TAMU Pols 206 Bond Exam 2 questions with correct answers lobbying CORRECT ANSWER activities to influence public policy to promote/protect group interests
define lobbying: CORRECT ANSWER act of attempting to influence decisions
made by officials in a government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies.direct lobbying CORRECT ANSWER -direct contact with policy maker -one-on-one meeting; testify @ committee hearing; letters & emails; indirect lobbying CORRECT ANSWER -work through intermediates
-constituents: influential people in district
-Bacardi rum example from book: (triple bank shot)
filed a trademark dispute. sent an email to Jeb Bush "BACARDI NEEDS YOUR HELP: Importance: High" Bush sent it to a staff member, who sent it to a political apointee & said to do something. 2 weeks later, Bacardi gave 50k to Jeb, who quickly solved the issue.Targets of interest group lobbying (7) CORRECT ANSWER 1. their own membership-united front
- Other groups
- political parties
- public opinion
- Congress 1 / 3
advertising--social networking
- President & executive branch (Bacardi)
- Courts
How do groups lobby with other groups? How do they form? CORRECT ANSWER a) coalitions based on common, overlapping interests
example: civil right's groups, NAACP & women's rights groups have a common
goal
b) Logrolling
coalition of uncommon interests. you scratch my back, i'll scratch yours Lobbying through the court: CORRECT ANSWER test cases: to get a test case: -find people who have been affected by situation -file a suit -file a brief (summary) Amicus Curiae Brief Amicus Curiae Brief CORRECT ANSWER "friend of the court" a 3rd party to a case presents info (in a brief) to a court and attempts to pursuade them with evidence.An amicus curiae brief can be more influential in a court than the actual parties' claims/disputes CORRECT ANSWER true
most famous test case: CORRECT ANSWER Brown v Board of Education
-interest group NAACP supported Brown.-class action suit. the results of the case would only affect the party suing (Brown would be the only family to be desegregated) 2 / 3
-They got it changed to where it would affect all black families.Power and influence of interest groups in politics: what kind of force do they have?CORRECT ANSWER Conservative force 1.seldom powerful enough to push through big changes 2.often powerful enough to block change & keep status quo -multiple decision points -big policy change requires winning at each point -blocking change requires winning at only one point (easier to defend than to go on the offensive)
Interest group: benefits of a 2 way-flow between citizens and government
CORRECT ANSWER 1. aggregate & communicate demands from citizens to gov
- watch what govt does & report back to members
- biased info
- useful to members who have the same bias
- look at table 6.2
- scrutinize opponents & report negative info
- / 3
example: the many watch the few (we can watch the senators and then decide if we like them or not) however, most people don't really care and therefore don't watch. however, interest groups watch for us and tell us how to vote based on what our rep voted for.how do groups regulate each other? CORRECT ANSWER through countervailing power
-they like to find things wrong with another group & exploit that info