Chapter 11 Questions (Interest Groups) – Flashcards

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James Madison believed that the latent causes in faction were rooted in
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The nature of man
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This is NOT a reason for the proliferation of interest groups in this country
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Limited government
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Three reasons interest groups are so common in the United States is
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Political parties are relatively weak, the country has a great many divergent interests, and interest groups can easily gain access to government
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In the United States, unlike Great Britain, interest groups can easily gain access to the government because
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Political authority is widely dispersed
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In many European countries, including Austria, France, and Italy, interest groups are less common than in the united states because
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Political parties wield greater power
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The two periods in U.S. in which the number of interest groups increased rapidly were
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1900-1920 and 1960-1980
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It has been observed that interest groups grow more rapidly in some periods than others. This suggests that these groups
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Do not arise inevitably out of natural social processes
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The emergence of large, mass-membership unions was an example of interest groups forming as a result of
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Broad economic development
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The launch of the Chamber of Commerce was an example of interest groups forming as a result of
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Government policy
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The formation of antislavery groups in the 1830s and 1840s was an example of interest groups forming as a result of
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the enlargement of governmental responsibilities
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An example of an interest group forming as a result of broadly felt economic phenomena is that of
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labor unions
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An example of an interest group forming as a result of governmental policy is that of
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The Chamber of Commerce
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An example of an interest group forming as a result of the emergence talented leadership is
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Antislavery organizations
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A factor that does not explain the rise of interest groups during certain periods of U.S. history is
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the reduced role of government
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One type of interest group whose representation in Washington has skyrocketed since 1970 is the
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Public-interest lobby
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An organization that actively seeks to influence public policy is most accurately referred to as a(n)
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interest group
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The U.S. wine industry is represented in Washington by a group that seeks to influence public policy regarding wine. This group is most accurately called a(n)
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Institutional interest
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The U.S. tobacco industry is represented in Washington by a strong lobby that seeks to influence public policy regarding tobacco. This group is most accurately called a(n)
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Institutional interest
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An example of a typical activity that an institutional interest might conduct on behalf of a client would be
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Lobbying for laws to protect the client from foreign competition
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce represents thousands of different organizations locally and in Washington. Is it still called an institutional interest, even though it has no single client?
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Yes, because it still acts on behalf of other organizations
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Americans are more likely to join ______ than citizens of other countries
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Religious and political associations
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The reason Americans participate in civic associations more frequently than citizens of other countries is
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their sense of political efficacy and civic duty
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The main reason why most people are sympathetic to the goals of a mass-membership activity group do not join is that they
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realize they are unlikely to make a difference in its success
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People who join the PTA are most likely to do so as a result of ______ incentives
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Solidary
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at some time in your life, you have probably joined a group largely for companionship and pleasure. Such a group was satisfying your ________ needs
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Solidary
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A major function of local chapters of national membership organizations is to
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lure members and raise money from them
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Solidary-type incentives are most likely to motivate people who join
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the parent teacher association (PTA)
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Members of a farm bureau are most likely to have joined as a result of _______ incentives
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Material
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This is not an example of a material incentive?
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the appeal of the organization's stated goals
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The National Association of Science Teachers offers its members reduced rates on automobile rentals. Such benefits to members are called ______ benefits
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Material
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Purposive incentives are most likely to motivate people who join
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The National Organization for Women (NOW)
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Members of Public Citizen are most likely to have joined as a result of _______ incentives
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Purposive
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To be effective, purposive membership organizations count on
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keeping issues in the spotlight
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Unlike other types of mass-membership organizations, public-interest lobbies principally benefit
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Nonmembers
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A public-interest organization can be defined as one that, if its goals were achieved, would benefit primarily
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Those who are not members of organization
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Ideological interest groups attract people by appealing to
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a coherent, often controversial, set of principles
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Organizations that attract members by appealing to a coherent set of usually controversial principles are called
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Ideological interest groups
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The policies of public-interest organizations are predominantly shaped by
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the elites who dominate them
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A PIRG is an organization dedicated to
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working on and studying local consumer/political issues
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Which consumer activist has spawned more than a dozen groups since the mid-1960s?
