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Most Common AP Terms
Common Words
219
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12th Grade
04/14/2012
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Term
General Schedule Rating
 Definition
A schedule for federal employees, ranging from GS1 to GS18, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience.
Term
Administrative Discretion
 Definition
The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when sops don’t fit the case.
Term
Amicus Curiae Briefs
 Definition
Legal briefs submitted by a “friend of the court” for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties. These briefs attempt to influence a court’s decision.
Term
Appellate Jurisdiction
 Definition
The jurisdiction of courts that hear cases brought to them on appeal from lower courts. These courts do not review the factual record, only the legal issues involved.
Term
Appropriations Bill
 Definition
An act of Congress that actually funds programs within limits established by authorization bills. Appropriations usually cover one year.
Term
Authorization Bill
 Definition
An act of Congress that establishes, continues, or changes a discretionary government program or an entitlement. It specifies program goals and maximum expenditures for discretionary programs.
Term
Beats
 Definition
Specific locations from which a lot of news emanates. Congress, Wall Street, White House are just some of the beats. Usually, reporters work a particular beat, and thus become experts in what goes on at that location.
Term
Bicameral Legislature
 Definition
A legislature divided into two houses. The U.S. Congress and every American state legislature except Nebraska’s are bicameral.
Term
Bill
 Definition
A proposed law, drafted in precise, legal language. Anyone can draft a bill, but only a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate can formally submit a bill for consideration.
Term
Block Grants
 Definition
Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services.
Term
Broadcast Media
 Definition
Television, radio, and sometimes internet sources.
Term
Budget
 Definition
A policy document allocating burdens (taxes) and benefits (expenditures).
Term
Budget Resolution
 Definition
A resolution binding Congress to a total expenditure level, supposedly the bottom line of all federal spending for all programs.
Term
Bureaucracy
 Definition
According to Max Weber, a hierarchical structure that uses task specialization, operates on the merit principle, and behaves with impersonality. Bureaucracies govern modern states.
Term
Bureaucrats (Street Level)
 Definition
A phrase coined by Michael Lipsky, referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion.
Term
Patronage
 Definition
One of the key inducements used by party machines. A patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.
Term
Pendleton Civil Service Act
 Definition
Passed in 1883, an Act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.
Term
Cabinet
 Definition
A group of presidential advisors not mentioned in the Constitution, although every president has had one. Today, the cabinet is composed of 13 secretaries and the attorney general.
Term
Campaign Strategy
 Definition
The master game plan candidates lay out out to guide their electoral campaign and eventually win both the election and the nomination.
Term
Casework
 Definition
Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals; cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get.
Term
Categorical Grants
 Definition
Federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or “categories”, of state and local spending. They come with strings attached, such as nondiscrimination provisions. Federal government will often use this as a method of control over the state governments.
Term
Caucus
 Definition
A meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention. Caucuses are usually organized as pyramid – lowest level to highest level – neighborhoods to national conventions.
Term
Caucus (Congressional)
 Definition
A group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristics. Most are composed of members from both parties and from both houses.
Term
Chains
 Definition
The term used to refer to the general organization of newspaper publishers. Most of the newspapers are controlled by a group of super companies who feed us their version of the news. By 1994, more than 80% if all daily papers were controlled by national and regional chains.
Term
Civic Duty
 Definition
The belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote.
Term
Class Action Lawsuits
 Definition
Lawsuits permitting a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated.
Term
Closed Primary
 Definition
Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidate. This type of primary is party loyal: you have to be a member to vote.
Term
Open Primary
 Definition
Elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on an election day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests.
Term
Blanket Primary
 Definition
Elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all the parties. Voters can select Democrats for one position and Republicans for another – thus splitting a ticket.
Term
Cloture
 Definition
When 60 (2/3) of the members present vote to halt a filibuster.
Term
Coalition
 Definition
A group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends. Typically, the parties are working very hard to build strong coalitions to keep themselves in office.
Term
Coalition Government
 Definition
Governments based of coalitions. Last great coalition was the New Deal Coalition. It was a coalition which replaced the Republican Party as the dominant party during the turmoil of the Great Depression. The coalition reigned supreme from 1930s to 1960s, and was composed of urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics, Jews, poor, Southerners, African Americans and other intelligentsia.
