Linkage Institutions Review

What is the primary purpose of interest groups?

• To nominate candidates for political office

• To gather and exert political pressure to achieve policy goals

• To provide entertainment to the public

• To conduct scientific research

What is "litigation"?

• the act of planting trees in a forest.

• political influence style originating from South America.

• baking bread in a commercial oven.

• taking legal action through the court system

What does the 'going public' strategy of interest groups involve?

• Class action lawsuits

• Direct contact with policymakers

• Working with other interest groups

• Using media to gain attention

What did the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1974 create to administer campaign finance laws for federal elections?

• The Presidential Election Campaign Fund

• The Federal Election Commission (FEC)

• The State Election Commission

• The Campaign Finance Advisory Board

What is "Soft Money" in the context of political contributions?

• Money that is subject to contribution limits and used for specific candidate campaigns

• Political contributions for party-building expenses or generic party advertising not subject to contribution limits

• Funds used exclusively for federal campaign expenditures

• Donations made directly to a candidate's campaign

What did the Buckley v. Valeo decision rule regarding spending money on one's own campaign?

• It is a form of "Speech" and cannot be limited

• It is not protected under the First Amendment

• It should be subject to strict contribution limits

• It is considered illegal and not allowed

What was one of the outcomes of the McCain-Feingold Act of 2002?

• It allowed unlimited soft money contributions

• It banned soft money and limited "issue ads"

• It deregulated the contribution limits for individuals

• It created the Federal Election Commission (FEC)

What can SuperPACs do as a result of the Citizens United vs FEC decision?

• SuperPACs can only contribute to campaigns if they disclose their donors.

• SuperPACs can spend limited amounts of money on elections.

• SuperPACs can spend unlimited amounts of money on elections provided they do not communicate with campaigns or candidates.

• SuperPACs are not allowed to spend money on elections anymore.

Which ideological/single-issue group is most likely to give the majority of their contributions to Republicans?

• Human Rights Campaign (Civil Rights Group)

• The Screen Actors Guild (Union)

• Sierra Club (Environmentalist Group)

• National Pro-Life Alliance (Single Issue Group)

According to Figure 11.1, in which election year did the perception that "Big interests" dominate reach its highest point?

• 1968

• 1980

• 1994

• 2004