Terms : Hide Images
| 291728395 | government | institutions that make authoritative decisions for any society | |
| 291728396 | political participation | the ways in which people get involved in politics | |
| 291728397 | single-issue politics | groups so concerned with one issue that members vote on the basis of that issue only | |
| 291728398 | policy making system | the process by which political problems are communicated by the voters and acted upon by gov policy makers | |
| 291728399 | linkage institutions | the political channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the policy agenda | |
| 291728400 | policy agenda | issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given point in time | |
| 291728401 | political issue | an issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it | |
| 291728402 | public policy | a choice that the gov makes in response to a political issue | |
| 291728403 | policy making institutions | the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues | |
| 291728404 | democracy | a system of selecting policy makers and of organizing gov so that policy represents and responds to the public's preferences | |
| 291728405 | politics | the process by which we select our gov leaders and what policies these leaders pursue | |
| 291728406 | majority rule | a fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory | |
| 291728407 | minority rights | a principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to majorities and allows that they might join majorities through persuasion and reasoned argument | |
| 291728408 | pluralist theory | a theory of gov and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competitions among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies | |
| 291728409 | elite ad class theory | a theory of gov and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines that an upper class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization | |
| 291728410 | hyper pluralism | a theory of gov and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened | |
| 291728411 | policy gridlock | a condition that occurs when no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy - nothing may get done | |
| 291728412 | political culture | an overall set of values widely shared within a society | |
| 291728413 | consent of the governed | john locke - the required basis for gov, declaration of independence gives gov their authority | |
| 291728414 | bill of rights | first 10 amendments of the us constitution; defines basic liberties | |
| 291728415 | limited government | the idea that certain things are out of bounds for gov because of the natural rights for citizens | |
| 291728416 | writ of habeus corpus | a court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner custody | |
| 291728417 | judicial review | the power of courts to determine whether acts of congress, and by implication the executive are in accord with the us constitution | |
| 291728418 | federalism | a way of organizing a nation so that 2 levels of gov have formal authority over the same land and people | |
| 291728419 | separation of powers | an important part of the madisonian model that requires each of the 3 branches of gov to be relatively independent of each other so that one cannot control the others; power is shared | |
| 291728420 | checks and balances | (madisonian model) designed to limit gov's power by requiring power be balanced among the different governmental institutions; power vs. power | |
| 291728421 | enumerated powers | powers of the federal gov that are specifically addressed in the constitution | |
| 291728422 | elastic or necessary and proper clause | (article 1, section 8) authorizes congress to pass all laws necessary and proper to carry out the enumerated powers | |
| 291728423 | implied powers | powers of the federal gov that go beyond those enumerated in the constitution | |
| 291728424 | full faith and credit clause | (article 4, section 1) requires each state to recognize the official documents and civil judgements rendered by the courts of other states | |
| 291728425 | privileges and immunities clause | (article 4, section 2) according citizens of each state most of the privileges of the citizens of other states | |
| 291728426 | federalist papers | a collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Ham , John Jay and JM under the name Plubius to defend the constitution in detail - framer's interests | |
| 291728427 | anti-federalists | opponents of the American constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption - argued it was a class based document, erode fundamental liberties, and weaken the power of the states | |
| 291728428 | connecticut compromise | the compromise reached at the constitutional convention that established 2 houses of congress - HoR and Senate | |
| 291728429 | inherent power | an authority possessed without its being derived from another - rights you have not given to you by anyone else | |
| 291728430 | faction | interest group arising from the unequal distribution of property or wealth | |
| 291728431 | commerce clause | gives congress exclusive power over trade activities among the states and with foreign countries and indian tribes | |
| 291728432 | supremacy clause | establishes the us constitution, us treaties, and federal statutes - supreme law of the land | |
| 291728433 | reserved powers | those given to the states and not the federal go by the constitution | |
| 291868134 | three-fifths compromise | the compromise that established that slaves would be counted as 3/5 of a citizen when counting state populations | |
| 291868135 | bicameral | divided into 2 - the us has a two house legislature named congress | |
| 291868136 | concurrent powers | powers shared by the federal and state gov | |
| 291868137 | ex post facto law | (retroactive law) a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law | |
| 291868138 | public opinion | the distribution of the populations beliefs about politics and policy issues | |
| 291868139 | demography | the science of population changes | |
| 291868140 | census | an actual enumeration of the population - constitution requires it every 10 years | |
| 291868141 | minority majority | the situation when whites will be outnumbered by minorities - likely in mid 21st century | |
| 291868142 | reapportionment | the process of reallocating seats in the HoR every 10 years by results of the census | |
| 291868143 | political socializatio | the process through which individuals in a society aquire political attitudes views and knowledge based on inputs from family schools the media and others | |
| 291868144 | sample | in a survey asmall group of people taken to represent the whole population | |
| 291868145 | random sampling | technique employed by survey researchers - everyone has an equal probability of being surveyed | |
| 291868146 | sampling error | level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll - more people, more confidence | |
| 291868147 | random digit-dialing | place telephone calls randomly to listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey | |
