

Question 6

Campaign Reform Act of 1974

Answer 6

hard money limits

Question 7

527s

Answer 7

tax exempt organizations created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment, or defeat of candidates for public office

Question 8

Elitist theory and interest groups

Answer 8

few interest groups have most of the power - government is run by a few big groups trying to preserve their own interests - an extensive system of interlocking directorates (same people sitting on several boards of corporations, foundations, and universities) fortifies the control - corporate interests control many government decisions

Question 9

Pluralist theory and interest groups

Answer 9

interest groups benefit American democracy by bringing representation to all - benefits of interest groups include:

• linkage between people and government
• one group can’t become too powerful because others counterbalance it
• groups usually follow the rules - those that don’t get bad publicity which keeps them in line
• no one set of groups dominates because those weak in one resource are strong in others - business more $ labor unions more people

Question 10

Hyperpluralist theory and interest groups

Answer 10

too many interest groups are trying to influence the political process, resulting in chaos and contradiction among government policies

Question 11

3 types of interest groups

Answer 11

Economic interests, consumer and public interests, and equality and justice interests

Question 12

Economic interests

Answer 12

management vs. labor - concerned primarily with profits, prices, and wages - can be controlled indirectly through government regulations, subsidies and contracts, trade policy, and tax advantages

Question 13

Labor unions

Answer 13

focus on better working conditions and higher wages - established the union shop - collective bargaining

Question 14

Union shop

Answer 14

requires new employees to join the union representing them - attempted counter by right-to-work laws

Question 15

Right-to-work-laws

Answer 15

Laws that make union membership optional - some states have adopted them but not all

Question 16

Agriculture groups

Answer 16

Targeted because of subsidies - ethanol, regulations on plating

Question 17

Business groups

Answer 17

large corporations exercise considerable political influence - concerned about government regulations - Chamber of Commerce

Question 18

Chamber of Commerce

Answer 18

broadest trade association - federation of several thousand local chambers of commerce representing more than 200,000 business firms - pharmaceutical lobby = one of most powerful with over 600 registered lobbyists

Question 19

Professional groups

Answer 19

represent various occupations - American Medical Association, American Bar Association, American Association of University Professors, National Education Association - want to influence government policies that affect their professions- licensing and standards of admission

Question 20

Public Interest Groups

Answer 20

Non-political, not economically driven, rectifying a public issue - PIRGs (Public Interest Research Groups) actively promote environmental issues, safe energy, consumer protection, and good government - membership of more than 400,000 = one of largest individual membership organizations in the country

Question 21

Environmental interests

Answer 21

promote pollution control, wilderness protection, and population control - have opposed strip-mining, oil pipelines, offshore oil drilling, supersonic aircraft, and nuclear power plants - often conflict with corporations

Question 22

Equality and Justice interests

Answer 22

welfare interest groups - promote the welfare of a certain group of people - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Organization for Women (NOW), National Urban League (NUL), National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC)

Question 23

Lobbying

Answer 23

to attempt to influence government policies - to exert influence on the legal process by:

• contacting government officials by phone or letter
• meeting and socializing at conventions
• taking officials to lunch
• testifying at committee hearings

Question 24

Electioneering

Answer 24

interest groups - campaign contributions, keeping people in office who support their causes

Question 25

Litigation and interest groups

Answer 25

interest groups will use the legal system if they can’t get what they want from Congress

Question 26

Amicus curiae

Answer 26

“friend of the court” briefs - consist of written arguments submitted to the courts in support of one side of a case or another - used by interest groups

Question 27

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

Answer 27

challenged affirmative action programs as reverse discrimination - over a hundred different groups filed amicus curiae briefings

Question 28

Class action lawsuits

Answer 28

enable a group of similar plaintiffs to combine their grievances into a single suit - Brown v. Board

Question 29

Interest groups appealing to the public

Answer 29

NRA = most successful because they activate voters -
K-street = center for many lobbyists in DC - interest groups may best influence public policy through careful cultivation of their image

Question 30

Interest group rating

Answer 30

rank congressmen based on performance in their job (amount of support they give to legislation that is favorable to their cause) used to describe voting records of Congressmen - ranges 0% to 100% of times they voted for legislative agenda of the group e.g. environmental groups identified the 12 congressmen least likely to support an environmental bill (named them the “Dirty Dozen”)

Question 31

Foundation grants

Answer 31

Public interest groups dependent on these - funds established usually by prominent families or corporations for philanthropy (e.g. charity work)

Question 32

Federal grants and contracts

Answer 32

`not granted directly to organizations for lobbying purposes, but they may be given to support a project the organization supports

Question 33

Direct solicitation

Answer 33

most groups rely heavily on direct mail to solicit funds - via computer, groups can directly mail to selected individuals identified from lists developed by staff or purchased from other groups

Question 34

Size of interest groups

Answer 34

larger interest groups have free rider problems - smaller interest groups are easier to organize for action and can more easily provide advantages for all of their members

Question 35

Free rider

Answer 35

In large interest groups, there are so many members, that individuals tend to think that someone else will do the work - hard for groups trying to benefit all of their members

Question 36

Intensity and interest groups

Answer 36

groups intensely committed to their goals are more successful than those who aren’t - single-issue groups - members more willing to actively protest or push for legislation

Question 37

Financial resources and interest groups

Answer 37

interest groups can’t do much without funds so fund-raising is crucial to the success of any interest group

Question 38

The “Revolving Door”

Answer 38

going from public sector to lobbying (private sector) - and official does a favor for a corporation because the corporation promised them a job once they were out of office - not acting for good of the public

Question 39

Institutional interests vs. Individual interests

Answer 39

Institutional - meet the interests of corporations

Individual - meet the interests of people