Political Science Flashcards

Flashcards created from lecture notes for political science terminology and concepts.

Bully Pulpit

The president's use of his or her prestige and visibility to push an agenda or enthuse the American public.

Veto

A formal decision to reject a bill passed by Congress.

White House Office

Led by the Chief of Staff, a staff of the president who oversees policy interests and do NOT need to be confirmed by the Senate.

EOP (Executive Office of the President)

The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities.

Platform

A statement of purpose and policy objectives drafted and approved by a political party at its national convention.

Electoral College

A group of representatives from each U.S. state who formally elect the President and Vice President.

Party Machine

A group of people who control a political party, often through loyalty and rewards.

State of the Union

The president's annual statement to Congress and the nation.

Divided Government

Governance divided between the parties, especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.

Conference Committee

A committee appointed by the leaders of each chamber (House/Senate) to settle differences on a particular bill passed by each house in different form.

Delegated Powers

Powers specifically granted to national government in the constitution.

Big Tent

A political party that seeks to attract people with a broad spectrum of viewpoints and place them under one banner.

Red tape

Complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done.

Turnout

The proportion of the voting age public that votes, the number of registered voters who vote.

Exit Poll

A poll taken at randomly selected polling places after citizens have placed their votes.

Appellate Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to review a decision made by a lower court.

Political Efficacy

An indication of a citizen's trust in government and own belief that he or she can understand and influence political affairs.

Litmus Test

An examination of the political ideology of a nominated judge.

Selective Incorporation

The process by which the Supreme Court has selectively applied the Bill of Rights to state law through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Majority Opinion

A signed statement that presents the views of the majority of Supreme Court justices regarding a case.

Political Culture

Set of basic values and beliefs about a country or government that is shared by most citizens and influences political opinions and behaviors.

Amicus Curiae Brief

A 'friend of the court' brief, filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by immediate parties to a case.

14th Amendment

An amendment that declared all citizens were entitled to equal protection under the law and due process rights could not be violated by states or the national government.

Political Socialization

The process by which people get their sense of political identity, beliefs, and values.

Rule of Law

A set of procedures in which all people are treated equally and consistently under the law.

Spin

Providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain issue or public figure.

Separation of Powers

A constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Federalist Papers

A series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in the late 1780s advocating for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Pluralism

Many different interest groups competing against each other to gain influence or concessions from the government.

Bicameralism

A two-house legislature.

Reserved Powers

All powers not specifically delegated to the national government by constitution that are left to the states.

Mandate

A directive from the national government ordering the states to do something; this can be funded or unfunded.

Marble Cake

A system in which states and the national government cooperate with each other by sharing powers and responsibilities.

Devolution

Transferring responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments.

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Referendum

A process by which a policy issue, amendment, or constitution is sent to the voters for approval.

Checks & Balances

A constitutional grant of powers that enables each of the three branches of government to check some acts of the others ensuring no branch can dominate.

Grassroots

From the bottom up, ideas work up from common citizens to the people in power.

Federalism

Division of power between national and state/local governments.

Power to persuade

A president's ability to convince Congress, other political actors, and the public to cooperate with the administration's agenda.

Block grants

Federal money given to states with few strings attached and only general guidelines for its use.

Judicial review

A principle that gives the courts the power to rule on the constitutionality of a law or action of local, state, or national government.

Elastic clause

A clause setting forth the implied powers of Congress stating that Congress has the legislative power 'to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers.'

Supremacy Clause

A constitutional doctrine that states whenever a conflict occurs between the actions of the national government and the states, the national government prevails.

Legitimacy

The governments generally accepted right to rule.

Connecticut Compromise

An agreement at the Constitutional Convention to form a bicameral legislature with lower house representation based on population and upper house representation based on equality.

Direct primary

An election where voters choose party nominees.

Executive order

A directive issued by the president that has the force of law.

Cleavages

Factors that separate groups.

Motor Voter Law

An act designed to reverse declining voter registration by allowing voters to register at motor vehicle departments.

