chapter 10 ap gov

An interest group is most likely to have influence in Congress with which of the following situations?

• an issue is narrow in scope and low in public visibility

• an issue that is part of the president's legislative package

• an issue that has been highly dramatized by the media

• an issue that divides legislators along party lines

Interest groups representing business-people and investors are often among the most successful lobbying groups in Washington D.C. for all of the following reasons EXCEPT?

• such groups have the financial resources to mount sustained campaigns on their own behalf

• many such groups have been in existence for several decades or more, allowing them to master the legislative system and to develop close ties with legislators.

• In many districts, these groups' constituents make up a majority of voters

• these groups' constituents contribute heavily to many legislators' campaigns, and in doing so, gain greater access to legislators

• economic lobbyists often campaign for obscure or minute change to tax law about which the public knows little, and therefore frequently meet little opposition

According to elite theory, which of the following is most likely to impact policy decisions by the government?

• Greenpeace

• american education research association

• american federation of labor

• exxon mobile

Smaller interest groups often meet with more success because...

• they have highly developed methods of fundraising

• they make larger campaign contributions

• their members have a great incentive to actively pursue their collective good

• they pursue less politicized issues

Citizens concerned about a proposal to redistribute federal funding to public schools would form which type of the following groups?

• consumer interest group

• class action group

• economic interest group

• public interest group

Lawmakers often rely on lobbyists for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

• to come up with new policy ideas that they can introduce in Congress

• for money that can legally supplement the lawmakers' salary

• for expertise on a certain

• for advice on strategies to advance or prevent a piece legislation

• to encourage group members to vote for them during re-election

Interest groups differ from political parties in which of the following ways?

• interest groups pursue general policy goals in the political arena

• interest groups unite politicians with the same political ideology

• interest groups are not allowed to play any part in political campaigns

• interest groups try to share specific policy goals

According to Olson's law of large groups,

• the smaller the group, the more effective it will be

• the larger the group, the more effective it will be

• large groups are more democratic

• all groups have a life cycle of birth, growth, maintenance, and decline, although many never decline completely.

The free-rider problem refers to difficulty that

• actual groups have in collecting dues from members

• potential groups have in trying to receive their share in collective goods

• small groups face in raising enough money to influence policy

• large groups have in activating all their potential members

• single-issued groups have when another problem is added to their agenda.

Which of the following statements represents the main function of special interest groups?

• they want to influence officeholders and achieve their legislative goals

• they attempt to recruit an elite membership in order to become influential

• they eventually want to end up as political office holders

• they nominate candidates for public office

• they have the primary function of funding political campaigns