AP Gov Linkage Institutions: Interest Groups, Political Parties & Media copy

Linkage Institutions

the means by which individuals express preferences regarding the development of public policy

Interest Group

An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence public policy. (11)

Ideological Interest Group

Political organizations that attract members by appealing to their political convictions or principles. (11)

Public-Interest Lobby

A political organization whose goals will principally benefit nonmembers. (11)

Ralph Nader

an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government.

Special Interests

a group that tries to influence the people who run a government in order to help a particular business, cause, industry, etc

Social Movement

A widely shared demand for change in some aspect of the social or political order. (11)

Lobbyist

A person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of an interest group. (11)

Grassroots Lobbying

an approach that separates itself from direct lobbying through the act of asking the general public to contact legislators and government officials concerning the issue at hand, as opposed to conveying the message to the legislators directly.

Direct Mail

high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidates. It involves sending information and requests for money to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past.

Political Action Committee (PAC)

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations. (10, 11)

Revolving Door

Employment cycle in which individuals who work for government agencies regulating interests eventually end up working for interest groups or business with the same policy concern.

Nonprofit Organization

association or group operating outside of government that advocates and pursues policy objectives.

Political Party

A group that seeks to elect candidates to public office. (9)

Two-Party System

An electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections. (9)

Third Parties (Minor)

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

Reform Party (Ross Perot)

minor party founded in 1995 (R Perot) focuses on national gov reform, fiscal responsibility, political accountability

Federal Election Campaign Act '74

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

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

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

Buckley v. Valeo

1st Amendment protects campaign spending; legislatures can limit contributions, but not how much one spends of his own money on campaigns.

McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act (2002)

this federal law placed limitations on soft-money contributions by political committees and prohibited corporations and labor unions from advocating for or against a candidate via broadcast, cable or satellite prior to presidential primaries and the general election. Bans soft money & issue ads; must say "I approve this message;" bundlers

Soft Money

Funds obtained by political parties that are spent on party activities, such as get-out-the-vote drives, but not on behalf of a specific candidate. (10)

Hard Money

Funds, contributed directly to candidate campaigns, that are subject to government regulation.

Outside Money

a term that refers to money that is not a liability for anyone "inside" the economy. It is held in an economy in net positive amounts. Examples are gold or assets denominated in foreign currency or otherwise backed up by foreign debt, like foreign cash, stocks or bonds. Typically, the private economy is considered as the "inside", so government-issued money is also "outside money." [1]

Independent Expenditures

Spending by political action committees, corporations, or labor unions to help a party or candidate but done independently of them. (10)

527 Organizations

Organizations under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code that raise and spend money to advance political causes. (10)

Swift Boat Veterans (2004)

a political group (527 group) of United States Swift boat veterans and former prisoners of war of the Vietnam War, formed during the 2004 presidential election campaign for the purpose of opposing John Kerry's candidacy

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting political independent expenditures by corporations, associations, or labor unions.

Winner-Take-All

An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.

Incumbent

The person already holding an elective office. (10)

Challenger

A politician running for an office that he does not hold at the time of the election.

Coattails

The alleged tendency of candidates to win more votes in an election because of the presence at the top of the ticket of a better-known candidate, such as the president. (10)

Primary Election

An election held to choose candidates for office. (10)

Closed Primary

A primary election in which voters choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place. (10)

General Election

An election held to choose which candidate will hold office. (10)

Caucus

A meeting of party members to select delegates backing one or another primary candidate. An association of congressional members created to advance a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest. (9, 10, 13)

National Convention

A meeting of party delegates held every four years. (9)

Delegates

a person sent or authorized to represent others, in particular an elected representative sent to a conference.

Party Identification

the self-proclaimed preference for one or the other party.

Prospective Voting

Voting for a candidate because you favor his or her ideas for handling issues. (10)

Retrospective Voting

Voting for a candidate because you like his or her past actions in office. (10)

Critical Realigning Periods

A period when a major, lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties. (9)

Split-ticket Voting

Voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election. (9)

Party-Line Vote

Voting in Congress according to party position, so that a majority of one party votes against a majority of the other party.

Media

television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other means of popular communication.

Sound Bite

A radio or video clip of someone speaking. (12)

Adversial Press

The tendency of the national media to be suspicious of officials and eager to reveal unflattering stories about them. (12)

Leaks

the tactic used widely by White House officials of releasing information to the press on an anonymous basis when it serves the officials interests to have the information publicized. some of these are unauthorized and unwanted by the White House.

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

ormerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator

Sierra Club

one of the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organizations in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the Scottish conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

a nonpartisan non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country

Judicial Watch

a politically conservative government watchdog group.

Tea Party Patriots

an American political organization that promotes "fiscally responsible" activism as part of the Tea Party movement.

Moveon.org

an American non-profit, progressive or liberal public policy advocacy group and political action committee, which has raised millions of dollars for candidates it identifies as "progressives" in the United States.

Chamber of Commerce

a local association to promote and protect the interests of the business community in a particular place.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909.

National Rifle Association

a national organization founded in 1871 that promotes the legal use of guns and gun safety in the US and defends a US citizen's constitutional right to own and bear arms.

American Medical Association

the largest association of physicians—both MDs and DOs—and medical students in the United States.

horse race journalism

Election coverage by the mass media that focuses on which candidate is ahead rather than on national issues.

public monies

money from federal government used to match presidential campaigning