Poli Sci 104 Goldstein

Front 1

Party identification

Back 1

a person’s subjective feeling of affiliation with a party. Learned in childhood, resistant, to change, unrelated to the groups actual doctrines. Democratic groups tend to be African Americans, urbanites and Catholics. Republican groups tend to be wealth, rural residents, southerners and white protestants.

Front 2

Retrospective voting

Back 2

voting on the basis of past performance, easier to judge, shortcut.

Front 3

Incumbents

Back 3

sitting members of congress, rarely face opposition and if they do they rarely lose.

Front 4

Safe seats

Back 4

A congressional district almost guaranteed to elect either a democrat or a republican because the distribution of the partisans is so lopsided.

Front 5

Incumbency advantage

Back 5

The electoral benefit of being an incumbent after taking into account other relevant traits, as high as 12% in recent election. Maybe that way because the ones who know they’re in trouble rarely run for reelection.

Front 6

Coattails

Back 6

The tendency of presidents to carry their own party’s candidates for congress into office, declined in strength in latter half of 20th century (more people split ticket).

Front 7

Midterm loss

Back 7

When the president’s party loses seats in congress during the off year election, which failed to happen only twice in the 20th century.

Front 8

Matching funds

Back 8

Public money (from $3 check on income tax return) that they distribute to primary candidates, have their fund raising money matched, cannot exceed a limit (hard money).

Front 9

Soft money

Back 9

Campaign funds that are spent on a candidates behalf by an interest group or political party but that the candidate does not receive or coordinate directly.

Front 10

Popular vote

Back 10

the total vote cast for the presidential candidate nationwide.

Front 11

Electoral vote

Back 11

Votes cast for a presidential candidate with each state receiving one vote for each of its members of the house of representatives and one vote for each of its senators.

Front 12

Winner-take-all voting system

Back 12

Any voting procedure in which the side with the most votes gets all of the seats or delegates at stake (first past the post)

Front 13

Reapportionment

Back 13

Seats in house (435) are apportioned among the states according to their populations after each census. Recently has favored GOP.

Front 14

Redistricting

Back 14

Drawing the boundaries of the new districts to equalize population.

Front 15

Gerrymandering

Back 15

Drawing boundary lines of congressional districts in order to confer an advantage on some partisan or political interest.

Front 16

Single-member simple plurality (SMPS) system

Back 16

electoral system in which country is divided into geographic districts and the candidates who win the most votes within district are elected, disadvantages minorities, unrepresentative second place gets no representation.

Front 17

Proportional representation (PR):

Back 17

an electoral system that assigns legislative seats in a manner roughly proportional to the number of votes each party received. Might allow fringe parties trying to undermine government to get seats.

Front 18

Caucus:

Back 18

a meeting of candidate supporters

Front 19

Primary election:

Back 19

preliminary election. Both choose candidates for major parties. Iowa caucuses are first major test for candidates, often a very low turnout.

Front 20

Closed primaries:

Back 20

Primaries in which only party members can vote, and vote only in the party in which they are registered.

Front 21

Open primaries:

Back 21

primaries that allow any registered voter to select one party’s primary and vote in it, even if they are a member of another party.

Front 22

Filling deadlines:

Back 22

the latest date on which a candidate for office may file official papers or pay required fees to state election officials.

Front 23

Open seats:

Back 23

a house or senate race with no incumbent (because of death or retirement)

Front 24

Mass media:

Back 24

means of communication that are technologically capable of reaching most people and economically affordable to most. Newspapers, magazines, T.V. & radio, websites, and word of mouth political commentary.

Front 25

Ideological bias:

Back 25

Media is generally more democratic than overall public, but contradictory critiques show that no real bias exists.

Front 26

Bias story coverage:

Back 26

cover what is “newsworthy”, only the bad stuff. Needs dramatic events, bitter conflicts and short snappy comments.

Front 27

Professional Bias:

Back 27

most journalists are not experts but generalists and often work for ratings and sales. Simplify important details so that general public understands.

Front 28

Horse race coverage:

Back 28

tendency of news organizations to emphasize who is winning and losing when they cover elections rather than covering the issues prominent in the elections.

Front 29

Selective perception:

Back 29

tendency of listeners, such as a media audience, to distort a message so that they hear what they already believe or hear what they want to hear.

Front 30

Agenda setting:

Back 30

occurs when the media affects the issues and problems people think about (independent impact of the media is exaggerated, sometimes government uses the media to publicize problems they already wish to address).

Front 31

Priming:

Back 31

what occurs when the media affect the standards people use to evaluate political figures or the severity of a problem.

Front 32

Framing:

Back 32

stating of an argument in such a way as to emphasize on set of considerations and deemphasize others.

Front 33

New media:

Back 33

cable and satellite TV, the fax, e-mail, and the internet – the consequences of the technological advances of the past few decades.

Front 34

Realignment:

Back 34

arrangement that occurs when the pattern of group support for political parties shifts in a significant and lasting way, such as in the latter half of the twentieth century, when the white south shifted from democratic to republican.

Front 35

Critical election:

Back 35

election that marks the emergence of a new, lasting alignment of partisan support within the electorate.

Front 36

Machines:

Back 36

a highly organized party under the control of a boss, based on patronage and control of government activities.

Front 37

Ticket splitting:

Back 37

supporting candidates of different parties in the same election.

Front 38

Divided governments:

Back 38

said to exist when no single party controls the presidency and both houses of Congress.

Front 39

Patronage:

Back 39

the dispensation of government jobs and contracts, a resource parties depend on.

Front 40

Free-Rider problem:

Back 40

Barrier to collective action that arises when people can enjoy the benefits of group activity without contributing their limited share of the costs.

Front 41

Public goods:

Back 41

goods that you can enjoy without contributing.

Front 42

Selective benefits:

Back 42

side benefits of belonging to an organization that are limited to contributing members of the organization.

Front 43

Political entrepreneurs:

Back 43

people willing to assume the costs of forming and maintaining an organization even when others may free ride on them.

Front 44

Lobbying:

Back 44

attempts by interest group representatives to influence the decisions of government officials directly.

Front 45

Political action committees (PACS):

Back 45

specialized organizations for raising and contributing campaign funds.

Front 46

Direct mail:

Back 46

computer generated letters, faxes and other communications to people who might be sympathetic to an appeal for money and support.

Front 47

Iron triangles:

Back 47

a congressional committee, bureaucratic agency, and allied interest groups who combine to dominate policy making in some specified policy area.

Front 48

Issue networks:

Back 48

a loose constellation of larger numbers of committees, agencies, and interest groups active in a particular policy area.