Key Terms: Political Parties/Interest Groups/Media (Underlined terms have appeared on the multiple choice sections of past released AP exams) Amicus curiae brief: ?friend of the court? brief filed by an interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision. Dealignment argument: contention that parties are less meaningful to voters, who have abandoned the parties in greater numbers to become independents. Divided Government: government in which one party controls the presidency while another party controls the Congress. Elite Theory: theory that upper class elites exercise great influence over public policy. Factions: term used by Madison to denote what we call now interest groups.