Studied by 9 people
Seniority rule
A legislative practice that assigns the chair of the committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee
Manifest opinion
A widely shared and consciously held view, like support for homeland security
Senatorial courtesy
Presidential custom of submitting the names of perspective appointees forapproval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.
Cabinet
Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president.
Cloture
A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate.
Speaker
The presiding officer in the House of Representatives, formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party.
Horse race
A close contest; by extension, any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and by how much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates.
Earmarks
Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents
Caucus
A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.
Ralph Nader
________ ran as the Green partys nominee in 2000.
Safe seat
Elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of the partys candidate is almost taken for granted.
Crossover
________ voting- Voting by member of one party for a candidate of another party.
Coattail
________ effect- The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot, especially the president.
Honeymoon
________- Period at the beginning of the new presidents term during which the president enjoys generally positive relations with the press and Congress, usually lasting about six months.
Winner takes all system
An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.
Laissez
Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property
Oversight
Legislative or executive review of a particular government program or organization
Federal Administrative System Bureaucracy
A form of organization that operates through impersonal, uniform rules and procedures
Whip
Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank- and- file in the legislature.
Reapportionment
The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census.
Defendant
In a criminal action, the person or party accused of an offense
Uncontrollable spending
The portion of the Federal budget that is spent on programs, such as Social Security, that the president and Congress are unwilling to cut
Impoundment
A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by Congress, now prohibited under Federal law
Central clearance
Review of all executive branch testimony, reports, and draft legislation by the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that each communication to Congress is in accordance with the presidents program
Filibuster
A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue
Implementation
The process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic rules or spending
Veto
A formal decision to reject the bill passed by Congress
Turnout
The proportion of the voting age public that votes, sometimes defined as the number of registered voters that vote
Administrative discretion
Authority given by Congress to the Federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws
Trustee
An official who is expected to vote independently based on his or her judgment of the circumstances; one interpretation of the role of the legislator.
Name recognition
________- Incumbents have an advantage over challengers in election campaigns because voters are more familiar with them, and incumbents are more recognizable.
Rider
A provision attached to a bill- to which it may or may not be related- in order to secure its passage or defeat.
Office of Personnel Management
Agency that administers civil service laws, rules, and regulations.
Patronage
The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.
Constituents
The residents of a congressional district or state.
Department
Usually the largest organization in government with the largest mission; also the highest rank in Federal hierarchy.
Bureaucrat
A career government employee.
Public opinion
The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population.
Regulations
The formal instructions that government issues for implementing laws.
Executive Agreement
A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval.
State of the Union Address
The presidents annual statement to Congress and the nation.
President Pro Tempore
Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice ________.
Dealignment
Weakening of partisan preferences that points to a rejection of both major parties and a rise in the number of independents.
Mandate
A presidents claim of broad public support.
Libertarians
________ call for a free market system, expanded individual liberties such as drug legalization, and a foreign policy of nonintervention, free trade, and open immigration.
Delegate
________- An official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of legislator.
Line Item Veto
to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Senior Executive Service
Established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible, mobile corps of senior career executives who worked closely with presidential appointees to manage government.
Political party
An organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and philosophy become public policy
Nonpartisan election
A local or judicial election in which candidates are not selected or endorsed by political parties and party affiliation is not listed on ballots
Patronage
The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party
Hard money
Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amounts and fully disclosed
Honeymoon
Period at the beginning of the new presidents term during which the president enjoys generally positive relations with the press and Congress, usually lasting about six months
Caucus
A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform
Party convention
A meeting of party delegates to vote on matters of policy and in some cases to select party candidates for public office
Direct primary
Election in which voters choose party nominees
Open primary
Primary election in which any voter, regardless of party, may vote
Crossover voting
Voting by member of one party for a candidate of another party
Closed primary
Primary election in which only persons registered in the party holding the primary may vote
Proportional representation
An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote
Winner-take-all system
Election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins
Minor party
A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or, if composed of ideologies on the right or left, usually persists over time; also called a third party
Libertarian party
A minor party that believes in extremely limited government
Green party
A minor party dedicated to the environment, social justice, nonviolence, and the foreign policy of nonintervention
Reform party
A minor party founded by Ross Perot in 1995
Realigning election
An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point, redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties
Laissez-faire economics
Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property
Keynesian economics
Theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes, stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and the curve during booms
Divided government
Governance divided between the parties, as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress
National party convention
A national meeting of delegates elected in primaries, caucuses, or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president, ratify the party platform, elect officers, and adopt rules
Party registration
The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote
Party identification
An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood
Dealignment
Weakening of partisan preferences that points to a rejection of both major parties and a rise in the number of independents
Public opinion
The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population
Random sample
In this type of sample, every individual has unknown and random chance of being selected
Manifest opinion
A widely shared and consciously held view, like support for homeland security
Attentive public
Those citizens who follow public affairs carefully
Voter registration
System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents
Australian ballot
A secret ballot printed by the state
General election
Elections in which voters elect officeholders
Primary election
Elections in which voters determine party nominees
Presidential election
Elections held in years when the president is on the ballot
Midterm election
Elections held midway between presidential elections
Turnout
The proportion of the voting age public that votes, sometimes defined as the number of registered voters that vote
Party identification
An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood
Candidate appeal
How voters feel about a candidates background, personality, leadership ability, and other personal qualities
Prospective issue voting
Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected
Retrospective issue of voting
Holding incumbents, usually the presidents party, responsible for their records on issues, such as the economy or foreign policy
Winner-take-all system
An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins
Single-member district
An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official
Proportional representation
Election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote
Electoral college
Electoral system used in electing the president and vice president, in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for particular partys candidates
Safe seat
Elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of the partys candidate is almost taken for granted
Coattail effect
The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot, especially the president
Candidate appeal
The tendency in elections to focus on the personal attributes of a candidate, such as his/her strengths, weaknesses, background, experience, and visibility
National tide
The inclination to focus on national issues, rather than local issues, in an election campaign
Name recognition
Incumbents have an advantage over challengers in election campaigns because voters are more familiar with them, and incumbents are more recognizable
Interested money
Financial contributions by individuals or groups in the hope of influencing the outcome of the election and subsequently influencing policy
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
A commission created by the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act to administer election reform laws
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)
Largely banned party soft money, restored a long-standing prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes, and narrowed the definition of issue advocacy
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