Politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology.
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Mass Media
Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet, and other means of popular communication.
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Media Events
Events that are purposely staged for the media and that are significant just because the media is there.
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Press Conferences
Meetings of public officials with reporters.
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Investigative Journalism
The use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, at times putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders.
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Print Media
Newspapers and magazines, as compared with electronic media.
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Electronic Media
Television, radio, and the internet, as compared with print media.
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Narrowcasting
Media programming on cable TV or the internet that is focused on a particular interest and aimed at a particular audience, in contrast to broadcasting.
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Selective Exposure
The process through which people consciously choose to get the news from information sources that have the same viewpoints compared to their own.
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Chains
Groups of newspapers published by media conglomerates and today accounting for over 4/5 of the nation’s daily newspaper circulation.
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Beats
Specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress or the White House. Most top reporters work a particular beat, thereby becoming specialists in what goes on at that location.
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Trial Balloons
Intentional news leaks for the purpose of assessing the political reaction.
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Sound Bites
Short video clips of about 10 seconds. Typically, they are all that is shown from a politician's speech on the nightly television news.
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Talking Head
A shot of a person’s face talking directly to the camera. Because such shots are visually unstimulating, the major networks rarely show politicians talking for very long.
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Policy Agenda
The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.
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Policy Entrepreneurs
People who trust their political “capital” in an issue. According to John Kingdon, a policy entrepreneur “could be in or out of government, in elected or appointed positions, in interest groups, or research organizations.”
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Political Party
A team of men and women seeking to control the government apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.
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Linkage Institutions
The channels through which peoples political concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda. Includes elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.
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Rational Choice Theory
A popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians. It assumes individuals act in their own best interests.
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Party Image
The voters’ perception of what Republicans and Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism.
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Party Identification
A citizen’s self- proclaimed preference for one party over another.
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Ticket Splitting
Voting with one party for one office, and with another party for the other offices.
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Party Machines
A type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and govern.
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Patronage
One of the key inducements used by party machines. A blank job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.
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Closed Primaries
Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates. thus encouraging greater political loyalty.
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Open Primaries
Elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests.
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National Convention
The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform.
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National Committee
One of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. This is composed of representatives from the states and territories.
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National Chairperson
The person responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party.
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Coalition
A group of individuals with a common interest on which every political party depends.
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Party Eras
Historical periods in which a majority of votes cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections.
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Critical Election
An electoral “earthquake” in which new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party. These periods are sometimes marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to bring about a new party era.
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Party Realignment
The displacement of the majority by the minority party, usually during a critical election period.
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New Deal Coalition
A coalition forced by Democrats , who dominated American politics (1930-1960). Its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals.
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Party Dealignment
The gradual disengagement of people from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking paty identification.
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Third Parties
Electoral contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections.
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Winner Take All System
An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first and their constituencies.
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Proportional Representation
An electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.
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Coalition Government
When two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature. This from of government is quite common in the multi- party systems of Europe.
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Responsible Party Model
A view about how parties should work, held by some political scientists. According to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters and once in office, should carry out their campaign promises.
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Blue Dog Democrats
Fiscally conservative democrats who are mostly from the South and/or rural parts of the Unites States.
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Nomination
the official endorsement of the candidate for office by a political party. generally success in the nomination game requires momentum, money, and media attention
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campaign strategy
the master game plan candidates layout to guide their electoral campaign
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National party convention
the supreme power within each of the parties. the convention meets every four years to nominate the party's presidential and vice presidential candidates and to write the party's platform
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McGovern-Fraser Commission
A commission formed at the 1968 Democratic Convention in response to demands for reformed by minority groups and others who sought better representation
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Superdelegates
National Party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the national party convention
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Invisible primary
the period before any votes are cast when candidates compete to an early support from the elite of the party and to create a positive first impression of their leadership skills
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Caucus
assistant for selecting convention doll gets used in about a dozen states in which voters must attend an open meeting to express their presidential preference
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presidential primaries
elections in which a state voters go to the polls to express their preference for a party's nominee for president. most delegates to the National Party conventions are chosen this way
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front loading
the recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention.
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party platform
a political party statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. the platform is drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidate's strength. it is the best formal statement of a party's beliefs.
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Direct Mail
a method for raising money for a political cause or candidate, in which information and requests for many are sent to people whose homes appear on a list of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past.
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campaign contributions
donations that are made directly to a candidate or a party that must be reported to the FEC.
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independent expenditures
expenses on behalf of a political message that are made by groups that are uncoordinated with any candidates campaign.
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federal election campaign Act
a law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. the Act created the Federal Election Commission and provided for limits on and disclosure of campaign contributions.
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political action committees
groups that raise money for individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to candidates that the group supports. Pacs must require must register with the FEC and report their donations and contributions to it.
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federal election committees
a- six member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Commission and ministers and enforces campaign Finance laws.
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soft money
political contributions earmarked for party building expenses at the Grassroots level or for generic party advertising
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527 groups
independent political groups that are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly seek the election of particular candidates. section 527 of the tax code specifies that contributions to such groups must be reported to the Irs.
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501(c) groups
groups that are exempted from reporting their contributions and can receive unlimited contributions. section 501c of the tax code specifies that such groups cannot spend more than half their funds on political activities.
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super Pacs
independent exponential only pacs are known as super Pacs because they may accept donations of any size and can endorse candidates. their contributions and expenditures must be periodically reported to the FEC.
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selective perception
the phenomenon that people's benefits often guide what they pay the most attention to and how they interpret events.
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Suffrage
the legal right to vote in the United states, virtually all citizens over 18.
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political efficacy
the belief that one's political participation really matters, that one's about to make a difference.
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Civic duty
the believe that in order to support Democratic government, all citizens should vote.
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voter registration
a system adopted by the states that requires voters to register prior to voting. some states require citizens to register as much as 30 days in advance, or as others permit election day registration.
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Motor Voter Act
a 1993 act that requires States Department people to register to vote when they apply for driver's license.
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mandate theory of Elections
the idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics. politicians like the theory better than political scientists do.
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policy voting
electoral choices that are made on the basis of the voters policy preferences and where the candidates stand on policy issues.
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electoral college
a unique American institution created by the constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the state parties. Although the Electoral College vote usually reflects a popular majority, less populated states are overrepresented and the winner-take-all rule concentrates campaigns on close states.
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Battleground States
the key states that the presidential campaigns focused on because they are most likely to decide the outcome of the Electoral College vote.
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