Describe the main types of interest groups.
What will be an ideal response?
The ideal answer should include:
1. Interest groups are people organized to pursue a common interest by applying pressure on the political process. We can distinguish the following interest groups:
- Business groups are groups that have a common interest in making profits. Examples include Google, Chevron, and Apple.
- Professional groups aim to represent the interests of a particular profession. Examples include the American Medical Association, the National Association of Realtors, and the American Bar Association, all of which have powerful lobbies in Washington.
- Labor unions aim to further the interests of labor groups. Labor unions, such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the unions that make up the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (the AFL-CIO), are the most important financial supporters of the Democratic Party.
- Agricultural interests such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union, and the National Grange are powerful groups in Washington and have a long history of influential lobbying.
2. In addition to these, there are also interest groups that share similar social or political ideas (e.g., the Sierra Club and Greenpeace) and groups organized around ethnic or social concerns (e.g., the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Urban League).
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Members of the New Deal generation tended to be more ______ than preceding generations.
a. tolerant b. Democratic c. intolerant d. Republican e. politically independent
The primary impact of state voter registration laws has been to ______.
a. make it more expensive to vote b. decrease turnout c. discourage voters from identifying themselves with a party d. improve voter awareness of elections e. prevent fraud
Outside of the federal government, which entity has the largest collection of social science datasets in the United States?
A. Roper (University of Connecticut) B. NORC (University of Michigan) C. ICPSR (University of Michigan) D. Harvard-MIT Data Center (Harvard University – Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Which of the following is true about moderate politicians in a time of increasing polarization?
a. They are increasingly sought out to help arbitrate between those more strongly opposed to each other. b. They are increasingly ignored by their colleagues if they will not join in being more polarized in their views. c. They are more popular with voters, because they represent a middle way between extremes. d. They have found it increasingly more difficult to win elections.