Term
Coattails
 Definition
These occur when voters cast their ballot for congressional candidates of the president’s party because they support the president. Recent studies show that few races are won this way.
Term
Collective Good
 Definition
Something of value (money, prestige, clean air, clean water) that cannot be withheld from a group member. It’s some object which belongs to everyone in the group or a nation, and cannot be shared with only a limited number of individuals.
Term
Command and Control Policy
 Definition
According to Charles Schultze, the existing system of regulation whereby government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders.
Term
Committee Chairs
 Definition
The most important influences of the congressional agenda. They play dominant roles in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house.
Term
Conference Committees
 Definition
Congressional committees formed when the Senate and the House pass a particular bill in different forms. Party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill.
Term
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974
 Definition
An act designed to reform the congressional budgetary process. Its supporters hoped that it would also make Congress less dependent on the president’s budget and better able to set and meet its own budgetary goals.
Term
Conservatism
 Definition
A political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change. The philosophy includes a call for lower taxes, limited government regulations of economy, a strong national defense, and individual financial responsibility for personal needs.
Term
Continuing Resolutions
 Definition
When Congress cannot reach agreement and pass appropriations bills, these resolutions allow agencies to spend at the level of the previous year.
Term
Cooperative Federalism
 Definition
Type of federalism in which national, state, and local governments interact cooperatively and collectively to solve common problems, rather than creating separate policies to solve the same problem.
Term
Council of Economic Advisors
 Definition
A three member body appointed by the president to advise the president on economic policy.
Term
Courts of Appeals
 Definition
Appellate courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts, except in rare cases. In addition, they also hear appeals to orders of many federal regulatory agencies.
Term
Credit Claiming
 Definition
Two activities: casework and pork barrel. Taking credit for something you have done either for constituents or for businesses, colleges, etc.
Term
Crisis / Crisis Manager
 Definition
A sudden, unpredictable, and potentially dangerous event requiring the president to play the role of crisis manager.
Term
Critical Election
 Definition
An electoral change in which new issues emerge, old majority coalitions are destroyed by the new minority coalitions. Such changes often take place during a national crisis and can require more than one election to bring about significant deviations.
Term
Deficit
 Definition
An excess of federal expenditures over federal revenues.
Term
Democratization
 Definition
Assuming this is a democratization of Congress. Johnson Rule – gave each senator a seat on at least one key committee. Reforms of 1995 scaled back the democratic decentralization. They vested power in the hands of committee and subcommittee chairs, allowed them to hire staff, and limited them to three consecutive two-year terms.
Term
Demography
 Definition
The science of human population. It is a study of what people occupy a certain region, and how they behave with respect of certain issues.
Term
Deregulation
 Definition
The lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities for which government rules had been established and that bureaucracies had been created to administer.
Term
District Courts
 Definition
The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction. They are the only federal courts in which trials are held and in which juries may be impaneled.
Term
Dual Federalism
 Definition
A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.
Term
Elastic Clause
 Definition
Also known as the Necessary and proper Clause, it is a provision in Article One, Section 8, Clause 18, which states that the Congress shall have the power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper.
Term
Electioneering
 Definition
Direct group involvement in the electoral process in order to select a candidate who would later support that group. Groups can help fund campaigns, provide testimony, and get members to work for candidates and form PACS.
Term
Electoral College
 Definition
A unique American institution, created by the Constitution, providing for the section of the president by electors chosen by the state parties. Although the electoral college vote usually reflects a popular majority, the winner-take-all rule gives clout to big states.
Term
Electoral Mandate
 Definition
The notion that if a President wins with a large margin he can use it to lobby the Congress because he has the “mandate” from the people. Victory does not automatically mean “mandate”.
Term
Electorate
 Definition
People who are entitled to vote in an election.
Term
Entitlements
 Definition
Policies for which Congress has obligated itself to pay x level of benefits to y number of recipients. Social Security is an example.