| 291868148 | exit poll | public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision | |
| 291868149 | political ideology | a coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy and public purpose - helps give meaning to political events | |
| 291868150 | gender gap | regular pattern in which women are more likely to support democratic candidates in part because they tend to be less conservative than men and more likely to to support spending on social services and to oppose spending on military | |
| 291868151 | political participation | all activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or policies they pursue - ex. voting | |
| 291868152 | civil disobedience | a form of political participation based on conscious decision to break the law believed to be unjust and to suffer the consequences | |
| 291868153 | party competition | battle of parties for control of public offices | |
| 291868154 | political party | a team of men and women seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in an election | |
| 291868155 | rational-choice theory | a political theory to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians - individuals act in their own best interest | |
| 291868156 | party image | voter's perception of what the republicans or democrats stand for - conservatism or liberalism | |
| 291868158 | party identification | a citizen's self proclaimed preference for one party or the other | |
| 291868160 | ticket splitting | voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices | |
| 291868163 | party machines | a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements - patronage - to win votes and to govern | |
| 291868165 | patronage | used by political machines to get votes - job or contract or favor given for political reasons | |
| 291868167 | closed primaries | elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote - encourages party loyalty | |
| 291868169 | open primaries | elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on election day which party to vote with | |
| 291868171 | national convention | the meeting of party delegates every 4 years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform | |
| 291868174 | national committee | one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions - composed of representatives from the states and territories | |
| 291868175 | national chairperson | the person responsible for the day to day activities of the party and is usually hand picked by the presidential nominee | |
| 291868176 | coalition | a group of individuals with a common interest on which every political party depends | |
| 291868177 | party eras | historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power which tends to win a majority of the elections | |
| 291868178 | critical election | an electoral 'earthquake' where new issues emerge , new coalitions replace old ones and the majority is often replaced by the minority party - sometimes marked by a national crisis | |
| 291868179 | party realignment | majority party is displaced by the minority party | |
| 291868180 | new deal coalition | a coalition forged by the democrats - urban working class, ethnic groups, catholics, jews, the poor, southerners, AA and intellectuals | |
| 291868181 | party dealignment | gradual disengagement of people from the parties as seen in part by shrinking party identification | |
| 291868182 | third parties | electoral contenders other than the 2 major parties - rarely win elections | |
| 291868183 | winner-take-all system | an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies | |
| 291868184 | proportional representation | an electoral system used throughout most of europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportions to a number of votes won in an election | |
| 291868185 | coalition government | when 2 or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature - common in multiparty systems in europe | |
| 291868186 | responsible party model | view that parties should offer clear choices to the voters who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates - once in office parties would carry out their campaign promises | |
| 291868187 | blue dog democrats | fiscally conservative democrats who are mostly from the south and/or rural parts of the us | |
| 291868188 | incumbents | those already holding office | |
| 291868189 | casework | activities of members on congress that help constituents and individuals particularly by cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have the right to get | |
| 291868190 | pork barrel | federal projects grants and contracts available to state and local governments businesses and colleges and other institutions in a congressional district | |
| 291868191 | house rules committee | the committee in the HoR that reviews most bills coming from a house committee before they go to the full house | |
| 291868192 | filibuster | strategy unique to the senate - opponents of a piece of legislature use their right to unlimited debate to prevent the senate from ever voting on a bill | |
| 291868193 | speaker of the house | office mandated by the constitution - chosen by the majority party, and second in line to succeed the presidency, has both formal and informal powers | |
| 291868194 | majority leader | principal partisan ally of the speaker of the house or the part's manager in the senate | |
| 291868195 | whips | party leaders who work with the majority leader or minority leader to count votes before hand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the party | |
| 291868196 | minority leader | the principal leader of the minority party in the HoR or the senate | |
| 291868197 | standing committees | separate subject-matter committees in each house of congress that handle bills in different policy eras | |
| 291868198 | joint committees | congressional committees on a few subject matter areas with membership drawn from both houses | |
| 291868199 | conference committees | congressional committees formed when the senate and the HoR pass a particular bill in different forms party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill | |
| 291868200 | select committees | congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose - like the watergate | |
| 291868201 | legislative oversight | congress' monitoring of the bureaucracy and is administration of policy - performed mainly by hearings | |
| 291868202 | committee chairs | most important influences of the congressional agenda - schedule hearings, hire staff, appoint subcommittees, manage bills | |
| 291868203 | seniority system | simple rule for for picking committee chairs in effect until 1970 - member who , A simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until the 1970s. The member who had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled Congress became chair, regardless of party loyalty, mental state, or competence. | |
| 291868204 | caucus | meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention - organized in pyramid | |
| 291868205 | bill | a proposed law | |
| 291868206 | soft money | contributions to a national party committee donated by groups or individuals - could spend unlimited money | |
