honors gov final vocab (national chairperson-political culture)

pluralist theory

: politics is mainly a competition among groups, each arguing for its own policies

National Security Council

an office created in 1947 to coordinate the president's foreign and military policy advisors; contains the president, the vp, the secretary or state and defense

Office of Management and Budget

an office that grew out of the Bureau of the budget created in 1921 consisting of a handful of political appointees and hundreds of skilled professionals; performs both managerial and budgetary functions, and although the president is its boss, the director and staff have considerable independence in the budgetary process

political culture

an overall set of values widely shared within a society

plea bargaining

bargain struck between the defendant and prosecutor to the effect that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser crime in exchange for the state's promise not to prosecute the defendant for a more serious crime

party competition

battle of parties for control of public offices

party identification

citizen's self-proclaimed preference for a party

New Deal Coalition

coalition forged by Democrats who dominated American politics from 1930s to 60s. its basic elements were urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics, Jews, poor, southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals

party realignment

displacement of the majority party by the minority party

open primaries

elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests

policy voting

electoral choices that are made on the basis of the voters' policy preferences and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues

PACs

funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms; the Federal Election Commissions monitor this

party dealignment

gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties as seen in part by the shrinking party identification

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

national committee

one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions and is composed of representatives from states and territories

national chairperson

one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions and is responsible for day-to-day activities of the party and is usually selected by the presidential nominee

patronage

one of the key inducements used by political machines and is given for political reasons rather than merit or competence

natural rights

rights inherent in human beings, not depending on governments

opinion

statement of legal reasoning behind a judicial decision; content just as important as decidion

original jurisdiction

the jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually i na trial and determine facts

Olson's Law of Large Groups

the larger the group, the further it will fall short of providing an optimal amount of a collective good

national convention

the meeting of the party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform

party machines

type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements,such as patronage, to win votes and govern

pocket veto

veto taking place when Congress adjourns within ten days of having submitted a bill to the president by either letting it die by not signing it or vetoing it

original intent

view that the Constitution should be interpreted as the original framers would have

party image

voter's perception of what a party stands for