Term
Enumerated Powers
 Definition
Powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution; for Congress, these powers are listed in Article 1, Section 8, and include the power to coin money, regulate its value, and impose taxes.
Term
Executive Orders
 Definition
Regulations originating from the executive branch. Executive orders are one method presidents can use to control the bureaucracy.
Term
Exit Polls
 Definition
Public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision. These surveys are asked by people as they exit the polling stations. The usual question includes whom the people voted for.
Term
Expenditures
 Definition
Federal spending of revenues. Major areas of such spending are social services and the military.
Term
Extradition
 Definition
Constitution says that states are required to return a person charged with a crime in another state to that state for trial. Formally, it is a legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one state to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.
Term
Federal Debt
 Definition
All the money borrowed by the federal government over the years and still outstanding. Today the federal debt is about $5.6 trillion (figures from the early 2000s).
Term
Federal Election Campaign Act
 Definition
A law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. The act created the Federal Election Commission (FEC), provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions.
Term
Federal Election Commission
 Definition
A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election campaign Act of 1974. The FEC administers the campaign finance laws and enforces compliance with their requirements.
Term
Federalism
 Definition
A way of organizing a nation so that two levels of government have formal authority over the same land and people. It is a system of shared power between units of government.
Term
Filibuster
 Definition
A strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation try to talk it to death, based on the tradition of unlimited debate. Today, 60 members present and voting can halt a filibuster (through what is known as a cloture).
Term
Fiscal Federalism
 Definition
This federalism is based on the “purse” – grants, between the national and state governments. National government, for example, will control the state government through grants that come with strings attached. Formally, the pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government’s relations with state and local governments.
Term
Formula Grants
 Definition
Federal categorical grants distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or in administrative regulations.
Term
Free-Rider Problem
 Definition
The problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit from the group’s activity without their official involvement. Usually, the larger the group the more free-riders are there.
Term
Frontloading
 Definition
The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention. Historically, Iowa and New Hampshire have held caucuses and primaries, respectively, first out of all the states.
Term
Full Faith and Credit
 Definition
A clause in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution requiring each state to recognize the official documents and civil judgments rendered by the courts of other states.
Term
Gender Gap
 Definition
A term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates. Women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending.
Term
Gibbons v. Ogden
 Definition
A landmark case decided in 1825 in which the Supreme Court interpreted very broadly the clause in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution giving Congress all power to regulate interstate commerce, encompassing virtually form of commercial activity. The commerce clause has been the constitutional basis for much of Congress’s regulation of the economy.
Term
Government Corporation
 Definition
A government organization that, like business corporations, provides a service that could be provided by the private sector and typically charges for its services. For example – the U.S. Postal Service.
Term
Hatch Act
 Definition
A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics. (First passed in 1939, and amended most recently in 1993)
Term
House Rules Committee
 Definition
An institution unique to the House of Representatives that reviews all bills (except revenue, budget, and appropriations bills) coming from a House committee before they go to the full House.
Term
House Ways and Means Committee
 Definition
The House of Representatives committee that, along with the Senate Finance Committee, writes the tax code, subject to the approval of Congress as a whole.
Term
Ideology
 Definition
Either a liberal or a conservative. A system of ideas and ideals, esp. one that forms the basis of economic or political policy.
Term
Impeachment
 Definition
The political equivalent of an indictment in criminal law, prescribed by the Constitution. The House of Representatives may impeach the President by a majority vote for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
Term
Implied Powers
 Definition
Power off the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution. The Constitution states that Congress has the power to “make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution” the power enumerated. Many federal policies are justified on the basis of implied powers.
Term
Incentive System
 Definition
According to Charles Schulte, a more effective and efficient policy than command-and-control, in the inventive system, market like strategies are used to manage public policy.
Term
Income Tax
 Definition
Shares of individual wages and corporate revenues collected by the government. The Sixteenth Amendment explicitly authorized Congress to levy a tax on income.
Term
Incrementalism
 Definition
The belief that the best predictor of this year’s budget is last year’s budget plus a little but more (an increment). According to Aaron Wildavsky, “Most of the budget is a product of previous decision.”
