Politics In The Us

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political party

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orgainzed effort by office holders, candidates, activists, voters pursue common interests by gaining and exercising power through electoral process

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governmental party

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office holders who organize themselves and pursue objectives under party label

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organizational party

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workers and activits who make up party's formal organization structure

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party in the electorate

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voters who consider themselves allied or associated w/ the party

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machine

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party organization that recruits voter loyalty with tangible incentives and is characterized by high degree of control over member activity

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direct primary

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selection of party cadidates through ballots of qualified voters rather than at party nomination conventions

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civil service laws

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acts removed the staffing of bureaucracy from political parties and created professional bureaucracy filled through competition

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issue-oriented politics

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politics that focuses on specific issues rather than on party, cadidate, or other loyalties

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ticket-split

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vote for candidates of different parties for various offices in same election

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cadidate-centered politics

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politics that focues directly on candidates, their particular issue, and character, rather than on party affiliation

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party realignment

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shifting of party coalition groupings in electorate that remains in place for several eelections

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critical election

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election that signals a party realignment through voter polarization around new issues

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secular realignment

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the gradual rearrangement of party coalitions, based more on demographic shifts than on shocks to the political system

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coalition

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group made up of interests or orgs that join forces for the purpose of electing public officals

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national party platform

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statement of the general and specific philosophy and policy goals of a political party, usually promulgated at the national convention

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proportional representation

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a voting system that apportions legislative seats according to the percentage of the vote won by a particular political party

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winner-take-all system

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an electoral system in which the party that receives at least on more vote than any other party wins the election

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minor party candidates for House most likely to emerge

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when house seat becomes open, when minor party candidate has previously competed in district, when partisan competition between 2 major parties in district close

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national convention

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party conclave (meeting) held in presidential electoin year for the purposes of nominating a presidential and vice presidential ticket and adopting platform

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precinct

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smaller votin unit, takes few adjacent neighborhoods and fundamental building block of party

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executive, state central committee

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state governing body supervising this collection of local party orgs

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think tank

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institutional collection of policy oriented researchers and academics who are sources of policy ideas

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soft money

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virtually unregulated money funneled through political parties under auspice of party building

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hard money

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funds that can be used for direct electioneering but that are limited and regulated by the federal elections commission

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partisan gerrymandering

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redrawing congressional lines to create safe districts

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party identification

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a citizen's personal affinity for a political party, usually expressed by his or her tendency to vote for the candidates of that party

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dealignment

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a general decline in partisan identification and loyalty in the electorate

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winner take all primary

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candidate who wins the most votes in state secures all of state's delegates- preferred by republicans

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proportional representation primary

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candidates who secure a threshold percentage of votes are awarded delegates in proportion to the number of popular votes won

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caucus

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small groups throughout a state to discuss and select the party's delegates to national convention

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front-loading

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tendency of states to choose an early date on the primary calendar

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invisible primary

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year prior to the start of the official nomination season when candidates begin raising money and unofficially campaigning

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unit rule

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a traditional party practice under which the majority of state delegation can force the minority to vote for its candidate

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superdelegates

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delegate slot to the democratic party's national convention that is reserved for an elected party official

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electoral college

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representatives of each state who cast the final ballots that actually elect a president

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elector

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member of the electoral college chosen by methods determined in each state

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magic number winning presidency

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270

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22 amendment

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adopted in 1951, prevents a president from serving more than two terms, or more than two terms, or more than 10 years if he cam eto office via the death of impeachment of his predecessor

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impeachment

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the power delegated to the house of representatives in the constitution to charge the presidentm vice president, or other civil officers, including federal judges with treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors,. first step in teh consitutional process of removing such govt. officals from offics

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executive privilege

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an implied presidential power that allows the president to refuse to disclose info regarding confidential conversations or national security to congress or the judiciary

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US vs. Nixon 1974

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key supreme court ruling on power of the president, finding that there is no absolute constitutional executive privilege to allow a president to refuse to comply w/ a court order to produce info needed in a criminal trial

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25 amendment

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adopted 1967 to establish procedures for filling vacancies in the office of president and VP as well as providing for procedures to deal w/ disability of president

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cabinet

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the formal body of presidential advisers who head the fifteen executive departments. presidents often add others to this body of formal advisers

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executive agreement

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formal govt. agreement entered into by the president that does not require the advice and consent of the US senate
ex. trade agreements, treaties

