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92 Cards in this Set
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bipartisanship |
occurs when the two major political parties work together to carry out a specific action |
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blanket primaries |
elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all the parties, allowing voters to select from different parties for different offices |
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campaign committee |
national party organization designed to help party candidates win election
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central committee |
state party leaders |
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closed primaries |
elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party's candidates; encourages party loyalty |
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coalition |
a collection of individuals or groups with a common interest on which every political party depends. |
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coalition government |
when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature; common in multiparty systems in Europe |
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Contract with America |
a document written by Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey which laid out the specific actions Republicans promised to take if they became the majority party in the House of Representatives, for the first time in 40 years, after the 1994 election. |
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county/city committees |
party organization leadership at the local level body |
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critical election |
an electoral "earthquake" where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party. Often critical election periods are marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to bring about a new party era |
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Democratic-Republican Party |
second major political party in the US; elected Jefferson, Madison and Monroe to two consecutive terms each. The coalition which made up the party included agrarian (farm) interests |
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divided government |
occurs typically when the White House is controlled by one major party and the Congress is controlled by the other major party. Can also occur if the White House and one house of Congress is controlled by one party and the other house of Congress controlled by the other party
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Dixiecrats |
Democrats in southern states who tended to votefor Democratic candidates in local and state elections and for Republican candidates in presidential elections. Fought to retain Jim Crow laws and white supremacy and to curtail the reach of the federal government |
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Downs Model |
Anthony Downs posits that it is rational for someone not to vote if they see no policy differences between the parties or candidates |
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electorate |
made up of people who are eligible to vote |
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Federalist Party |
1796 - 1824; fostered in part by Alexander Hamilton's ideas, such as a national bank, they were the first political party and shortest-lived major party. After their candidate, John Adams, lost his reelection bid in 1820 the party faded. |
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incentives to join political parties |
solidary, purposive, material |
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independent |
someone who is not a member of any political party |
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initiative |
citizen-led proposals that get on the ballot after a certain number of signatures are obtained on a petition |
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linkage institutions |
the channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda; includes elections,political parties, interest groups, the media |
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multiparty system |
political system in which several parties impact the political agenda and political action
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national chairman/national chairperson |
responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party and is usually handpicked by the presidential nominee. |
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national committee |
composed of representatives from state party organizations and professional employees; keeps the party running between the national conventions |
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national convention/national nominating convention |
the meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket (president and vicepresident candidates) and write the party platform. The party convention is the highest authority of the party. |
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New Deal coalition |
forged by the Democrats under Franklin Roosevelt; dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s; included urban dwellers, labor unions, Catholics, Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans and intellectuals. |
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open primaries |
elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on primary election day which party contest they wish to vote in |
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parliamentary democracy |
form of democracy in which the legislature(parliament) is proportionally represented; the top government leader, the Prime Minister, is chosen from within the parliament; there is no term limit for a Prime Minister, who will serve so long as he can hold a majority coalition |
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parliament |
the legislature of a parliamentary democracy |
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partisanship |
being supportive of one party; cf.bipartisanship |
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party competition |
the battle of the political parties for control of public offices
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party dealignment |
the gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification. |
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party eras |
historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections |
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party identification |
a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other |
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party image |
the voters' perception of what a party stands for, e.g. Republicans stand for conservatism and Democrats stand for liberalism. Cf. figure 8.1, p. 251 |
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party in government |
party members who are elected to public office |
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party in the electorate |
the identification with party by voters; cf.party identification |
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party machine |
a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern
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party neutrality |
describes the situation that many voters are not aligned with either of the two major political parties |
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party organization |
hierarchical, with the national nominating convention (aka national convention) serving as the highest authority; a national chairman and a national committee are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the party between convention meetings. Various sub groups are part of the overall organization such as the national committee and the platform committee |
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party platform |
a list of what a party believes about a set of political agenda issues and includes what the party will do if its candidates are elected to office |
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party realignment |
the displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period. |
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patronage |
a reward for party loyalty and support rather than for merit or competence; may include a job with the government, a promotion in a government organization or a contract with the government. |
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platform committee |
the party group designated with developing the party platform |
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political agenda |
the political goals of a group or government |
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political party |
an organized group of people who think alike about politics and try to get their candidates elected to office to get their political agenda implemented |
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prime minister |
the chief political leader of a parliamentary democracy;chosen by members of the parliament from the membership of the parliament |
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proportional representation |
an electoral system used through most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election |
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public opinion |
the collective of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population |
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quid pro quo |
an exchange of political favors; "you do this for me, I will do this for you" |
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rational-choice theory |
posited by Anthony Downs; a theory which assumes that people, including candidates and voters, act in their own best interest,carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives |
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recall election |
allowed in some states; if enough people sign on to a petition, an elected official will face a vote to determine whether the official will remain in office or be forced to resign. If a resignation is forced, a new election is held to fill the office. |
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referendum |
a state-level method of direct legislation thatgives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or aproposed state constitutional amendment |
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religious right |
made up of conservative Christians who base their political beliefs and decisions on their religious beliefs and teachings |
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Republican Revolution |
refers to the successful Newt Gingrich-led movement to have Republicans gain control of the House of Representatives in 1994 |
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responsible party model |
posits that parties should offer clear choices to the voters who can use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates; once in office, parties should carry out their campaign promises office. |
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third parties, esp. Republican, Populist, Progressive,Reform, Green |
any party except the Democratic and Republican parties |
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third parties, types |
splinter party: a party which breaks off of a major party, e.g. the Progressive Party (aka the Bull Moose Party) split off from the Republican party.