Term
Incumbents
 Definition
Those already holding office. In congressional elections, incumbents usually win. Success rate is about 90%.
Term
Independent Executive Agency
 Definition
The government not accounted by cabinet departments, independent regulatory agencies, and government corporations. Its administrators are typically appointed by the president and serve at the president’s pleasure. (Ex – NASA);
Term
Independent Regulatory Agency
 Definition
A government agency responsible for some sector of the economy, making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest. It also judges disputes over these rules. The Interstate Commerce Commission is an example.
Term
Initiative Petition
 Definition
A process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions calling for such a referendum.
Term
Intergovernmental Relations
 Definition
Relations between state, local, and national governments.
Term
Investigation Journalism
 Definition
The use of detective-like reporting to open up scandals, scams and schemes, thus putting the journalists and politicians in adversarial relationship.
Term
Iron Triangles
 Definition
A mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. Iron triangles dominate some are of domestic policymaking.
Term
Joint Committees
 Definition
Congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses.
Term
Judicial Activism
 Definition
A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional grounds. Advocates of this approach emphasize that the courts can correct pressing needs, especially those unmet by the majoritarian political process.
Term
Judicial Implementation
 Definition
How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, thereby affecting the behavior of others. The courts rely on other units of government to enforce their decisions.
Term
Judicial Restraint
 Definition
A judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policymaking roles, leaving that duty strictly to the legislature.
Term
Judicial Review
 Definition
The power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress, and by implications the executive acts, are in accord with the U.S. Constitution. Judicial review was established by John Marshall and his associated in Marbury v. Madison.
Term
Justiciable Disputes
 Definition
A requirement that to be heard a case must be capable of being settles as a matter of law rather than on other grounds as is commonly the case in legislative bodies.
Term
Legislative Oversight
 Definition
Congress’s monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings.
Term
Legislative Veto
 Definition
The ability of Congress to override a presidential decision. Although the War Powers Resolution asserts this authority, there is reason to believe that, if challenged, the Supreme Court would find the legislative veto in violation of the doctrine of separation of powers.
Term
Legitimacy
 Definition
A characterization of elections by political scientists meaning that they are almost universally accepted as fair and free method of selecting political leaders. When legitimacy is high, as in the United states, even the losers accept the results peacefully.
Term
Liberalism
 Definition
A political theory founded on the natural goodness of humans and the autonomy of the individual, favoring civil and political liberties, government elected with consent of the governed, and protection from tyrannical authority.
Term
Linkage Institutions
 Definition
The channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda. In America, linkage institutions include the media, elections, interest groups, and political parties. All of these elements allow the government to become acquainted with the concern of the people and act in response.
Term
Lobbying
 Definition
According to Lester Milbrath, a “communication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a governmental decision maker with the hope of influencing his decision.”
Term
Majority Leader
 Definition
The principal partisan ally of the Speaker of the House or the party’s wheel horse in the Senate. The majority leader is responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes in behalf of the party’s legislative positions.
Term
Mandate Theory of Elections
 Definition
The idea that winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics. Politicians like the theory better than political scientists do.
Term
Marbury v. Madison
 Definition
The 1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall and his associated first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The decisions established the Court’s power of judicial review over acts of Congress, in this case the Judiciary Act of 1789.
Term
Mass Media-Event
 Definition
Events purposely staged for the media to look spontaneous. Usually, the media stages political conflicts, debates, and other events. Groups, individuals, and government officials all participate in these events as a part of the campaign.
Term
McCulloch v. Maryland
 Definition
An 1819 Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over state governments. In decided this case, Chief Justice John Marshall and his colleagues held that Congress had certain implied powers in addition to the enumerated powers found in the Constitution.
Term
McGovern-Fraser Commission
 Definition
A commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation.
Term
Medicare
 Definition
A program added to the Social Security system in 1965 that provides hospitalization insurance for the elderly and permits older Americans to purchase inexpensive coverage for doctor fees and other health expenses.
Term
Melting Pot
 Definition
The mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation towards the end of eth 20th century. The United States, with its history of immigration, has often been referred to as the “melting pot” due to the presence of multiple cultures.
