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Exam 3
Pol Sci 1101 Cann UGA
97
Political Studies
Undergraduate 1
05/26/2008

Additional Political Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Nomination
Definition
  • Primary election/caucuses
  • Whatever the mode of nomination, participants in the nomination phase are more extreme than the general electorate
  • Incumbents are generally unopposed in primary elections
  • In one-party states/districts, the nomination is the election
Term
Election
Definition
Term
Coattails
Definition
if there's a popular candidate, while voting for popular they will vote for other offices through party identification
Term
Incumbent
Definition
get PAC money; generally unopposed in primary elections
Term
Incumbency Advantage
Definition
fact that being in office helps a person stay in office because of a variety of benefits that go with the position
Term
Malapportionment
Definition
One person, one vote (Wesberry vs. Sanders, 1964)
Term
Redistricting
Definition
redrawing congressional districts to reflect increase or decrease in seats allotted to the states as well as population shifts within a state
Term
Gerrymandering
Definition
the legislative process through which the majority party in each statehouse tries to assure that the maximum number of representatives from its political party can be elected to Congress through the redrawing of legislative districts
Term
Primary Election vs. General Election
Definition
Term
Sophomore Surge
Definition
first time some runs as an incumbent, amount of increase in the percent of votes received second time around
Term
Retirement Slump
Definition
difference in percent of votes in last time ran for election versus next campaign candidate that runs
Term
Frank
Definition
sign envelope in corner and can be sent; Can't be used to claim victory or defeat
Term
Reelection
Definition
Term
Position Issue
Definition
opposing views that divide voters and candidates
Term
Valence Issue
Definition
nearly everyone agrees
Term
Money
Definition
Term
Party Identification
Definition
most influential factor in deciding how voters vote
Term
Advertising
Definition
one of three strategy behaviors that maximize election chances; circulating ones name in a favorable way (w/o issue)
Term
Position-Taking
Definition
one of three strategy behaviors that maximize election chances; declare positions on issues (winning issues in home district)
Term
Credit Claiming
Definition
one of three strategy behaviors that maximize election chances;
Credible: people must believe you did what you claim
Casework
Term
Representation
Definition
Term
Trustee Model of Representation
Definition
  • Voters choose someone "wiser" than themselves to manage government affairs
  • Trustee makes decisions based on his/her best judgment
  • (Edmund Burke)
Term
Delegate Model of Representation
Definition
  • Elected officials strive to translate constituency preferences into law
  • Personal opinion is irrelevant
  • (Bill Clinton)
Term
Powers of Congress
Definition
  • lay and collect taxes and duties
  • borrow money
  • regulate commerce with foreign nations and among states
  • establish rules for naturalization and bankruptcy
  • coin money
  • punish counterfeiters
  • establish post offices and post roads
  • issue patents and copyrights
  • create courts
  • declare war
  • raise and supporty military
Term
Bicameral
Definition
a legislature divided into two houses; the US Congress and the state legislatures are bicameral except Nebraska which is unicameral
Term
Speaker of the House
Definition
the only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution; elected at the beginning of each new Congress by the entire House; traditionally a member of the majority party
Term
Majority Leader
Definition
the elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate; is second in authority to the Speaker of the House and in the Senate is regarded as the most powerful member
Term
Whips
Definition
Key representative who keeps close contact with all members and takes nose counts on key votes, prepares summaries of bills, and in general acts as communications link within the party
Term
Differences between House and Senate
Definition

Terms (6 vs. 2)

Senate> House

Sizes (100 vs. 435)

Senate> House

Individual Power

Filibuster

Cloture

Double-Tracking

If someone filibusters everything, they could shut down Senate completely

Term
Filibuster
Definition
a formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the Senate
Term
Marginal District
Definition
(moderate), fewer and fewer; incumbency/careerism
Term
Safe District
Definition
(extreme), more and more (80% in House, 50-60% in Senate); incumbency/careerism
Term
Descriptive Representation
Definition
Increased number of minorities and women in Congress, but still doesn't match
Term
Conservative Coalition
Definition
1950-1980, team of republicans and conservative democrats that aligned together to pass conservative bills and policies
Term
Party Structure
Definition
Term
Party Polarization
Definition
Inter party polarization: difference in the two parties' liberal/conservative tendencies
Intra party homogeneity: span within the party
Term
Congressional Caucus
Definition
Term
Standing Committees
Definition
committees to which proposed bills are referred
Term
Select Committees
Definition
temporary committee appointed for specific purpose, such as conducting a special investigation or study
Term
Joint Committees
Definition
includes members from both houses of Congress; conducts investigations or special studies
Term
Conference Committees
Definition
joint committee created to iron out differences between senate and house versions of a specific piece of legislation
Term
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Definition
Term
Closed Rule
Definition
no amendments may be offered
Term
Restrictive Rule
Definition
only certain people can offer amendments and language (diction) may be specified as well
Term
Open Rule
Definition
have amendments made by anyone in Chamber
Term
Cloture
Definition
vote of the senate that orders someone to stop talking; requires sixty senators to vote to cut off debate
Term
Double Tracking
Definition
allow officers of Senate to change subject (second track); if same topic is brought up, the filibuster gets first say
Term
Pork
Definition
legislation that allows representatives to bring home the bacon to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs designed to benefit their districts directly
Term
War Powers Act
Definition
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
Term
Congressional Review
Definition
a process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval
Term
Divided Government
Definition
the political condition in which different political parties control the White House and Congress
Term
Logrolling
Definition
vote trading, voting yea to support a colleague's bill in return for a promise of future support
Term
Veto
Definition
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
Term
Pocket Veto
Definition
If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, without the president's signature, the bill is considered vetoed
Term
Hold
Definition
a tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This stops the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed.
Term
Concentric Constituencies
Definition

