AP Gov midterm Vocab test

Enumerated Powers

The powers of the national governments specifically granted to CONGRESS in article 1 section 8.

Implied Powers

The powers of the national government derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Section of Article 4 of the constitution that ensures judicial decisions and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state.

Supremacy Clause

Section 6 of the Constitution mandating that national law is supreme to state law or any other subnational government.

Reserved Powers

Powers reserved to the STATES by the 10th amendment.

Concurrent Powers

Powers shared by the national and state governments.

Bill of Attainder

A legislative act that declares a person or group guilty of a crime without a judicial trial, thereby depriving them of their legal rights and protections. Bills of attainder are prohibited by the U.S. Constitution as they undermine the principle of separation of powers and the right to a fair trial.

Ex Post Facto Law

Law that makes an act punishable as a crime even if it was legal at the time it was committed.

Categorical Grants

grants that appropriate federal funds for SPECIFIC purposes.

Block grants

Grants that appropriate federal funds for BROAD purposes.

Political Socialization

The process through which individuals acquire their political beliefs and electoral power.

Party Realignment

Dramatic shifts in partisan preference that lead to a significant change in the political landscape. This may occur due to major social changes, economic crises, or notable political events that alter the electorate's loyalty to different political parties, often resulting in the emergence of new parties or the transformation of existing ones.

Superdelegate

unpledged delegates in the Democratic Party who are not bound by the results of primary elections and caucuses. These Democratic National Committee (DNC) members—including elected officials and party leaders—can support any candidate they choose at the party's national convention, playing a significant role in the nomination process. Superdelegates are intended to provide experienced party insiders a voice in the selection of a nominee, but their presence has prompted criticism and debate regarding party democracy and the influence of establishment figures on the electoral process.

Think Tank

institutional collection of policy-oriented researchers who are the sources of policy ideas.

Straw Poll

unscientific survey used to gauge public opinion in a variety of issues and policies.

Push polls

type of survey that ostensibly aims to gather opinions on political candidates or issues, but are primarily used as a tool for negative campaigning. Unlike traditional polls, which seek to accurately measure public opinion, push polls are designed to influence respondents by presenting biased information or leading questions to implant negative perceptions about a candidate or policy. For instance, a push poll might phrase a question in a way that highlights a candidate's weaknesses or falsely attributes unfavorable characteristics to them, thereby swaying public opinion. The results of push polls are often misrepresented as legitimate public sentiment, even though their primary purpose is to serve the interests of a particular political agenda or campaign. These polls can be controversial as they blur the lines between legitimate polling and deceptive political tactics.

Random Sampling

a technique where individuals are selected from a population at random, ensuring each member has an equal chance of selection. This method reduces bias and allows for accurate representation of the population in research.

Stratified Sampling

A sampling technique that divides a population into subgroups (strata) based on shared characteristics, ensuring each subgroup is represented in the sample.

Political Action Committee

Officially recognized fundraising organization that represents interest groups and are allowed by federal law to make contributions to candidates campaigns directly.

Super PAC

an independent expenditure-only committee that can raise unlimited funds to spend on political campaigns, but cannot contribute directly to candidates.

Soft Money

Unregulated contributions to political parties for party-building activities, which are not subject to the same strict limits as 'hard money' contributions directly to candidates. Soft money can be used for activities such as grassroots campaigning or voter registration drives. The use of soft money became more controversial in the 1990s, leading to significant reforms and regulations with the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold Act), which aimed to eliminate the influence of soft money in federal elections by banning its use for national party committees.

527s

These are non profit organizations created with the main focus of influencing electoral outcomes. They are free standing interest groups that are subject to less regulations and cannot call for the election of a specific person. Grandma on the cliff add.

independent expenditures

spending for campaigns that are not coordinated with a candidates campaign. they specifically call for the election of a specific candidate.

Public funds

donations from general tax revenue to the campaign of qualifying presidential candidates.

Reapportionment

The reallocation of the number of seats in the House of Reps after each census.

Pluralist Theory

The theory that political power is distributed among a wide and diverse array of competing interest groups.

Disturbance Theory

The theory that interest groups form as a result of changes in the political system.

Transactions theory

The theory that public policies are the results of narrowly defined exchanges of transactions among political actors.

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

lobbying reform act banning gifts to members of congress and staff, toughening disclosure requirements and increasing time limits on moving from the federal government to the private sector.

Issue network

the interweaving relationship between interest groups congress and the bureaucracy in the creation of public policy.

Iron triangle

term which comprises the policy-making relationship among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy, and interest groups

on the record

info provided to a journalist hat can be released and attributed to a NAMED source.

off the record

info provided to a journalist that will completely not be released to the public.

On background

info provided to a journalist that will not be attribute to a named source but kept anonymous.

deep background

info provided to a journalist that will not be attributed to any source at all.