Deck 3: Interest Groups

Question 1

Interest groups are private organizations of individuals who have banded together because of a common cause or interest.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Interest groups and political parties have the same goals.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Consumer groups are more likely to be organized than producer groups.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Individuals who have higher levels of income and education are more likely to be organized than those who have less income and less education.

Question 5

Individuals who join groups out of personal involvement are more likely to become more significantly involved in seeking to achieve the goals of the group.

Question 6

Contributing money to candidate's campaigns is one of the more common means of electioneering.

Question 7

Lobbying is very strictly controlled and regulated by state government in Texas.

Question 8

Lobby is an effort to influence public policy by directly communicating with policymakers.

Question 9

All lobby groups represent wealth clients.

Question 10

Public Citizen Texas is an example of a public interest group.

Question 11

One of the most valuable functions of interest groups is providing specialized information to the government.

Question 12

The Texas Ethics Commission has proven to be an effective watchdog for the public interest.

Question 13

Citizens who are well-informed and are willing to communicate with members of the legislature can have an important impact on public policy.

Question 14

The amendments to the state's ethics laws in 2003 prohibited lawyers who are members of the legislature from practicing before state agencies.

Question 15

The process by which state agencies become protectors of private interests rather than the public interest is called co-option.

Question 16

The insurance industry's co-option of the State Board of Insurance in 1993 led to the legislature
abolishing the Board and giving the governor the power to elect the Insurance Commissioner.

Question 17

Rulings by the federal courts have been a significant means for "underdog" groups to gain the attention of policy makers and to achieve political goals, especially with regard to minority rights.

Question 18

In the late 1990s, nearly one-third of the members of the Texas legislature had personal financial ties to oil producers.

Question 19

Organized labor is a major political influence in Texas politics, especially with the legislature.

Question 20

One area in which the Christian Right has been particularly influential has been in the election of members to local school boards.

Question 21

The two main groups representing Hispanics and Afro American have worked out a formal agreement to support each other.

Question 22

What is the primary difference between interest groups and political parties?

A) all members of interest groups share the same goals, members of political parties may have different goals
B) interest group members seek only to influence public policy, party members seek to control government indirectly through the election of candidates
C) interest groups are funded by the members; political parties are funded from governmental funds
D) political parties are regulated by the government; interest groups are totally free from government

Question 23

Which of the following statements does not apply to both politically oriented interest groups and political parties?

A) the organization is responsible to placing the names of potential officeholders on the ballot for a vote by the electorate
B) the activities are funded by private contributions
C) the organization must maintain a specific structure and make periodic reports to the state
D) the organization seeks to create or influence public policy

Question 24

Which of the following is not generally classified as an economic interest group?

A) groups representing the companies engaged in financial operations
B) groups representing labor union members
C) groups involved with environmental issues
D) groups representing professional associations

Question 25

Interest groups seek to influence which of the following?

A) legislators
B) executive branch officials
C) the judicial branch
D) all of the above

Question 26

Which of the following applies to interest groups?

A) members share common goals
B) members pursue their goals collectively because they can't acheive them individually
C) members attempt to influence the outcome of governmental policies and actions
D) all of the above are characteristic of interest group activities

Question 27

Direct participation in a political campaign by an interest group is known as

A) electioneering
B) lobbying
C) political contributions
D) direct action

Question 28

The example in the textbook of the Texas Medical Association's contributions to the Republican candidates in the 1990s illustrates which point?

A) there is a direct link between the contribution of money to candidates and the legislative results
B) that political contributions are generally a waste of time
C) that issues and conflicting interests can override the impact of contributions
D) that political contributions to candidates are the same thing as bribery

Question 29

Operating a phone bank, posting signs for a candidate, and distributing literature would be an example of what kind of political activity?

A) electioneering
B) lobbying
C) political contributions
D) direct action

Question 30

Which of the following issues would be of relatively little concern to the type of interest groups classified as public interest groups?

A) limits on interest rates on credit cards
B) improved nursing home regulations
C) anti-pollution standards for the chemical industry
D) changing the length of the season for deer hunting on private lands in Texas

Question 31

The efforts to regulate lobbying activities prior to the 1991 Ethnics Bill were ineffective because:

A) they violated the U.S. Constitution's protections of free speech
B) they only covered the activities of paid lobbyists
C) no state agency was charged with the responsibility of enforcing them
D) they covered only economic interest groups

Question 32

The 2003 Ethics Bill strengthened the previous laws because it:

A) required that the information gathered by the Ethics Commission be posted on the internet
B) created an Ethics Commission to hold hearings on complaints
C) required lobbyists to report the names of members of the legislature on whom they spend more than $50
D) all of the above are correct

Question 33

The case study of the public opinion influencing efforts of the cable television companies and the telephone companies illustrates which of the following:

A) the advertising campaigns by major interests to sway public opinion do not generally enlighten the public as to the real issues behind the conflict
B) the advertising campaigns by major interests to sway public opinion generally have a major impact on the way legislators view issues
C) the advertising campaigns by major interests to sway public opinion generally have no impact on public opinion
D) it is impossible to make any conclusions as a result of the case study

Question 34

Co-option is the process in which:

A) members of the legislature seek to represent interests that have made significant campaign contributions
B) the governor becomes an advocate of interest groups that have donated to his/her political campaign
C) regulatory agencies become the protectors of the interests that they were supposed to regulate
D) the judges become protectors of special interests that have donated to their political campaigns

Question 35

Which of the following groups has been particularly successful in using the court system to achieve its political goals?

A) the Texas Association of Business
B) the Texas Classroom Teachers Association
C) the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
D) the Texas Association of Realtors

Question 36

The organization which represents petroleum producers and is dominated by the major oil companies is:

A) Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners (TIPRO)
B) Texas Oil and Gas Association (TOGA)
C) the Christian Right
D) Texas Association of Oilmen (TAO)

Question 37

The position of organized labor toward the Republican Party has been:

A) accommodating on some issues, hostile on others
B) one of cooperation on all issues
C) total and absolute opposition
D) there is no information to base a judgment about the position of organized labor

Question 38

The relationship of the Christian Right to the Republican Party in Texas is which of the following?

A) the Christian Right does not become involved in party politics
B) the Christian Right has been hostile to the Republican Party
C) the Christian Right has taken over the state conventions of the Republican Party and has written planks into the party platform which espouse the views of the Christian Right
D) state law prohibits participation by religious groups in the political process

Question 39

Formed in 1929, ______________ , was formed to fight discrimination against Mexican American citizens.

A) NAACP
B) LULAC
C) MALDF
D) La Raza Unida

Question 40

What are the general rules concerning who is most likely to be represented by an interest group?

Question 41

What are the main functions of interest groups in the political system? Select one of these and give an example of how a group performs this function.

Question 42

What are the main activities of interest groups in seeking to influence public policy? Which of these functions does the state of Texas seek to regulate? How effect is that regulation?

Question 43

Name three of the more influential interest groups in Texas? What type of group is each?