Chapter 7 Reading Guide

Keep in Mind: This is not a comprehensive guide of everything on the quiz. You can always put down more information yourself, or use it as a study guide after you read. It is merely to guide you and get you thinking about the information in the chapter and to make connections to your lives.

1. 1835 Americans would be described as “a nation of ______” according to Alexis de Tocqueville (Toke-ville for those of you non-French speakers.) Accurate description? (So this is where in your notes, you don’t just put down ‘yes’, but instead like a good student you write “Yes, 80% of us (Americans) belong to some kind of volunteer group… heck some of us don’t even expect anything in return (unlike those interest groups).”

2. Did anyone feel like joining groups would cause problems? (We’re going to do some primary source reading over this, but do you see how the Federalist and Anti-Federalist arguments keep coming back up throughout the book? That’s an example of linkages, a really important part they stress on the AP exam.)

3. You want to live a long healthy and happy life. You need two kinds of capital: monetary and ______. Think about it yourself, are you a people person or do you like to be left alone? (Maybe spiritual as well… although that could be social capital.)

4. Interest groups make us more civically engaged: 1. They allow us to act as a ______(Think a wave of people marching on city hall.) 2. At the same time, they allow us to be ______because they call on each of us to get involved. 3. Perhaps most importantly they allow us to be involved at the ______level. 4. Lastly if you are sick and tired of hearing about Democrats and Republicans, they give us a way to participate without being associated with either of those parties.

5. Pluralism’s Main Idea:

- “The ______the merrier.” No one group is more powerful than the other, because the vast amount of groups balances it out. Plus, each one is working to have their own policies made.

VS Elite Theory’s Main Idea:

- ______control almost everything in politics and just make it seem like we have a say. Some call us conspiracists; we say we’re pragmatists.

o (Special Note: People can move up, it’s just decided by those already at the top and it’s really difficult. Please also note that you don’t have to spend money, it’s just that most of these people do because they have it and it’s effective. Lastly, there’s not really competition among the elite; they are working for the same goal, the status quo (things to remain the same).

- So, who’s right? Circle: Elite Theory or Pluralist Theory

6. When I think “interest group” I think ______. Most Americans also tend to feel ______about the groups. Does this line up more with Elitist Theory or Pluralist Theory? (By the way, if you circled one above, you’re wrong; go back and reread the last paragraph on 220.)

7. True or false (may want to correct the false):

a. ______Interest groups educate voters on policy issues, give us average citizens the ability to be actively engaged, and they tend to get us mobilized.

b. ______Interest groups avoid electoral functions so they do not cross any lines which could lead to fines or in some cases, jail time.

c. ______Interest groups help provide lawyers and expertise to policy makers, but they often times don’t work for us as average citizens. This leads to them not being effective in the checks and balances system.

- Check your understanding: Do you understand….

o In what ways do interest groups support Pluralist Theory?

o In what ways do interest groups support Elitist Theory?

8. What is the difference between a PAC and an interest group? (Think of their goals) 9. What’s the biggest thing PAC’s contribute to a candidate? Who tends to receive the most attention of a PAC? So do they bring average people in, making the process more egalitarian? (if you don’t know that word, look it up)

10. Describe who is most likely to be in an interest group. Has anything altered this at all? Has it made a significant difference? Of that description you wrote down, circle the two factors that are the best predictors.

11. Let’s say you stay in college all 4 years, maybe go on to get your Master’s…. is it pretty good odds that you’ll end up in an online interest group?

12. Professionals, like Doctors and Lawyers, are more like to belong to professional associations, teachers and tradespeople may be members of unions (but not at Memorial, you don’t care, so I won’t tell you…), and then you have industry-specific organizations. The point is, these are all examples of ______. So even though we may have a negative view, odds are someone you know belongs to one and you probably never even realized it. Might be your own parents. You should ask.

13. If you are working class you are ______to have been “socialized” to be part of an interest group. Unless your family is pro-union, in which case, they are usually fiercely loyal. Can you reason out why working class families wouldn’t be as involved?

14. So, the book says if you go to college, you are more than twice as likely to join a politically motivated interest group than someone who doesn’t go to college. Get on Facebook and choose a friend from Memorial who graduated recently. See if they belong to any political groups, and if so, write it down. We will discuss in class. Ask your parents if they are part of any online political groups. (Or just check out their profile and see for yourself.)