Honeymoon

The period at the beginning of a new president's term during which the president enjoys generally positive relations with the press and Congress.

Realigning election

When the party that had not been in power wins by building a new coalition of voters that continues to win over successive elections.

Hard money

Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amount and fully disclosed.

Soft money

Unlimited and undisclosed amounts of money that political parties could raise for party-building purposes.

SuperPacs

A political organization that may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals but is not permitted to contribute to or coordinate directly with parties or candidates.

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.

501(c)4s

A 'social welfare' organization that may engage in political activities by collecting unlimited and undisclosed amounts of money.

Horse race

A contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and by how much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates.

Free rider

An individual who does not join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.

Lobbying

Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact.

Revolving door

A cycle in which individuals who work in government eventually end up working for interest groups with the same policy concerns.

Iron Triangle

A rigid policy making alliance between members of Congress, bureaucratic organizations, and interest groups that is mutually beneficial to all involved.

Litigation

When people go to court in order to get a positive ruling for their cause.

Issue Network

A relationship among interest groups and individuals that unite in order to promote a single issue in government policy.

Delegates

Pledged Delegates: Awarded based on the primary or caucus results. Unpledged Delegates: Also known as superdelegates, they can vote for any candidate they choose.

Incumbent

The current holder of elected office.

Gerrymandering

The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent.

Earmarks

Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.

Cloture

A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate.

Standing Committee

A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a broad policy area.

Logrolling

A legislator supports a proposal or policy favored by another in return for support of his or her own.

Closed rule

A procedure in the House of Representatives that sets a time limit for debate and prohibits a bill from being amended on the floor.

Franking privilege

The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their constituents free of charge.

Electoral Mandate

The perception that an election victory signals broad support for the winner's proposed policies.

Pyramid Structure

A clear chain of command that provides for an orderly flow of information but risks isolating or misinforming the president.

Circular Structure

When assistants routinely report directly to the president, giving him a great deal of information but runs the risk of confusion and conflict between agencies.

Lame duck period

A time when focus shifts away from a politician who is still in office after having lost a reelection bid or is nearing a term limit.

Entitlements

Benefits guaranteed by law to individuals who meet certain basic requirements.

Oversight

Congress' monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings.

Judicial restraint

A philosophy that states judges should strike down the actions of the elected branches only if they violate the Constitution.

Writ of Certiorari

An order by a court notifying a lower court that it will hear a case on appeal.

Stare decisis

An appellate court principle that means to let the lower court's decision stand.

Prior restraint

Censorship of news material before it is made public.

Due process clause

Part of the 5th and 14th Amendments that guarantees individuals various rights and legal protections from state and national government.

Exclusionary rule

The requirement that evidence unconstitutionally or illegally obtained be excluded from a criminal trial.

De facto segregation

Segregation that occurs as a result of factors like housing patterns rather than law.

Strict scrutiny

A test applied by a court to see if a law denies equal protection because it does not serve a compelling state interest and is not narrowly tailored.

Majoritarian politics

A setup in which political leaders feel constrained to follow the preferences of the majority.

Monetary policy

A government policy that attempts to regulate the economy by controlling the money supply and interest rates.

Fiscal policy

A government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.

Expressed powers

Constitutional powers that are specifically given to the different branches of the federal government.

Implied powers

Powers that are not specifically granted but can be interpreted from what is written in the Constitution.

Inherent powers

Powers of different branches that do not depend on the Constitution but rather grow out of the existence of the national government.

Polarization

When two opposing sides feel intensely about an issue that is difficult to compromise on.

Frontloading

The tendency of states to hold primaries early to become the focus of candidates and capitalize on media attention.

Merit system

A system for hiring based on qualifications and performance rather than connections, established by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.

Precedent

A legal principle established in previous court decisions used as a standard for deciding similar future cases.

Judicial activism

The philosophy that the Supreme Court should actively shape national policies by addressing social and political issues.

Senatorial Courtesy

The custom of the president submitting names of possible appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees reside.

Apportioning

Dividing up how many representatives each state gets, updated every 10 years after a census.