Term
Merit Principle
 Definition
The idea that hiring should be based on entrance exams and promotion ratings to produce administration y people with talent and skill.
Term
Minority leader
 Definition
The principal leader of the minority party in the House of Representatives. A job is similar to that of the majority leader.
Term
Minority Majority
 Definition
The emergence of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a white, generally Anglo-Saxon group of Americans. It has been predicted in 1990s that by about 2060, Hispanic Americans, African Americans and Asian Americans will together outnumber white Americans.
Term
Modern Liberalism
 Definition
A form of liberalism developed from progressive ideals of Roosevelt’s New Nationalism, Wilson’s New Freedom and FDR’s New Deal, combining social progressivism and liberalism with support for a welfare state and mixed economy.
Term
Motor Voter Act of 1993
 Definition
Passed in 1993, this Act went into effect for 1996 election. It requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they apply for their driver’s license.
Term
Narrowcasting
 Definition
Media programming on cable TV or the internet that is intently focused on one topic and is aimed at a certain group of audience. Some of the narrowcast channels are MTV, ESPN, and C-SPAN.
Term
National Committee Chairperson
 Definition
The person responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party and is usually nominated by the presidential nominee.
Term
National Party Convention
 Definition
A meeting of party delegates which takes place every four years with a purpose of writing the party platform and a presidential nominee.
Term
National Primaries
 Definition
A proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries, which would replace these electoral methods with a nationwide primary held early in the election year.
Term
National Security Council
 Definition
An office created in 1947 to coordinate the president’s foreign and military policy advisors. Its formal members are the president, vice president, secretary of state, and secretary of defense, and it is managed by the president’s national security advisor.
Term
New Deal Coalition
 Definition
A coalition which replaced the Republican Party as the dominant party during the turmoil of the Great Depression. The coalition reigned supreme from 1930s to 1960s, and was composed of urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics, Jews, poor, Southerners, African Americans and other intelligentsia.
Term
Nomination
 Definition
The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party. Generally, success in the nomination game requires momentum, money, and media attention.
Term
Office of Management and Budget
 Definition
An office that grew out of the Bureau of the Budget, created in 1921, consisting of a handful of political appointees and hundreds of skilled professionals. The OMB performs both managerial and budgetary functions (Nixon renamed it in 1970).
Term
Office of Personnel and Management
 Definition
The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government, using elaborate rules in the process.
Term
Olson’s Law of Large Groups
 Definition
A principle proposed by Mancur Olso that “the larger the group, the further it will fall short of providing an optimal amount of collective good”. This makes sense, because the smaller the group, the greater the chance of securing the goods, and the greater the share.
Term
Opinion Leaders
 Definition
An individual who actively provides opinions about products to others or from whom views, opinions and advice is sought
Term
Stare Decisis Precedents
 Definition
A Latin phrase meaning “let the decision stand.” The vast majority of cases reaching appellate courts are settled on this principle.
Term
Original Intent
 Definition
A view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intent of the framers. This view is upheld by many conservatives, who refer to is as strict constructionism.
Term
Original Jurisdiction
 Definition
The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts about a case.
Term
Party Competition
 Definition
The battle of the parties (usually Democrats and Republicans) for control of public offices. The party competition in America has emerged as a major component of politics in the early 1800s and has remained such to this day.
Term
Party Eras
 Definition
Historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections. This does not mean that the majority party wins every elections – it simply means that a certain party remains dominant or at least more prevalent than do its counterparts.
Term
Party Image
 Definition
The voter’s perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for. Normally, the American public envisions Republicans as conservatives and democrats as liberals.
Term
Party Identification
 Definition
A citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other. It’s the person’s decision in being Democrat, Republican, or some other 3rd party member.
Term
Party Machines
 Definition
A type of political party organization that relies on material inducements of patronage in order to win votes and power in the government. This type of set-up has been popular from the late nineteenth century through the New Deal of the 1930s.
Term
Party Platform
 Definition
A political party’s statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. The platform is drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidate’s strength. It is the best formal statement of a party’s beliefs.
