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| 6207775265 | Filibuster | A parliamentary procedure where debate over a proposed piece of legislation is extended, allowing one or more members to delay or entirely prevent a vote on the proposal. This is important because it enables all Senators representing all 50 states to participate in every piece of legislation and nomination. If the senate jettisons its tradition, it will likely cease to be a deliberative body, and the majority party will have free power to pass legislation and confirm nominees with little or no debate. | 0 | |
| 6208214134 | Cloture | The only procedure by which the senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. | 1 | |
| 6208283477 | Distributive Theory | The theory that holds that members will seek committee assignments to best serve their districts interests, the leadership will accommodate those requests, and the floor will respect the views of the committees and committees will support each other's legislation. This is significant and beneficial to the districts because that means that members tend to have an interest in and to support the policies produced by the committees that they serve on. | 2 | |
| 6208285135 | Informational Theory | The idea that having committees in congress made up of experts on specific policy areas helps to ensure well-informed policy decisions. This is significant because it reduces uncertainty about policy outcomes and achieve beneficial outcomes while using their time more efficiently. | 3 | |
| 6208285136 | Speaker of the House | The elected leader of the house of representatives. They are the head of the majority party and influence the legislative agenda, committee assignments, scheduling, and overall party scheduling, and overall party strategy. This significance is that they are the top party leader in the House and the only House leader mentioned in the constitution. | 4 | |
| 6208287434 | Majority/Minority Leader | Majority: The elected head of the party holding the majority of seats in the house or senate. Minority: The elected head of the party holding the minority of seats in the house or senate. The majority leader aids the speaker of house. This is significant because the majority leader is one of the national spokespersons for the party and also helps with the day-to-day operation of the legislative process. | 5 | |
| 6208287435 | Whip | An organization of house leaders who work to disseminate information and promote party unity in voting on legislation. Has three main functions: information dissemination, and coalition building. Whips are significant because if a vote looks close, whips try to persuade members to support the party's position | 6 | |
| 6208287436 | Polarization | refers to cases in which an individual's stance on a given issue, policy, or person is more likely to be strictly defined by their identification with a particular political party. This is significant because the parties continue to grow further apart and this makes it difficult for them to compromise to pass legislation. | 7 | |
| 6208293133 | Trustee | a member of congress who represents constituents' interests while also taking into account natural, collective, and moral concerns that sometimes cause the member to vote against the preference of a majority of constituents. This is significant because this is one model of substantive representation that is more concerned with being responsible rather than just pleasing majority | 8 | |
| 6208293134 | Delegate | A member of congress who loyally represents constituents' direct interests. This type of representation is more focused on being responsive rather than responsible. This is significant because unlike trustees, delegates don't look at other factors when deciding. They are just pleasing their voters which can be a problem if what the people want isn't necessarily good for them. | 9 | |
| 6208296593 | Descriptive Representation | When a member of congress shares the characteristics (race, religion, ethnicity) of his or her constituents. This is significant because constituents report higher levels of satisfaction with representatives who are of the same racial or ethnic background as the constituents themselves. | 10 | |
| 6208296594 | Substantive Representation | When a member of congress represents constituents' interests and policy concerns. The two types of representation within substantive representations are trustees and delegates. This is significant because a representative shares some character with you does not necessarily mean that he or she will represent your interests. So substantive representation moves beyond appearances to specify how the member serves constituents' interests. | 11 | |
| 6208299641 | Advertising | Making appeals or appearances without content. Advertising is important in the process of relection because you want to get your name out there. | 12 | |
| 6208299642 | Credit-Claiming (significance?) | Taking credit for something of value to constituents or interest groups; the more specific and smaller-sized, the more effective. | 13 | |
| 6208302305 | Position-taking | Any public statement about a topic of interest to constituents or interest groups. This is significant because position taking can be a very risky deal. Depending on what side you take on an idea you can either gain a bunch of support, lose a bunch or both. | 14 | |
| 6208302306 | Redistricting | Redrawing the geographic boundaries of legislative districts. This happens every 10 years to ensure that districts remain roughly equal in population. This is significant because it ensures that the districts are roughly equal in population, which in turn ensures that every vote counts equally in determining the composition of the legislature. | 15 | |
| 6208302307 | Gerrymandering (significance) | Attempting to use the process of redrawing district boundaries to benefit a political party, protect incumbents, or change the proportion of minority voters in a district. | 16 | |
| 6208304056 | Incumbency Advantage | The relative infrequency with which members of Congress are defeated in their attempts for reelection. This is significance because if a member is elected with less than 55 percent of the vote, it determines if someone shall hold a marginal seat. | 17 | |
| 6208306015 | Homestyle Politics | 18 | ||
| 6208308818 | Vesting Clause | Article II, Section 1, of the constitution which states "Executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America," making the president both the head of government and the head of state. The significance is that the Presidents and their supporters argue for an expansive meaning; their opponents counter that at the clause is so vague as to be meaningless. These debates are in important clue that a president's power is only partially due to the specific constitutional grants of power-some of it comes from how each president interprets less concrete statements. | 19 | |
| 6208308819 | Executive Clause | 20 | ||
| 6208313062 | Executive Agreement | 21 | ||
| 6208313063 | Executive Privilege | The right of the president to keep executive branch conversations and correspondence confidential from the legislative and judicial branch. This power is not formally set out in the Constitution, all presidents have claimed to hold these powers. This is significant because it refers to the ability to shield themselves and their subordinates from revealing White House discussions, decisions, or documents to members of the legislative or judicial branches of government. | 22 | |
| 6208314628 | Energy and Dispatch | 23 | ||
| 6208314629 | Power or Persuation | 24 | ||
| 6208317080 | Presidential Approval Rating | 25 | ||
| 6208317081 | Cabinet | 26 | ||
| 6208317082 | Executive Office of the President | 27 | ||
| 6208319113 | Go Public | 28 | ||
| 6208319114 | Power without Persuation | 29 | ||
| 6208323756 | Judiciary Act of 1789 | 30 | ||
| 6208323757 | Judical Review | 31 | ||
| 6208326145 | Marbury vs. Madison | 32 | ||
| 6208326146 | Original Jurisdiction | 33 | ||
| 6208328669 | Appellate Jurisdiction | 34 | ||
| 6208328670 | Originalism | 35 | ||
| 6208330908 | Strict Construction | 36 | ||
| 6208330909 | Living Constitution | 37 | ||
| 6208334617 | Attitudinal Model | 38 | ||
| 6208334618 | Separation of Powers Model | 39 | ||
| 6208336606 | Strategic Model | 40 | ||
| 6208346487 | Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Restraint | 41 | ||
| 6208346488 | Legislating from the Bench | 42 | ||
| 6208352205 | Regulatory Capture | 43 | ||
| 6208352206 | Police Patrol Oversight | 44 | ||
| 6208354049 | Fire Alarm Oversight | 45 | ||
| 6208354050 | Bureaucratic Drift | 46 | ||
| 6208356873 | Three Levels of Bureaucracy | 47 | ||
| 6208356874 | Principal-agent Problem | 48 | ||
| 6208359084 | Information Asymmetry | 49 | ||
| 6208359085 | Goal Conflict | 50 |