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Ralph Nader
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Public interest lobbies typically make better progress when the administration is
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hostile
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According to the text, one of the important activities of public-interest law firms is to
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bring suits on behalf of persons harmed by some public or private policy
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According to the text, another important activity of public-interest law firms is to
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file amicus curiae briefs
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This is not a liberal public-interest law firm
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The Center for Individual Rights
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These are liberal public-interest law firms
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ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Women's Legal Defense Fund, Natural resources Defense Council
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This is not a conservative public-interest law firm
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Lawyer's committee for civil rights
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These are conservative public-interest law firms
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Atlantic Legal Foundation, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, Landmark Legal Foundation, Washington Legal Foundation
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This is true about a social movement
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It is a widely shared demand for change
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This is also true about a social movement
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The more extreme it's position, the smaller it's size
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This environmental group has the smallest membership
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Sierra Club
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The League of Women Voters is an example of a feminist organization whose membership incentives are primarily
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solidary
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The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an example of a feminist organization whose membership incentives are primarily
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Purposive
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A feminist organization that takes strong political positions on sensitive issues will probably attract members with what type of incentives?
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Purposive
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An example of a feminist organization whose membership incentives are primarily material is the
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Women's Equity Action League (WEAL)
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The Peak of the union movement in the United States occurred in the year
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1945
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The proportion of the nonfarm work force that is unionized today is approximately
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20%
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A major cause in the decline of union membership in the United States was a
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decline in public support for unions
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Which of the following interest groups will probably have the most difficult time raising money?
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A membership organization relying on appeals to purpose
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Each of the following is an important source of funds for lobbying organizations except
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membership dues
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Some $21 million was donated to various liberal interest groups between 1970 and 1980
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Ford Foundation
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Federal funding cuts to lobbying organizations seemed to reflect a bias against liberal causes during the presidency of
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Ronald Reagan
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Cuts made by the Reagan administration in various interest groups seemed to reflect a bias
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against liberal groups
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Of the three major sources of funds available to interest groups, the one that is unique to modern interest groups is
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computerized direct-mail solicitations
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Common Cause, a liberal organization founded in 1970, gets its financial support from
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direct-mail solicitation
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For direct-mail campaigns to succeed, they must get donations from at least ____ percent of their addresses
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2
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The many interest groups that contacted four-month-old Daniel Aaron Schlozman illustrate that
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groups share one another's mailing lists
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To say that "the pressure system has an upper-class bias" is to
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say much about the people who join groups, but nothing about the positions the groups will take
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The Americans who are most likely to join interest groups are
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people with better-than-average incomes
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Although knowing that the oil industry, for example, is represented by more than 170 interest groups may be useful, this fact is important only if these groups
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always protected the oil industry
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Of the nearly 7000 groups represented in Washington, approximately what percentage are corporations?
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50
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The divisions among lobbying groups representing the same sector of society is clear in the example of the
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farmers
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The example of farmers illustrates that interest groups from the same sector are often
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divided among themselves
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Probably the most effective commodity at the command of interest groups is
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information
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probably the best measure of an interest group's influence is its
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organizational skill
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Why is information such an important commodity to interest groups and legislators alike?
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because legislators cannot be expert on all issues, and they rely on lobbyists for information
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The single most important tactic of the typical lobbyist is
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supplying information to legislators
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The value of information, the power of the lobbyists, and thus the success of interest groups are greatest when the issue
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is fairly narrow
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Lobbyists are restrained from misrepresenting factors or misleading legislators by
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The fear of losing legislators' trust and confidence
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Prior to deregulation, air routes and fares to major cities were determined by the
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Civil Aeronautics Board
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When the Civil Aeronautics Board was setting airline rates and conferring air routes on various cities, most of those appearing before it at its hearings were
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airline companies
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In addition to seeking technical information from lobbyists, public officials often look to them for
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political cues on particular issues
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One type of political cue a legislator might consider before taking a position would be
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what lobbies are in favor of the issue
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One type of political cue a legislator might look at before taking a position on an issue would be
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Whether lobbies with similar ideology are united on the issue
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An important tool that organizations like the AFL-CIO and Americans for Constitutional Action use to influence politicians' behavior is the publication of
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legislator ratings
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The primary purpose of legislative ratings used by various interest groups is to
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Influence the behavior of legislators
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One method used by lobbyists to convince undecided legislators that public opinion on an issue is inclined toward their direction is to
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commission a public opinion poll
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methods used by lobbyists to convince undecided legislators that public opinion on an issue is inclined toward their direction is to
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get newspapers to run editorials in support of the issue, encourage local citizens to send telegrams
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Of the exertion of public pressure on legislators, the text concludes that it
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is not clear how often it works
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In recent years, interest groups frequently use a grassroots lobbying strategy refferred to as
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Insider
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An example cited by the text of how grassroots opposition to a governmental action can influence congress is the example of
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the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banning of saccharin
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The Dirty Dozen consisted of the
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Most anti-environmental legislators in the House
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A highly effective rating system used by Environmental Action, Inc., since 1970 is called
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the Dirty Dozen
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The 1993 Brady Bill was opposed by which interest groups?