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veto power

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the authority to reject any congressional legislation

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line-item veto

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the authority of a chief executive to delete part of the bill passed by the legislature that involves taxing or spending. legislature may override a veto, usually with 2/3 majority of each chamber

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war powers act

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passed by congress of 1973; the president is limited in the deploying of troops oveseas to a sixty- day period in peacetime which can be extended for an extra thirty days to permit withdrawal unless congress explicitly gives it approval for a longer period

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pardon

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an executive grant providing restoration of all rights and privileges of citizenship to specific individual charged or convicted of a crime

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inherent powers

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powers that belong to the national government simply because it is a sovereign state

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jacksonian democracry

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concept that embodies the western, frontier, egalitarian spirit personified by jackson

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habeas corpus

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allows those in prison to petition to be released

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new deal

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program of relief, recovery, reform, instated by FDR in 1933 bring US out of great depression

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cabinet

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an informal institution based on practice and precedent whose membership is determined by tradition and presidential discretion

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executive office of the president (EOP)

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created 1939 to help the president oversee the executive branch bureaucracy.

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National security council (NSC)

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1949 advise president on american military affairs and foreign policy- composed of president, VP, secretaries of state and defense, joint chiefs of staff, director CIA

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patronage

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jobs, grants, or other special favors that are given as rewards to friends and political allies for their support

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office of management and budget (OMB)

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office that prepares the president's annual budget proposal,ewviews the budget and programs of the executive departments, supplies economic forecasts, and conducts detailed analyses of proposed bills and agency rules

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executive order

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a rule or regulation issues by the president that has effect of the law, all executive orders must be published in the federal register

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going public

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president goes over the heads of members of congress to gain support from the people who can place pressure on their elected officials in washington

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party identification

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a citizen's personal affinity for a political party, usually expressed by his or her tendency to vote for the candidates of that party

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ticket splitting

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voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election

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retrospective judgment

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a voter's evaluation of the performance of the party in power

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prospective judgment

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a voter's evaluation of a candidate based on what he or she ledges to do about an issue if elected

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authoritarian system

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a system of government that bases its rules on force rather than consent of the governed

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electorate

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the citizens eligible to vote

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mandate

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a command indicated by an electorate's votes, for the elected officials to carry out their platforms

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Tillman act

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prohibited corporations from making direct contributions to candidates for federal office

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Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

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outlaws unlitimed and unregulated contributions to parties, known as soft money , and limits the amounts that individuals, interest groups, and political parties can give to candidates for president, senator, representative--goal: to prevent any group or individual from gaining too much influence over elected officials, who naturally feel indebted to campaign contributors

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political action committee (PAC)

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federall mandated, offically registered fund-raising committee that represents interest groups in the political process
-5000/ candidate/ election
-15000 each year to each of the units of the national parties

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public funds

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donations from the general tax revenues to the campaigns of qualifying presidential candidates

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matching funds

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donations to presidential campaigns from teh federal government that are determined by the amount of private funds a qualifying candidate raises

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Buckley v. Valeo

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no limit could be placed on the amount of money candidates can spend from their own families resources, since such spending is considered a first amendment right of free speech

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soft money

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virtually unregulated money funneled by individuals and political committees through state and local parties

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hard money

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legally specified and limited contribution thats are clearly regulated by the federal election campaign act and by the federal election commission

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527 political committees

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nonprofit and unregulated interest groups that focus on specific causes or policy positions and attempt to influence voters

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express advocacy

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advertisements that use words such as vote for, vote against, elect, or support--illegal

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issue advocacy

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political advertisements that do not use words such as vote for, elect, support

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senatorial courtesy

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a process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senator in whose state the vacancy occurs

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war powers act

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passed by congress in 1973 the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period in peacetime (which can be extended for an extra thirty days to permit withdrawal) unless congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period

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congressional review

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a process whereby congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval

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oversight

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congressional review of the activities of an agency, department, or office

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trade act of 1974

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president US empowered to grant any nation most favored trade statues, a designation that brings favorable US tariff treatment

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filibuster

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a formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the senate

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cloture

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mechanism requiring sixty senators to vote to cut off debate

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veto

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formal constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of the legislative body, thus preventing their becoming law without further congressional activity

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pocket veto

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if congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of congress, without the presiden't signature, the bill is considered vetoed.