Geographic Constituency (1)

All residence

Re-election constituency (2)

Voters

Primary constituency (3)

True believers

Personal Constituency (4)

Close friends and confidants

Term
Electoral college
Definition
representatives of each state who cast the final ballots that actually elect a president
Term
Electoral college in the constitutional convention
Definition
Each delegate was given two votes for president could only vote for own state candidate once; majority winner was president, runner up was vice president. If tie or no majority, House determined winner
Term
Electoral college today
Definition
there are seperate elections for each office, electors only have one vote for each. In House, each had one vote for top three candidates.
Term
Faithless Elector
Definition
electors who vote for someone other than to whom they're pledged
Many states do not require pledge
Some states that do just have small fines/misdemeanors crime
Term
Retrospective voting
Definition
(Reagan vs. Carter analogy)
Term
Number of Delegates in the Electoral
College
Definition
538 delegates (100 senate, 435 house, 3 DC)
Term
Order of Presidential Succession
Definition
Vice President
Speaker of the House
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Heath and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Term
Differences between Presidents and
Prime Ministers
Definition
Term
Unified Government
Definition
executive and legislative branch are ruled by same party
Term
Gridlock
Definition
make legislation but it just can't happen
Term
Powers of the President (Constitutional powers & other power)
Definition
Appointing ambassadors, public ministers, judges and other officers
Power to convene congress
Power to make treaties
Veto power
Commander-in-chief
Pardoning power
Term
Executive privilege
Definition
an implied presidential power that allows the president to refuse to disclose information regarding confidential conversations or national security to Congress or the judiciary
Term
U.S. v. Nixon
Definition
Key Supreme Court ruling on power of the president, finding that there s no absolute constitutional executive privilege to allow a president to refuse to comply with a court order to produce information needed in a criminal trial
Term
Qualifications of the President
Definition
Natural born citizen
At least 35 years old
Resident of the US for 14 years
Term
Presidential Staff
Definition
power derived from their personal relationship with the president
Term
Cabinet
Definition
the formal body of presidential advisers who head the fifteen executive departments. Presidents often add others to this body of formal advisers
Term
Cabinet Appointments
Definition
appointed by the president
Term
Treaties
Definition
power of the president; Treaty needs to be ratified
Term
Executive Agreement
Definition
formal government agreement entered into by the president that does not require the advice and consent of the US Senate
Term
Appointments to Independent agencies,
Commissions, and Judgeships
Definition
shared presidential power with senate
Term
Presidential Powers and Presidential
Power
Definition
Term
Audiences for persuasive Powers
Definition
Fellow politicians and leaders (bureaucrats)
Party leaders and officeholders out of Washington (party grassroots)
Public at large
Term
Popularity and Influence
Definition
Popularity is key to influence
Appeals to public support help in Congress
Term
Veto (Veto Message)
Definition
doesn’t just say no, drafts a memo with reasons why the bill is unsuitable and then gives it to Congress
Term
Line-item veto
Definition
the authority of the chief executive to delete part of a bill passed by the legislature that involves taxing or spending. The legislature may override a veto, usually with a two-thirds majority of each chamber
Term
Vice President
Definition
given power by the president; chosen by running president in order to balance the presidential ticket
Term
Impeachment
Definition
the power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president or other "civil officer" including federal judges, with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors"
Term
Lame Duck
Definition
president after successor is chosen because they have lost political power or are no longer responsive to as a result of their term limit
Term
Pardons
Definition
an executive grant providing restoration of all rights and privileges of citizenship to a specific individual charged or convicted of a crime
Term
Executive Order
Definition
a rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law. All executive orders must be published in the Federal Register
Term
Patronage
Definition
jobs, grants, or other special favors that are given as rewards to friends and political allies for their support
Term
Pendleton Act
Definition
Reform measure that created the Civil Service Commission to administer a partial merit system. The act classified the federal service by grades, to which appointments were made based on the results of a competitive examination. It made it illegal for federal political appointees to be required to contribute to a particular political party.
Term
Minority Leader
Definition
the elected leader of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate
Term
Current Senate Majority Leader
Definition
Harry Reid, NV Democratic
Term
Current Senate Minority Leader
Definition
Mitch McConnell, KY Republican
Term
President of Senate
Definition

Dick Cheney

State of the Union address

When there is a 50/50 split in senate, he gets to vote

Term
President Pro Tempore
Definition

Senate Dead End Job

Longest serving senator of majority party

Delegates this job to group of junior senators

Term
Speaker of the House
Definition

Nancy Pelosi, CA

Democratic

Voted on by all of the House, but technically by majority party because the all vote for same person and they have more votes so they win

She schedules bills

Says which committee bills are assigned to

And under what terms the bills are discussed

Term
Current House of Representative Majority Leader
Definition
Stenny Hoyer, MD Democratic
Term
Current House of Representative Minority Leader
Definition
John Boehner, OH Republican
Term
Prospective voting
Definition
decides which will put me in better economic situation
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