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the National Rifle Organization (NRA)
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The scholarly evidence that political action committee (PAC) money buys votes in Congress
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is sketchy at best
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These are all correct
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Money is probably one of the least effective ways by which interest groups advance their causes, only a few decades ago powerful interests used their bulging wallets to buy influence in Congress, Campaign finance laws have restricted the amount that interest groups can give to candidates, campaign finance laws have made it legal for corporations and labor unions to form PACs
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These are all incorrect
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Money is probably one of the most effective ways by which interest groups advance their causes, the bulging wallets of powerful interest groups buy more influence in Congress today than they did a few decades ago, Campaign finance laws place no restrictions on the amount of money that interest groups give to candidates, corporations and labor unions cannot form PACs
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The passage of the campaign finance reform law in 1973
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sharply restricted the amount that any interest group could give to a candidate and made it legal for corporations and labor unions to form PACs
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The campaign finance reforms of 1973
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encouraged a rapid growth in PACs
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Could a member of congress start a PAC
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yes, and may have
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Which organizations can form a PAC?
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trade associations, citizens' groups, corporations
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The type of interest group that increased its numbers most rapidly in the early 1980s was the
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ideological PAC
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In the 1992 elections, most of the ideological political action committees (PACs) were
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Conservative
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Although ideological political action committees (PACs) raised more money in several recent elections than either labor or business PACs, they gave less to candidate because
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their overhead was much higher
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Compared to labor and business political action committees, ideological PACs
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raise more money and spend less on candidates
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Ideological political action committees (PACs) raise more money overall but spend less of it on candidates than
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labor and business groups
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The political action committee (PAC) that contributed the most money to congressional candidates in the 2000 election was that of
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Realtors association
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The proportion of all House campaign funding that is contributed by political action committees (PACs) is approximately what percent?
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33
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The average political action committee (PAC) donation to a House candidate accounts for approximately what percentage of the candidate's total campaign receipts?
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less than 1
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Which statement about political action committees is generally true?
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they give most of their money to republicans
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Sometimes money affects legislative behavior not so much by buying votes as by ensuring
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access
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the term revolving door is used in the text to mean
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a departing government official joining a firm with which he or she had been doing business
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The Reagan administration official convicted of perjury in connection with a revolving-door investigation was
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Michael Deaver
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Reagan's deputy of chief of staff Michael Deaver was convicted of perjury in connection with an investigation of his having
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used hi former government contacts to help the clients of his public relations firm
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A government official might leave her position and join a corporation to which she previously awarded government contracts. This is a clear example of
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the revolving door
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A legislator asks for a campaign contribution from a political action committee in return for a favorable vote on a piece of legislation supported by the PAC. This payment is called
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bribery
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All of the following activities are specifically forbidden by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 except
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employment of a former government official by a lobbying group
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Disruption or making trouble is
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A quite conventional political resource
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The text asserts that, although the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s have dissipated
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their "veterans" continue to use the same tactics
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Interest-group activity is protected under the U.S. Constitution by the
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First amendment
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The Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946 required groups and individuals seeking to influence legislation to
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register and file quarterly financial reports
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The Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1936 was _____ by the United States Supreme Court
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limited
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The text suggests the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946
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had little practical effect
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Which of the following characterizations of the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946 is incorrect?
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It created and funded a staff in charge of enforcing the law
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in 1968, the IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of the Sierra Club because of its
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extensive lobbying activities
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This fact is correct about interest-group activity
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it is protected by the First Amendment
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The Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946 has had _____ effect on the registration and control of lobbyists
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little practical
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