Glossary
Overview
Glossary
Glossary: Interest Groups and Lobbying in Texas
dark money: In the politics of the United States, dark money refers to political spending by nonprofit organizations—for example, 501(c)(4) (social welfare), 501(c)
(unions), and 501(c)(6) (trade association) groups—that are not required to disclose their donors
free rider problem: the incentive to benefit from others' work without making a contribution, which leads individuals in a collective action situation to refuse to work together
friendly incumbent rule: regarding interest groups, the informal practice of avoiding support for challengers to incumbent legislators – even when those challengers might be more in line with their group’s interests
grassroots lobbying: an approach that asks the general public to contact legislators and government oﬃcials concerning issues at hand, as opposed to conveying the message to the legislators directly.
interest group: an organization established to influence the government's programs and policies
lobbying: an attempt to influence policy by persuading a government policy-making oﬃcial
political action committee (PAC): In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation
References and Further Reading
Center for Responsive Politics (2015). "Political Nonprofits: Summary." Retrieved from opensecrets.org. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
Robert Maguire (2014, April). How 2014 Is Shaping Up to be the Darkest Money Election to Date. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
Licensing and Attribution
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
Interest Groups and Lobbying in Texas: Glossary. Authored by: Andrew Teas. License: CC BY: Attribution