ideological party: a party which focuses on making widespread changes in the United States but whose ideas are too far from the mainstream of political thought to be win election, e.g. the American Nazi Party single-issue party: a party which focuses on one main political issue and fails to seek broad enough support to win elections, e.g. the US Marijuana Party which seeks to end the prohibition of marijuana and the drug war |
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ticket splitting |
voting with one party for some offices and with another party (or parties) for other offices |
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two-party system (vs. multi-party) |
political system wherein there are only two major parties which have much impact on the political agenda or political actions
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winner-take-all system |
an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their race. In the electoral college system, the winner of the popular vote in a state receives all the electoral votes of the state (except for Maine and Nebraska). |
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527 groups |
A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 527). A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office. |
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Examples of interest groups |
AARP NRA |
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Actual group |
that part of the potential group consisting of members who actual join. |
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Amicus curiae briefs |
legal information submitted by a "friend of the court" for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information no contained in the briefs of the formal parties in an attempt to influence a court's decision. |
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Class action lawsuits |
lawsuits permitting a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated. |
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Climate control |
the use of public relations techniques to create favorable public opinion toward an interest group, industry or corporation |
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Collective good |
something of value (e.g., money, a tax write-off, prestige, clean air, etc.) that cannot be withheld from a group member. |
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Electioneering |
direct group involvement in the electoral process; may include fund raising, get out the vote efforts, testimony and other activities. |
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Elite theory |
theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of government organization. |
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Free riders |
someone who benefits from being a member of a group but does not |
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Free rider problem |
the problem faced by groups when people do not join because they can benefit from the group's activities without official joining. The bigger the group, the more serious the problem. |
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Going public |
occurs when interest groups or government officials bring information to the public in order to influence public opinion |
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Hyperpluralist theory |
theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened. |
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Interest group |
an organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at several points to try and achieve these goals. |
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Interest group types |
economic: focus on labor (worker) and businesses. public interest/consumer interest: seek a collective good, the achievement of which will not selectively and materially benefit the membership or activities of the organization. single interest: groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from those new to politics. environmental: focus on protecting the environment equality: focus on equal protection and equity issues special interest: synonym for interest group
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Iron triangles |
Cf. Subgovernments |
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Issue networks |
a policy making alliance among loosely connected participants that comes together on a particular issue, then disbands. Environmental concerns have been the greatest recipients of issue network support. |
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Labor unions |
organizations made up of workers who collectively bargain for employment issues such as salary, benefits and workplace conditions |
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Litigation |
using lawsuits to attempt to change policies or actions. |
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Lobbying |
the attempt to influence a government official's actions |
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Lobbyist |
someone who attempts to influence a government official's actions |
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Olson's law of large groups |
advanced by Mancur Olson, a principle stating that "the larger the group, the further it will fall short of providing an optimal amount of a collective good." |
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Pluralist theory |
theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a completion among groups, each one pressing fore its own preferred policies. |
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Political action committee (PAC) |
political vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms. Interest groups can create a PAC ad register it with the Federal Election Commission which monitors PAC expenditures. |
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Potential group |
all of the people who might be interest group members because they share some common interest. A positional group is almost always larger than an actual group. |
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Revolving door |
occurs when individuals go back and forth between working in the industry and government. |
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Right to work laws |
forbids requirements that workers must join a union to hold their jobs. Most states with right-to-work laws are found in the South. |
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Selective benefits |
goods, e.g. information, publications, travel discounts and group insurance rates, that a group can restrict to those who pay their annual dues. |
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Subgovernments |
a network of groups within the political system that exercise a great deal of control over specific policy areas; aka iron triangles. Composed of representatives of interest groups, government bureaucrats and members of congressional committees and subcommittees and their staff. |
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Super PACs |
tend to focus financial support on one candidate, working outside the formal election organization or party, or issue |
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Taft Hartley act 1947 |
permits states to adopt right-to-work laws. |
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Union shop |
a provision in collective bargaining agreements requiring all employees of a business to join a labor union. |