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political interest

elections/interest groups/media

QuestionAnswer
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 now call interest groups.
Fairness Doctrine FCC rule (no longer in effect) that required broadcasters to air a variety of viewpoints on their programs.
Feeding frenzy Just as sharks engage in a feeding frenzy when they sense blood in the water, the media “attack” when they sense wrongdoing or scandal in government, and devote great amounts of coverage to such stories.
Free rider problem the problem faced by interest groups when citizens can reap the benefits of interest group action without actually joining, participating in, or contributing money to such groups.
Horse race coverage the tendency of the media to report on an election campaign as if it were a horse race, i.e., who is ahead, who is behind, who is gaining ground.
Iron triangle an informal association of federal agency, congressional committee, and interest group that is said to have heavy influence over policy making.
Litigation the act or process of carrying out a lawsuit.
Lobbying attempting to influence policy makers
Nonpartisan elections elections in which candidates are not identified by party membership on the ballot.
Office column ballot ballot in which candidates are arranged by office rather than party. Encourages split ticket voting.
Party column ballot ballot in which candidates are arranged by party rather than office. Encourages straight ticket voting.
Photo opportunity a staged campaign event that attracts favorable visual media coverage, e.g., a candidate reading to a group of school children.
Pluralism theory that policy making is the result of interest group competition.
Political Action Committee (PAC) an interest group that raises funds and donates to election campaigns.
Patronage appointing loyal party members to government positions.
Revolving door the cycle in which a person alternately works for the public sector and private sector, thus blurring the individual’s sense of loyalty.
Selective exposure the practice of selectively choosing media sources which are in harmony with one’s own beliefs.
Selective perception the practice of perceiving media messages the way one wants to.
Sound bite a short, pithy comment that is likely to attract media attention, e.g., Ronald Reagan saying, “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose your job, and recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job.”
Spin control placing a certain slant on a story to deflect negative public attention against a candidate or office holder.
Unit rule an abandoned rule of the Democratic Party national convention in which the candidate with the most delegates from a state won all of that state’s convention votes.
Attentive Public those who follow politics and public affairs carefully
Australian Ballot secret ballot printed at the expense of the state
balancing the ticket occurs when a presidential nominee chooses a vice presidential running mate who has different qualities in order to attract more votes for the ticket
Blanket Primary election to choose candidates that is open to independents, and allows voters to choose candidates from all parties
Caucus local party meeting
closed primary party election to choose candidates that is closed to independents. voters may not cross party lines
coattail effect the influence of a popular presidential candidate on the election of congressional candidates of the same party
demographics characteristics of population e.g, race, sex, income.
direct election election of an official directly by the people rather than by an intermediary group such as the electoral college
direct primary election in which the people choose candidates to office
fixed terms terms of office that have a definite length of time, e.g, two years a member of a house
front loading scheduling presidential primary elections early (e.g, February or March) in an election year
Gender gap difference in voting patterns for men and women, particularly in the greater tendency of the latter to vote for democratic presidential candidates
general election election in which the officeholders are chosen. contrast with a primary election, in which only the candidates are chosen
Hard money campaign contributions donated directly to candidates
Ideology set of beliefs about political values and the role of the government
Incumbent an officeholder who is seeking reelection
Independent one is not registered with apolitical party. Independent learners tend to vote for candidates of one particular party, whereas pure independents have no consistent pattern of party doing
issue advocacy ads ads that focus on issues and do not explicitly encourage citizens to vote for a certain candidate
open primary election to choose candidates that is open independents, and in which voters may choose candidates from any one party
party platform a list of positions and programs that the party adopts at the national convention. Each position is called a plank
plurality more voters than anyone else, but less than half, e.g, Clinton won a plurality (43%) of popular votes in 1992, but no majority. Plurality elections such as those for congress are won by the person with the most votes, regardless if he/she has a majority
Realigning ("critical") election an election in which there is a long term change in party alignment, e.g., 1932
safe seat an office that is extremely likely to be won by a particular candidate or political party
single member district system system in which the people elect one representative per district. with a winner-take-all rule, this system strengthens the two major parties and weaken minor parties
soft money campaign contributions that are not donated directly to candidates, but are instead donated to parties
Suffrage the right to vote
superdelegate a delegate to the democratic national convention who is there by virtue of holding an office
super Tuesday a Tuesday in early March in which many presidential primaries, particularly in the South, are held.
Swing State a state that does not consistently vote either Democratic or republican in presidential elections
Created by: Rmenendez12
Popular AP Comparative Gov. sets

 

 



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