Government 2305 Test Review #2 Vocabulary Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering public opinion, media, political parties, elections, and interest groups for Government 2305 Test Review #2.

Public Opinion

The collective views of citizens on politics and government actions.

Moderate

A person whose political ideology is not extreme and involves expressing views that fall between liberal and conservative.

Political Socialization

The process by which an individual's political opinions are shaped by other people and the surrounding culture, often starting with family.

Presidential Job Approval Trend

The general pattern where a president's job approval rating tends to decline after the first few months in office.

Mass Survey

A way to measure public opinion by interviewing a large sample of the population to capture the views of as many people as possible.

Focus Group

A small group of citizens who are gathered to provide in-depth feedback on specific political issues or candidates.

Push Poll

A type of survey that provides negative or biased information about an opponent under the guise of an objective poll to change the respondent's opinion.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The federal agency responsible for regulating broadcast media, such as radio and television.

FOX News Owner

The media conglomerate that owns FOX news, often identified as News Corp or Fox Corporation.

Journalist's Original Purpose

The historic role of journalists to act as watchdogs, providing citizens with information to hold elected officials accountable.

Going Off Record

A situation where an official provides information to a reporter that is not meant to be published or attributed to the source.

Leaking

The act of an official giving non-public or sensitive information to a news reporter.

First Amendment

The amendment of the Constitution that protects the press and reporters from government interference.

Spoils System

A practice where a political party, after winning an election, rewards its supporters with government jobs; an example is a presidential cabinet appointment given to a donor.

Republican Party Origin

The political party formed to replace the Whigs, which rose to power specifically over the issue of slavery.

Democratic Coalition

A key group of diverse individual interest groups that consistently support the Democratic party.

Factions

Individual groups or subgroups that exist within a larger political party.

Partisanship

A person's sense of loyalty to or identification with one specific political party.

Caucus and Conference

The collective group of Democrats in the House is called a Caucus, while the collective group of Republicans is known as a Conference.

Incumbent Accountability

The process by which voters hold current officeholders responsible for their performance through retrospective voting.

2022 vs. 2024 Elections

The $2022$ election served as a midterm election, while the $2024$ election is an example of a presidential election.

Oregon

The specific state that holds all of its elections entirely by mail.

Presidential Primary vs. Caucus

A primary is an election where voters cast ballots directly, whereas a caucus involves a series of local meetings where people discuss and then vote.

Iowa and New Hampshire

The two states that traditionally hold their caucus and primary first in the presidential election cycle.

Electoral Votes Calculation

A calculation based on a state's total members in Congress; for example, a state with $38$ members in the House has $40$ electoral votes because of its $2$ Senators ($38+2=40$).

Swing States

States where the population is closely divided politically and could be won by either candidate, making them vital to campaign strategy.

Negative Campaigning

A strategy used by campaigns to raise doubts about their opponent, often through opposition research.

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

The federal agency responsible for administering and enforcing election laws.

Average Voter Turnout

The percentage of registered voters who participate in a presidential election, typically averaging around $60\%$.

Pluralism

The theory that political power should be distributed among various competing interest groups.

Centralized Organization

An interest group structure where leadership and decision-making power are concentrated in a national headquarters.

Revolving Door

The movement of individuals from government positions (like Congress) into lobbying firms, used by firms to gain access to current lawmakers.

Selective Benefits

Private goods or services, such as travel discounts or insurance, provided only to members of an interest group to overcome the free rider problem.

Amicus Curiae Brief

A legal strategy where an interest group files a 'friend of the court' brief to influence a judicial decision.

Grassroots Lobbying

A strategy where interest group members personally engage with politicians through letter-writing campaigns or phone calls.

Astroturf Lobbying

A method of lobbying that is made to look like a spontaneous grassroots movement but is actually organized and funded by a central interest group.

Initiative

A process that allows an interest group to get a policy proposal placed directly on a general election ballot at the state level.