Govt. 2306 Texas Government
Chapter 6 Questions
1. What is the 8F Crowd?
2. What are the major characteristics of an interest group?
3. Which farmer’s interest group influenced the writing of the 1876 Texas Constitution?
4. In what kind of states or regions are interest groups often most powerful?
5. In what ways are interest groups helpful to politicians?
6. What benefits do interest groups have that individual citizens don’t have?
7. What is bundling?
8. What are the various kinds of interest groups? Describe each.
9. What interest groups have had notable political success by litigating in federal courts?
10. How do interest groups gain access to politicians and policy makers?
11. What are the major functions of lobbyists?
12. What is bribery?
13. What was the problem Speaker Sam Rayburn identified with the ‘steak men’ at the beginning of the
twentieth century?
14. Does Texas have strong or weak laws dealing with lobbying by former government officials?
15. What did “Bo” Pilgrim do in 1989?
16. Which former Texas Speaker of the House was indicted for taking an illegal gift from a law firm?
17. What are the top interest groups in Texas?
18. Which PACs spend the least amount of money in Texas elections?
19. What is a political action committee?
20. With what groups do Texas trial lawyers frequently ally?
21. What is issue advocacy?
22. What are the main reasons for forming a PAC?
23. To whom do most campaign contributions in Texas go?
24. What are the typical advantages of incumbents?
25. How much money are incumbents typically able to raise compared to their challengers?
26. What does it mean for an interest group to “get on the late train”?
27. What is the function of EMILY’s List?
28. In what situations are individuals most likely to successfully lobby government?