Term
Party Realignment
 Definition
A rare even in political life when a previously major party is replaced by the minority party. Such change usually occurs during the critical election period, such as the period of Great Depression and Civil War.
Term
Party Neutrality
 Definition
A term used to describe the fact that many Americans are indifferent toward to two major political parties. In 1996, 30% of people had no knowledge of neither Republican nor Democratic platforms.
Term
Patronage
 Definition
One of the key inducements used by party machines. A patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.
Term
Policy Agenda
 Definition
The issue that attracts the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.
Term
Policy Entrepreneurs
 Definition
Political activists who invest their political capital in an issue in order to reach a certain goal within government. Best definition was perhaps given by John Kingdon, who identified policy entrepreneurs as “[people who] who could be in or out of government, in elected or appointed positions in interest groups or research organizations.”
Term
Policy Implementation
 Definition
The stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequence of the policy for the people whom it affects. Implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program.
Term
Policy Voting
 Definition
Voters’ party identification, voters’ evaluation of the candidates, and the match between voters’ policy positions and those of the candidates and parties.
Term
Political Action Committees
 Definition
Funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms. A corporation, union, or some other interest group can create a PAC and register it with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which will meticulously monitor the PAC’s expenditures.
Term
Political Culture
 Definition
An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
Term
Political Efficacy
 Definition
The belief that one’s political participation really matters – that one’s vote can actually make a difference.
Term
Political Ideology
 Definition
A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political events, personalities, and policies.
Term
Political Participation
 Definition
All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. The most common man of political participation in democracy is voting. There are two other means as well: protest and civil disobedience.
Term
Political Socialization
 Definition
According to Richard Dawson, “The process through which an individual acquires his/her particular political orientations—his/her knowledge, feelings, and evaluations regarding his/her political world.
Term
Pork Barrel
 Definition
The mighty list of federal projects, grants, and contracts available to cities, businesses, colleges, and institutions in a congressional district.
Term
Position Taking
 Definition
When members of Congress engage in position-taking on issues when they vote and when they respond to constituents’ questions. Emphasis of personal qualities as experienced, hard-working, trustworthy representatives.
Term
Potential Group
 Definition
All the people who might be interested group members because they share some common interest. A potential group is almost always larger than an actual group. This describes just the potential members – not actual members.
Term
Actual Group
 Definition
That part of the potential group consisting of members who actually join.
Term
Privileges and Immunities
 Definition
A clause in Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution according citizens of each state most the privileges of citizens of other states.
Term
Project Grants
 Definition
The most common type of categorical grant; awarded on the basis of competitive applications (such as grants to university professors from the National Science Foundation).
Term
Proportional Representation
 Definition
An electoral system used throughout most of Europe and some American states which awards electoral votes in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.
Term
Protest
 Definition
A form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics.
Term
Public Interest Lobbies
 Definition
Groups which fight and lobby for a certain cause, but in the end will end up benefiting not only the members, but a general public. Jeffrey Berry defines them as organizations that seek “a collective good, the achievement of which will not selectively and materially benefit the membership or activities of the organization.
Term
Public Opinion
 Definition
The distribution of people’s beliefs about politics and policy issues.
Term
Publics
 Definition
One or more group of people who follow one or more particular issue very closely. Any interested group or individual, including Federal, State and local agencies, interest groups, and others, who are interested in a resolution of an impasse.
Term
Random Sampling
 Definition
The key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample.
Term
Rational-choice Theory
 Definition
A theory in politics which seeks to explain people’s political choices. It states that the voters’ decisions are a result of careful consideration of weighing costs and benefits of all possible alternatives.
Term
Reapportionment
 Definition
The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census
Term
Reconciliation
 Definition
A congressional process through which program authorizations are revised to achieve required savings. It usually also includes tax or other revenue adjustments.
Term
Referendum
 Definition
A state level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment.
Term
Regional Primaries
 Definition
A proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries to replace these electoral methods with a series of primaries held in each geographic region.
Term
Regulation
 Definition
The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector. Regulations pervade the daily lives of people and institutions.
