Chapter 9 Interest Groups Exam Multiple Choice

Practice Exam Multiple Choice 1. Which nation has been famously labeled “a nation of joiners”? a. France b. Italy c. the United States d. Germany e. Great Britain 2. Which of the following is NOT a professional group? a. American Association of Retired Persons b. American Association of University Professors c. American Medical Association d. American Bar Association e. None of these is correct, as all represent professional groups. 3. The reality that about 90 percent of regular listeners to National Public Radio do not contribute to their local station is illustrative of a. the iron triangle. b. issue networks. c. the free-rider problem. d. inside lobbying. e. outside lobbying. 4. What is the primary means of lobbying for the American Civil Liberties Union? a. inside lobbying b. outside lobbying c. protest politics d. networking on the Internet e. litigation 5. An iron triangle works to the advantage of a. interest groups. b. congressional subcommittees. c. government agencies. d. all of these: interest groups, congressional subcommittees, and government agencies. e. None of these answers is correct. 5 6. Most political action committees represent a. citizens’ groups. b. government groups. c. business groups. d. labor groups. e. incumbent office holders. 7. ________ wrote that “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire.” a. James Madison b. Theodore Lowi c. John McCain d. Bob Livingston e. John Stuart Mill 8. The AFL-CIO is a. the dominant business association in the U.S. and the single largest spender on lobbying efforts in the country. b. the dominant independent union in the U.S. c. the dominant labor group in the U.S., and is composed of nearly sixty affiliated unions. d. the business association of the major domestic auto manufacturing companies. e. the oldest business association and still represents some 14,000 manufacturers. 9. The 2008 congressional passage of legislation that provided the Treasury Department with $700 billion in taxpayers’ money to rescue troubled financial institutions is a demonstration of what observation made by economist Mancur Olson? a. Issue networks are less effective than iron triangles but more prevalent, because they are quickly formed on an ad hoc basis. b. Traditional methods of external outreach such as letter writing can influence lawmakers if a large enough body of citizens participates. c. Citizens’ groups are able to muster the kinds of resources that business groups can, if they have a large enough membership. d. Small groups are ordinarily more united on policy issues and often have more resources. e. Lobbyists for government clients can be just as effective as lobbyists for private or public organizations. 10. How have PACs affected long-standing partisan divisions in campaign funding? a. Their interest in backing incumbents has blurred those divisions. b. Their favoring of Republican candidates has increased the power of Republican lawmakers. c. Their favoring of business interests has brought a further entrenchment of those partisan divisions. d. Because PACs tend not to favor either party, there has been no lasting effect on partisan funding divisions. e. The imbalance of PAC contributions to Republican candidates has brought legislation designed to reduce the division. 6 11. Congress receives more mail from members of ________ than it does from members of any other group. a. the American Civil Liberties Union b. Greenpeace c. Common Cause d. the American Association of Retired Persons e. MoveOn 12. Political action committees can contribute ________ per candidate per election under federal law (the total including both primary and general elections). a. $1,000 b. $10,000 c. $25,000 d. $50,000 e. $100,000 13. The “size factor” tends to advantage a. public interest groups. b. business groups. c. labor unions. d. environmental interest groups. e. None of these answers is correct. 14. The National Rifle Association is a. a public interest group. b. a single-issue group. c. an ideological group. d. both a public interest and a single-issue group. e. None of these answers is correct. 15. Which of the following is a disadvantage for citizens’ groups? a. They cannot generate profits or fees as a result of economic activity. b. They must contend with the free-rider problem. c. Their members don’t usually receive material benefits. d. All of these are disadvantages for citizens’ groups: They cannot generate profits or fees as a result of economic activity; they must contend with the free-rider problem; and their members don’t usually receive material benefits. e. None of these answers is correct. 16. Which part of Washington, D.C. is populated almost entirely by lobbying firms? a. C Street b. New Jersey Avenue c. 13th Street d. Pennsylvania Avenue e. K Street 7 17. What do the Christian Coalition, the American Conservative Union (ACU), and the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) have in common? a. They are all dominated by conservatives. b. They are all dominated by Democrats. c. They are all dominated by conservatives and Democrats. d. They are all ideologically-motivated groups. e. They are all economic groups. 18. What new development has helped citizens’ groups overcome the free-rider problem and reach more donors? a. computer-assisted direct mail b. e-mail lists c. websites d. all of these: computer assisted direct mail, e-mail lists, and websites e. None of these answers is correct. 19. Which of the following groups routinely engage in lobbying? a. National Rifle Association b. National Organization for Women c. U.S. Conference of Mayors d. National Governors Association e. All these answers are correct. 20. Who coined the term “interest-group liberalism”? a. Madison b. Lowi c. de Tocqueville d. Schattschneider e. Jefferson 8