AP US Gov: Test 3
primary election
a form of election in which voters choose a party's nominees for public office. In most primaries, eligibility to vote is limited to voters who are registered members of the party
grassroots lobbying
a form of lobbying designed to persuade officials that a group's policy position has constituent support
outside lobbying
a form of lobbying in which an interest group seeks to use public pressure as a means of influencing people
proportional representation
a form of representation in which seats in the legislature are allocated proportionally according to each political party's share of the popular vote. This system enables smaller parties to compete successfully for seats.
party caucus
a group that consists of a party's members in the House or Senate and that serves to elect the party's leadership, set policy goals, and plan party strategy
law
a legislative proposal, or bill, that is passed by both the house and the senate and is not vetoed by the President
seniority
a member of congress's consecutive years of service on a particular committee
ideological party
a minor party characterized by its ideological commitment to a broad commitment to a non centrist and philosophical position
factional party
a minor party created when a faction within one of the major party breaks away to form its own party.
single-issue party
a minor party formed around a single issue of overriding interest to its followers
reform party
a minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that the major parties are having a corrupting influence on government and policy
grassroots party
a political party organized at the level of the voters and dependent on their support for its strength.
filibuster
a procedural tactic in the US Senate whereby a minority of legislators prevent a bill from coming to a vote by holding the floor and talking until the majority gives in and withdraws the bill from consideration
party competition
a process in which conflict over society's goals is transformed by political parties into electoral competition in which the winner gains the power to govern.
bill
a proposed law within congress or another legislature
oversight function
a superiority activity of Congress that centers on its constitutional responsibility to see that the executive branch carries out the laws faithfully
two-party system
a system in which only two political parties have a real chance of acquiring control over the government
multiparty system
a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of the government independently, or with a coalition
conference committee
a temporary committee to bargain over the differences in House and Senate versions of a bill. A conference committee's members are usually appointed from the House and Senate standing committees that originally worked on the bill
packaging
a term of modern campaigning that refers to the process of recasting a candidate's record into an appealing image
air wars
a term that refers to the fact that modern campaigns are often a battle of opposing televised advertising campaign
money chase
a term used to describe the fact that US campaigns are very expensive and candidates must spend a great amount of time raising funds in order to campaign successfully
rider
an amendment to a bill that deals with an issue unrelated to the content of the bill. Riders are permitted in the senate but not in the house
open-seat election
an election in which there is no incumbent in the race
party realignment
an election or set of elections in which the electorate responds strongly to an extraordinarily powerful issue that has disrupted the political order. A realignment has a lasting impact on public policy, popular support for parties, and the composition of party coalitions
issue network
an informal and relatively open network of public officials and lobbyists who come together in response to a proposed policy in an area of interest to each of them. Unlike an iron triangle, an issue network disbands after the issue is resolved.
linkage institution
an institution that serves to connect citizens with government. Linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media
intrest group
any organization that actively seeks to influence public policy
private good
benefits that a group (most often an economic group) can grant to the individual members of the group
public good
benefits that are offered by groups as an incentive for membership that are non divisible (such as a clean environment) and therefore are available to nonmembers as well as members of the group
hard money
campaign funds given directly to candidates to spend as they choose
soft money
captain contributions that are not subjects to legal limits and are given to the parties rather to the candidates. These are now banned
inside lobbying
direct communication between organized interests and policymakers, which is based on the assumed value of close ("inside") contacts with policymakers
candidate-centered campaigns
election campaigns and other political processes in which candidates, not political parties, have most of the initiative and influence.
party-centered campaign
election campaigns and other political processes in which political parties, not individual candidates, hold most of the initiative and influence.
economic groups
interest groups that are organized primarily for economic reasons but that engage in political activity in order to seek favorable policies from the government.
party leaders
members of the House and the Senate who are chosen by the Democratic or Republican caucus in each chamber to represent the party's inters in that chamber and who give some central direction to the chamber's work.
citizens' groups
organized interests formed by individuals drawn together by opportunities to promote a cause in which they believe, but that does not bring economic benefits.
standing committee
permanent congressional committees with responsibility for a particular area of public policy. An example is the Senate Foreign Relations committee.
iron triangle
small and informal but relatively stable group of executives, legislators, and lobbyists who seek to promote policies beneficial to a particular interest
pork
spending whose tangible benefits are targeted at a particular legislator's constituency.
lawmaking function
the authority of a legislature to make the laws necessary to carry out the government's powers
midterm election
the congressional election that occurs midway during the president's term of office
incumbent
the current holder of a particular public office
party unity
the degree to which a party's house or senate members act as a unified group to exert collective control over legislative action.
nomination
the designation of a particular individual as a political party's candidate in the general election
single-member districts
the form of representation in which only the candidate who gets the most votes in a district wins office
party coalition
the groups and interests that support a political party
Political Action Committee
the organization through which an interest group raises and distributes funds for election purposes. By law, the funds must be raised through voluntary contributions
cloture
the parliamentary maneuver that, if a three-fifths majority votes for it, limits Senate debate to thirty hours and has the effect of defeating a filibuster.
party organizations
the party organizational unites at national, state, and local levels; their influence has decreased over time because of many factors.
constituency
the people residing within the geographical area represented by an elected official.
jurisdiction
the policy area in which a particular congressional committee is authorized to act.
veto
the president's rejection of a bill, thereby keeping it from becoming a law unless congress overrides the veto
lobbying
the process by which interest-group members or lobbyists attempt to influence public policy through contacts with public officials
gerrymandering
the process by which the party in power draws an election district boundaries in a way that enhances the election prospects of its candidate
redistricting
the process of altering election districts to make them as nearly equal in population as possible. Redistricting takes place every ten years, after ever population census.
political consultants
the professionals who advise candidates of their campaign such as media use, fundraising, and polling
reapportionment
the reallocation of House seats among states after each census as a result of population changes
representation function
the responsibility of a legislature to represent the various interests in society
service relationship
the situation in which party organizations assist candidates but have no power to require them to support the party's main policy positions
single-issue politics
the situation in which separate groups are organized around nearly every conceivable policy issue and press their demands and influence to the utmost.
free-rider problem
the situation in which the benefits offered by a group to its members are also available to nonmembers. The incentive to join the group and to promote its cause is reduced as nonmembers (free riders) receive the benefits (for example, a cleaner environment) without having to pay any of the group's costs
Interest-group liberalism
the tendency of public officials to support the policy demand of self-interested groups as opposed to judging policy demands according to whether they serve a larger conception of "public interest"
gender gap
the tendency of women and men to differ in their political attitudes and voting preferences.
median voter theorem
the theory that parties in a two-party system can maximize their vote by locating themselves at the position of the median voter-the voter whose preferences are exactly in the middle.
logrolling
the trading of votes between the legislators so that each gets what he or she wants
service strategy
use of personal staff my members of Congress to perform services for constituents in order to gain their support in future election.