Term
Regulatory Agencies
 Definition
Same as Independent Regulatory Agencies: A government agency responsible for some sector of the economy, making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest. It also judges disputes over these rules. The Interstate Commerce Commission is an example.
Term
Responsible Party Model
 Definition
This is a view favored by a number of political scientists about the functioning of political parties. The view holds that parties should offer clean choices to the voters, who can then make up their own mind using rational thought. The parties would be responsible for up keeping their promises while in office.
Term
Retrospective Voting
 Definition
A theory of voting in which voters ask this simple question: “What have you done for me lately?”
Term
Revenues
 Definition
The financial resources of the federal government. The individual income tax and Social Security, along with corporation income tax appear to be three biggest contributors to the revenue.
Term
Right-to-work Laws
 Definition
A state law forbidding the requirement that workers must join a union to hold their jobs. State right to work laws were specifically permitted by the 1947 Taft Harley.
Term
Sample
 Definition
A relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole. Usual sample of a survey is 1500 to 2000 people.
Term
Sampling Error
 Definition
The level of confidence in the finding of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results. This error is usually reported as a percentage.
Term
Select Committees
 Definition
Congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation.
Term
Selective Benefits
 Definition
Goods such as information, travel discounts and group insurance rates that a group can restrict to those who pay their annual dues.
Term
Selective Perception
 Definition
The phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions.
Term
Senatorial Courtesy
 Definition
An unwritten tradition whereby nominations for state-level federal judicial posts are not confirmed if they are opposed by a senator from the state in which the nominee will serve. The tradition also applies to courts of appeal when there is opposition from the nominee’s state senator.
Term
Senior Executive Service
 Definition
An elite cadre of about 9,000 federal government managers, established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, who are mostly career officials but include some political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation.
Term
Seniority System
 Definition
A simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until the 1970s. The member who had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled Congress became chair, regardless of party loyalty, mental state or competence.
Term
Sixteenth Amendment
 Definition
The constitutional amendment passed in 1913 that explicitly permitted Congress to levy and income tax.
Term
Social Security Act
 Definition
A 1935 law passed during the Great Depression that was intended to provide a minimal level of sustenance to older Americans and thus save them from poverty.
Term
Soft Money
 Definition
Political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grassroots level or for generic party advertising. Unlike money that goes to the campaign of a particular candidate, such party donations are not subject to contribution limits.
Term
Solicitor General
 Definition
A presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of Justice. The solicitor general is in charge of the appellate court litigation of the federal government.
Term
Speaker of the House
 Definition
An office mandated by the Constitution. The Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant.
Term
SOP’s
 Definition
Also known as Standard Operating Procedures. These procedures are used by bureaucrats to bring uniformity to complex organizations. Uniformity improves fairness and makes personnel interchangeable.
Term
Standing Committees
 Definition
Separate subject-matter committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in different policy areas.
Term
Standing to Sue
 Definition
The requirement that plaintiffs have a serious interest in a case, which depends on whether they have sustained or are likely to sustain direct and substantial injury from a party or an action of government. Basically, whether there is an urgent need to engage in a case. Recently, these have been broadened.
Term
Statutory Construction
 Definition
The judicial interpretation of an act of Congress. In some cases where statutory construction is an issue, Congress passes new legislation to clarify existing laws.
Term
Street-Level Bureaucrats
 Definition
A phrase coined by Michael Lipsky, referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion.
Term
Sub-government
 Definition
A network of groups within the American political system that exercise a great deal of control over specific policy areas. Also knows as iron triangles, subgovernemtns are composed of interest group leaders interested in a particular policy, the agency in charge of administering that policy, and the members of congressional committees and subcommittees handling the policy.
Term
Super Delegates
 Definition
National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention. 15% of all delegates are Super Delegates.
Term
Supremacy Clause
 Definition
Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.
Term
Supreme Court
 Definition
The pinnacle of the American judicial system. The Court ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolves conflicts among states, and maintains national supremacy in law. It has both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction, but unlike other federal courts, it controls its own agenda.