| 291868207 | political action committees | PACs - a group of individuals who join together to promote political on a certain topic or issue | |
| 291868208 | hard money | limits on contributions by individuals to candidates are raised to $2400 and the same with congressional candidates | |
| 291868209 | selective perception | the idea that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them to fit their own dispositions | |
| 291868210 | nomination | the official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party. generally success is determined by money and media attention | |
| 291868211 | campaign strategy | the mater game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign | |
| 291868212 | presidential primaries | elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidates or delegates pledged to him or her - most delegates to the NPC are chosen this way | |
| 291868213 | McGovern-Fraser commission | a commission formed at the 1968 democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation | |
| 291868214 | super delegates | national party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the democratic national party convention | |
| 291868215 | front loading | the tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention | |
| 291868216 | national primary | a proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries which would replace these electoral methods with a nationwide primary held early in the election year | |
| 291868217 | regional primaries | a proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries to replace these electoral methods with a series of primaries held in each geographic region | |
| 291868218 | party platform | a pp's statement of its goals and policies for the next 4 years | |
| 291868219 | direct mail | sending info and requests of money to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past - raising money for political cause or candidate | |
| 291868220 | federal election campaign act | FECA 1974. created the FEC provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, attempted to limit contribution | |
| 291868221 | federal election commission | administers and enforces campaign finance laws | |
| 291868222 | presidential election campaign fund | Money from the $3 federal income tax check-off goes into this fund, which is then distributed to qualified candidates to subsidize their presidential campaigns. | |
| 291868223 | matching funds | contributions of up to $1250 are matched from the FECF to candidates for the presidential nomination who qualify and agree to various conditions, such as limiting overall spending | |
| 291868224 | 501 groups | Nonprofit, tax-exempt interest groups that can engage in varying levels of political activity; not subject to FED disclosure rules. Cannot engage in any political activity except voter registration. | |
| 291868225 | 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. | |
| 291868226 | legitimacy | elections are usually accepted as a fair and free method - when legitimacy is high the losers accept defeat | |
| 291868227 | referendum | a state level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment | |
| 291868228 | initiative | a process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote is sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions calling for such a referendum | |
| 291868229 | suffrage | the legal right to vote | |
| 291868230 | political efficacy | the belief that one's vote really matters - that one vote can make a difference | |
| 291868231 | civic duty | the belief that in order to support democratic gov a citizen should always vote | |
| 291868232 | voter registration | a system that requires voters to register well in advance of election day - some states allow election day registration | |
| 291868233 | motor voter act | 1993. states allow people to register to vote when they apply for their driver's license | |
| 291868234 | mandate theory of elections | idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out their platform | |
| 295990474 | party in the electorate | the voters who consider themselves allied or associated with the party | |
| 295990475 | organizational party | the workers and activists who staff the party's formal organization | |
| 295990476 | party in government | the office holders and candidates who run under a political party's banner | |
| 295990477 | two party system | two political parties controlling - in the US the dems v. the republicans | |
| 295990478 | McGovern Fraser Commission | the commission that brought significant representation to the democratic party - made future conventions more democratic because of more minority representation | |
| 295990479 | baker v. carr | SC case that established 1 man, 1 vote - guidelines for congressional districts and equal representation | |
| 295990480 | cloture | process in which it takes 60 senators to cut off a filibuster and that is aimed at minority interests | |
| 295990481 | earmarks | pet projects added to an appropriations bull by members of congress - critics say pork barrel legislation and wasteful spending | |
| 295990482 | franking | privilege enjoyed by members of congress entitling them to free postage for any mailings made as part of their official duties | |
| 295990483 | gerrymandering | the legislative process in which the majority party in each state tries to assure the maximum number of reps from its political party can be elected to congress - results in odd shaped districts | |
| 295990484 | reapportionment | the process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the census based upon population increases or declines | |
| 295990485 | redistricting | the redrawing of congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the state | |
| 295990486 | gridlock | describes the people's perception that congress and the pres are in a state of disagreement that results in little legislation passing | |
| 295990487 | logrolling | vote trading: "i'll vote for your legislation if you vote for mine" | |
| 295990488 | hold | tactic where a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor - this stops the bill until the hold is removed | |
| 295990489 | senatorial courtesy | the president, when selecting district court judges, notifies the senators from the state that the judge comes from - senators must approve before process moves on | |
| 295990490 | divided government | when different political parties have control of the white house and at least one house of congress - characterized by political gridlock | |
| 295990491 | discharge petition | petition that gives the majority of the HoR the authority to bring and issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction | |
| 295990492 | trustee | role played by elected reps who listen to constituents opinions and then use their best judgement to make final decisions | |
| 295990493 | delegate | role played by elected reps who vote the way their constituents want them to, regardless of their own opinions | |
| 295990494 | politico | role played by elected representatives who act as trustees or delegates, depending on the issue |
