Trang Ch. 8 Vocab

Political Party

An organization that seeks to achieve power by electing its member to public office.

Interest Group

Any organized group whose members share a common goal and try to promote their interests by influencing government policymaking and decision making.

Platform

A political party's statement of principles and objectives. The specific objectives or legislative proposals in a ________ are known as planks.

Two-Party System

A political system in which two parties dominate the electoral among various groups in a society.

Pluralism

The idea that political power should be distributed and shared among various groups in a society.

Political Action Committee (PAC)

An organization that raises and distributes funds to candidates running for office.

Lobbying

An organized effort to influence the policy process by persuading officials to favor or oppose action on a specific issue.

Public Policy

A plan or course of action initiated by government to achieve a stated goal.

Special Interests

A particular goal or set of goals that unites the members of a group.

Think Tanks

An organization of scholars and policy experts who study public issues and write articles and books that summarize their research.

Litigation

The bringing of lawsuits, to influence policy.

Grassroots Mobilization

Rallying strong and vocal support form a large group of people at the local level.

Public Agenda

Set of public priorities.

Farewell Address of 1796

George Washington warned against "the baneful effects of the spirit of party." He believed that parties would divide the American people and have a negative influence on government.

National Rifle Association (NRA)

Goal is protecting the rights of gun owners.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Citizen group claiming to promote the public interest and motivated by a particular ideology or set of issues.

National Education Association (NEA)

Public employee union.

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

Doesn't fall neatly into any particular category but may be large and highly influential.

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

An interest group for older Americans, provides information on federal health insurance benefits and prescription drug programs.

American Automobile Association (AAA)

Offers benefits in the form of emergency towing service and discounts on insurance and travel.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Attracts people who want to protect animal habitats.

American Disabilities Act

This law helped make public facilities more accessible to people with disabilities.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Took on a host of responsibilities, from intelligence gathering to border security; officials worked closely with state and local governments.

Size of the National Government

In general, Democrats support a strong federal government and look to it to solve a wide variety of problems. Most Republicans favor limiting the size of the national government and giving more power to the states to solve problems at a local level.

Taxes

Republicans favor broad-based tax cuts to encourage economic growth and to allow people to keep what they earn. Although Democrats favor tax cuts for the poor, they are more willing to raise taxes on affluent Americans in order to support programs that they see as beneficial to society.

Regulation of Business

Democrats generally support government ______________________ as a way to protect consumers, workers, or the environment.

Social Issues

Republicans tend to oppose legalizing same-sex marriage, abortion, and gun control laws. Democrats are more likely to support same-sex marriage rights, abortion, and gun control laws.

Environment

Most Democrats favor strict environmental regulations. Republicans tend to oppose such regulation because they believe it hurts businesses and the economy.

"Independent" Label

Many people who embrance the ___________________ still tend to learn towards one or the other major party at election time.

Precinct

A local voting district.