15. Other reasons people join interest groups a. ______- one could argue it’s the same reason people join gangs, but in general, we feel like we belong and we want to be around others. We gain something

b. ______- I joined because I believe… I mean, I really believe in the message. Koney, 2012. (Linkage: check #3 on this sheet. See how they relate?)

c. ______- AKA: Money. If we win this point, then I get something tangible besides that worthwhile feeling for doing my job.

d. Time to connect it to your life…. Give me one example in your life where you joined for all the same reasons above:

d.i. Solidary –

d.ii. Purposive -

d.iii. Economic –

16. How effective an interest group is depends on about 4 things:

17. You care… a lot… about a lot of issues. Some would describe you as ______.

18. Breaking down the importance of interest groups in another way:

a. Membership (Size) Matters

a.i. How strongly your group is unified

a.ii. How much you care: a.iii. Demographics:

b. Money Matters

b.i. Helps buy:

b.ii. Can also form a PAC whose main goal, once again, is to______

19. So your interest group has organized and has an environment conducive for creating growth; now you need two other things. ______and ______

20. If you have interest groups that are separated from each other, you may want to pull them all together to simplify things. We call this an ______organization.

21. One example of an umbrella organization is the AFL-CIO, which is a ______. When was membership the highest in these? What about now? Do any of you have family members who belong?

22. For such a small group of people, which interest group has the biggest influence? (Think it’s because they control the food supply and them going on strike would be bad?)

23. What commodity that farmers grew in 2012 was able to provide almost $3,000,000,000 in subsidies? (If you don’t know the word subsidy, you should look it up.) 24. Remember that question on your quiz about public goods (access to government housing vs. access to air transportation)? What term means the same thing? Can you think of an example of a public/collective good at this school? So how is what the Sierra Club works for considered a collective good?

25. Free Rider Problem (Not at all like Freedom Rider) – define it. Give an example of a situation where you or someone you know was a free rider.

26. Rational Choice Theory: It don’t make no sense for you to do something when you can get the same thing doing nothing. [LINKAGE: Hobbes Reading (Collective Action Problem) and Jonathan Haidt (Commons Dillemma scenario we did in class with the money.)]

27. Ralph Nader

a. Former ______

b. Also involved in ______interest groups

28. Religion

a. You are the pastor at a church back in the day. Why aren’t you involved in politics?

b. In the 1980 Election, Reagan needs ______to win. c. Later in the 80’s, it’s the ______that helps support pro family values.

d. Catholic Interest Group______

e. Jewish Interest Group______

f. Islamic Interest Group______

29. Foreign Policy

a. Who tends to make up the interest groups of foreign governments?

b. If you read that second and third paragraph, you understand how BP spending $8 million is a small price to pay for the oil spill, if they can get people to vote for smaller penalties… which probably would have cost them tens of millions more. (Spend $8 million now, save $300 million later.)

c. I’m a foreign national from with $15 million dollars from my home country to be used to promote trade relations… can I give it to a federal PAC? If not me, then who?

30. Interest Group Strategery

a. Who coined the term “Lobbyist”?

b. Check out that chart on the right and notice who spent the most money lobbying in 2013. Also take note of that last one; we call it “Big Pharma”.

c. You’re a lobbyist and you are going to lobby (Directly, not Indirectly). You’ve got about 4 options c.i. ______to ______

c.ii. See them walking through the hall and you corner them or ______

c.iii. I’m going to give you a ______(Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy…)

c.iv. Throw a ______

c.v. Walk ______.... and promptly get fired for not doing your job.

d. Who do you hire to work for your interest group?

d.i. This creates an “issue network”, where you used to be in Congress working on the law, then you became a lobbyist working on the law, but you know everyone who is still in Congress, so doors open for you that won’t open for other people.

e. Iron Triangle: Draw it, know it, love it. They stressed this to us at the AP conference.

f. Which Supreme Court Case allowed for more political funding from corporations and unions? How did the Court determine this was legal?

g. And sometimes, they get celebrities involved because it brings ______. 31. Ok, now you want to be involved indirectly… there’s a few options.

a. Public Outreach and Climate Control

b. Electioneering

c. Measuring a candidate’s popularity or legislative performance….. who supplies the stats, and who uses them?

32. Read the “Thinking Critically” box on 238. Should Super PACS enjoy unlimited free speech? What’s the difference between a PAC and a Super-PAC? When did Super-PACS become important?