Term
Talking Head
 Definition
A shot of a person’s face talking directly to the camera. One famous example is Dan Rather’s interview of George Bush Senior concerning the Iran-Contra scandal. Because talking heads, like Rather’s interview, are unappealing, commercial networks rarely show a political talking one on one for very long.
Term
Tax Expenditure
 Definition
Revenue losses that result from special exemptions, exclusions, or deductions on federal tax law.
Term
Tax Loopholes
 Definition
Presumably a tax break or tax benefit.
Term
Tax Reduction
 Definition
Policies that reduce taxes.
Term
Tax Reforms
 Definition
When tax policies are changed, also altering the brackets and the amount of taxes collected per certain amount. One of the most sweeping alterations was the Tax Reform Act of 1986, in which 15 tax brackets were reduced to just two.
Term
Tenth Amendment
 Definition
The powers not delegated to the national government are delegated to the states and the people
Term
The Burger Court
 Definition
Supreme Court as referred to under the reign of Chief Justice Warren E. Burger. The Court turned out to be more conservative than the Warren Court, limiting the defendant’s rights. Also wrote the abortion case Roe v. Wade and supported the investigation against Nixon in United States v. Nixon.
Term
The Rehnquist Court
 Definition
Supreme court as referred to under the reign of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. The Court limited rather than reserved rights established by liberal decisions such as those regarding defendants’ rights and abortion.
Term
The Warren Court
 Definition
Supreme Court as referred to under Chief Justice Earl Warren, in power from 1953 to 1969. The Court played a major role in school desegregation, passing historic cases such as Brown v. Board of Education. It is also recognized for expanding the rights against unreasonable searches and seizures and self-incrimination. Also prohibited organized prayer in public schools.
Term
Third Party
 Definition
A party that is neither Democratic nor Republican.
Term
Ticket-Splitting
 Definition
When a person votes with one party for one office and with another party for a group of other offices. In the last century, such political behavior has become the norm.
Term
Trial Balloons
 Definition
An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction. Bill Clinton’s advisers leaked a story about his relationship with Lewinsky to the NYT to see the reaction. When Americans identified that they want Clinton to just admit the relationship, he found it politically easier for him to do.
Term
Twenty-Fifth Amendment
 Definition
Passed in 1951, this amendment permits the vice president to become acting president if both the vice president and the president’s cabinet determine that the president is disabled. The amendment also outlines how a recuperated president can reclaim a job.
Term
Twenty-Second Amendment
 Definition
Passed in 1951, the amendment that limits presidents to two terms in office.
Term
Uncontrollable Expenditures
 Definition
Expenditures that are determined not by a fixed amount of money appropriated by Congress but by how many eligible beneficiaries there are for a program or by previous obligations of the government.
Term
Union Shop
 Definition
A provision found in some collective bargaining agreements requiring all employees of a business to join the union within a short period of time and to remain members as a condition of employment.
Term
Unitary Government
 Definition
A way of organizing a nation so that all power resides in the central government. Most governments today, including those of Japan and Great Britain, are unitary governments.
Term
United States v. Nixon
 Definition
The 1974 case in which the Supreme Court unanimously held that the doctrine of executive privilege was implicit in the Constitution but could not be extended to protect documents relevant to criminal prosecutions.
Term
Veto
 Definition
The constitutional power of the president to send a bill back to Congress with reasons for rejecting it. A two-thirds vote in each house can override a veto.
Term
Pocket Veto
 Definition
A veto taking place when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president, who simply lets it die by neither signing nor vetoing it.
Term
War Powers Resolution
 Definition
A law, passed in 1973 in reaction to American fighting in Vietnam and Cambodia, requiring presidents to consult with Congress whenever possible prior to using military force and to withdraw forces after 60 days unless Congress declares war or grants an extension. Presidents view the resolution as unconstitutional.
Term
Watergate
 Definition
The events and scandal surrounding a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972 and the subsequent cover-up of White House involvement, leading to the eventual resignation of President Nixon under the threat of impeachment.
Term
Whips
 Definition
Party leaders who work with the majority leader or minority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the party.
Term
Winner-take-all system
 Definition
An electoral system in American government in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies. This means that in electoral voting, the winner of the popular vote gets to keep all of the electoral votes.
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