Unit III - AP Gov. (Vocabulary)

Political parties

groups that help elect people and shape policies

Two-party system

An electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections.

Divided government

one party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress

Gridlock

the inability of the government to act because rival parties control different parts of the government

Straight ticket voting

practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election

Split-ticket voting

voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election

Platform (in a political sense)

A political party platform or program is a formal set of principal goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order to appeal to the general public, for the ultimate purpose of garnering the general public's support and votes about complicated topics or issues.

Grassroots lobbying

indirect lobbying efforts that spring from widespread public concern

Interest groups

Groups of people who work together for similar interests or goals

Lobbyist

persuader of legislators

Political Action Committees (PACs)

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations

Super PACs

political action committees established to make independent expenditures

Unions

An association of workers, formed to bargain for better working conditions and higher wages.

Caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

Federal Election Commission

A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. The federal Election Commission administers and enforces campaign finance laws.

General election

An election held to choose which candidate will hold office

Gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Incumbency

holding the political office for which one is running

Primary election

an election held to choose candidates for office

Soft money

Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.

Hard money

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

Party realignment

The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period.

Party coalitions

The groups that identify with a political party, usually described in demographic terms such as African American Democrats or evangelical Republicans.

Jacksonian Democrats

Andrew Jackson's Democratic party generally championed the principles of equal opportunity, absolute political freedom (for white males), glorification of the "common man," and limited government.

Minor party

One of the political parties not widely supported

Whigs

conservatives and popular with pro-Bank people and plantation owners. They mainly came from the National Republican Party, which was once largely Federalists. They took their name from the British political party that had opposed King George during the American Revolution. Their policies included support of industry, protective tariffs, and Clay's American System. They were generally upper class in origin. Included Clay and Webster

Winner-take-all-system

an election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins

Federal Communications Commission

an independent regulatory commission charged with licensing stations, Government agency that regulates the communications industry

Muckrakers

Journalists who attempted to find corruption or wrongdoing in industries and expose it to the public

Yellow journalism

Journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers

527 groups

Independent groups that seek to influence the political process but are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly advocate the election of a particular candidate.

National convention

The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform.

Single-issue parties

Parties that concentrate on only one public policy matter

Closed primary

A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote

Open primary

A primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place

Blanket primary

a primary election in which each voter may vote for candidates from both parties

Super-delegates

party leaders and elected officials who become delegates to the national convention without having to run in primaries or caucuses

Super Tuesday

A Tuesday in early March in which many presidential primaries, particularly in the South, are held.

Electoral college

A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president

Dealignment

Weakening of partisan preferences that points to a rejection of both major parties and a rise in the number of independents.

Realignment

A process in which a substantial group of voters switches party allegiance, producing a long-term change in the political landscape.

Maintaining elections

Traditional majority power maintains power based on voters' party loyalty

Deviating elections

Elections in which the majority party (according to party identification) is defeated in a temporary reversal.

Critical elections

An electoral "earthquake" where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party. Such periods are sometimes marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to bring about a new party era.

Iron Triangle

A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group

Free riders

people who benefit from the group but give little in return

attack journalism

A type of increasingly popular media coverage focused on political scandals and controversies, which causes a negative public opinion of political figures.

Insider stories

media stories about events that are not usually made public

Investigative journalism

the use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, at times putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders

press secretary

the individual charged with interacting and communicating with journalists on a daily basis

sensationalism

the use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement.

Gatekeeper (in relationship to media)

The media can influence what subjects become national political issues and for how long.

Watchdog (in relationship to media)

The role played by the national media in investigating political personalities and exposing scandals.

Selective exposure

The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases.

Chains (in relationship to media)

Groups of newspapers published by media conglomerates and today accounting for over four-fifths of the nation's daily newspaper circulation.

Leaks (in relationship to media)

confidential information secretly revealed to the press

Policy agenda

The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.

Linkage institutions

The channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

Patronage

Granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support

Third parties

electoral contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections.

Proportional representation

An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.

Campaign contributions

donations that are made directly to a candidate or a party and that must be reported to the FEC

Independent expenditures

Expenses on behalf of a political message that are made by groups that are uncoordinated with any candidate's campaign.

Federal Elections Campaign Act

passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances; created Federal Election Commission, provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections; limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions.

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission

said that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment; said corporations are individuals

Selective perception

The phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions.

Battleground States

The key states that the presidential campaigns focus on because they are most likely to decide the outcome of the Electoral College vote.