Y103Test2,pt2
Terms
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- Nodes
- Groups of people who belong to, are candidates of, or work for a political party, but do not necessarily work together or hold similar policy preferences.
- Party Organization
- A specific political party’s leaders and workers at the national, state, and local levels.
- Party in Government
- The group of officeholders who belong to a specific political party and were elected as candidates of that party. Significant because it sets up modern democracy, by having elected officials represent the people who have elected them, making elections about choice.
- Party in the Electorate
- the group of citizens who identify with a specific political party.
- Party System
- A period of time in which the names of the major political parties, their supporters, and the issues dividing them remain relatively stable.
- Party Principle
- The idea that a political party exists as an organization distinct from its elected officials or party leaders.
- Spoils System
- The practice of rewarding party supporters with benefits like federal government positions.
- New Deal Coalition
- The assemblage of groups who aligned with and supported the Democratic Party in support of New Deal policies during the fifth party system, including African Americans, Catholics, Jewish People, union members, and white southerners.
- Parties in Service
- The role of the parties in recruiting, training, contributing to, and campaigning for congressional and presidential candidates. This aspect of party organization grew more prominent during the sixth party system.
- Realignment
- A change in the size or composition of the party coalitions or in the nature of the issues that divide the parties. Realignments typically occur within an election cycle or two, but they can also occur gradually over the course of a decade or longer.
- Crosscutting
- A term describing issues that raise disagreements within a party coalition or between political parties about what government should do.
- National Committee
- An American political party’s principal organization, comprised of party representatives from each state.
- Political Action Committees
- Interest groups or divisions of interest groups hat can raise money to contribute to campaigns or to spend on adds in support of candidates. The amount they can receive from each of their donors and their expenditures on federal electioneering are strictly limited.
- 527 organizations
- Tax- exempt groups formed primarily to influence elections through voter mobilization efforts and issue ads that do not directly endorse or oppose a candidate. Unlike political action committees, they are not subject to contribution limits and spending caps.
- Brand Names
- The use of party names to evoke certain positions or issues. For instance, “Adidas†might immediately call to mind athletics in the same way that “Democrat†might remind you of environmental policies or universal health care.
- Political Machine
- An unofficial patronage system within a political party that seeks to gain political power and government contracts, jobs, and other benefits for party leaders, workers, and supporters.
- Caucus(congressional)
- The organization of Democrats within the House and Senate that meets to discuss and debate the party’s positions on various issues in order to reach a consensus and to assign leadership positions.
- Conference
- The organization of Republicans within the House and Senate who meet to discuss and debate the party’s positions on various issues in order to reach a consensus and to assign leadership positions.
- Polarized
- A term describing the alignment of both parties’ members with their own party’s issues and priorities, with little crossover support for the other party’s goals.
- Party Identification
- A citizen’s loyalty to a specific political party.
- Activists
- People who dedicate their time, effort, and money to supporting a political party or particular candidates.
- Running Tally
- A frequently updated mental record that a person uses to incorporate new information, like the information that leads a citizen to identify with a particular political party.
- Dealignment
- A decline in the percentage of citizens who identify with one of the major parties, usually over the course of a decade or longer.
- Party Coalitions
- The groups who identify with a political party, usually described in demographic terms, such as African American Democrats or evangelical Republicans
- Primary
- A ballot vote in which citizens select a party’s nominee for the general election.
- Caucus(political)
- A local meeting in which party members select a party’s nominee for the general election.
- Nominating Convention
- A meeting held by each party every four years at which states delegates select the party’s presidential and vice-presidential nominees and approve the party platform.
- Party Platform
- A set of objectives outlining the party’s issue positions and priorities although candidates are not required to support their party’s platform.
- Conditional Party Government
- The theory that lawmakers form the same party will cooperate to develop policy proposals.
- Backbenchers
- Legislators who do not hold leadership positions within their party caucus or conference.
- Unified Government
- A situation in which one party holds a majority of seats in the House and Senate and the president is a member of that same party.
- Party in Power
- Under unified government, the party that controls the House, Senate, and presidency. Under divided government, the presidents party.
- Divided Government
- A situation in which the House, Senate, and presidency are not controlled by the same party, such as if Democrats hold the majority of House and Senate seats, and the president is Republican.
- Responsible Parties
- A system in which each political party’s candidates campaign on the party platform, work together in office to implement the platform, and are judged by voters based on whether they achieve the platforms objectives.
- Duverger’s Law
- The principle that in a democracy with the single-member districts and plurality voting, like the United States, only two parties candidates will have a realistic chance of winning political office.
- Single- Member Districts
- An electoral system in which every elected official represents a geographically defined area, such as a state or congressional district, and each area elects one representative.
- Plurality Voting
- A voting system in which the candidate who receives the most votes within a geographic area wins the election, regardless of whether that candidates wins a majority of the votes.
- Interest Groups
- Organizations of people who share a common political interests and aim to influence public policy by electioneering and lobbying. Significant because they effect the policies which are detrimental to the rest of us, it shows us how politics is everywhere because their actions effect us as well.
- Lobbying
- Efforts to influence public policy through contacts with public officials on behalf of an interest group.
- Interest Group State
- A government in which most policy decisions are determined by the influence of interest groups.
- Latent
- A term describing a group of politically like-minded people that is not represented by any interest group.
- Trade Association
- An interest group composed of companies in the same business or industry that lobbies for policies that will benefit members of the group.
- Economic Groups
- A type of interest group that seeks public policies that will provide monetary benefits to its members.
- Citizen Groups
- A type of interest group that seeks changes in spending, regulations, or government programs concerning a wide range of policies.
- Single-Issue Groups
- A type of interest group that has a narrowly focused goal, seeking change in a single topic, government program, or piece of legislation.
- Centralized Groups
- Interest groups that have a headquarters, usually in Washington, DC, as well as members and field offices throughout the country. In general, these groups lobbying decisions are made at headquarters by the group leaders.
- Confederations
- Interest groups made up of several independent, local organizations that provide much of their funding and hold most of the power.
- Revolving Door
- A term describing the movement of individuals form government positions to jobs with interest groups or lobbying firms, and vice versa.
- K Street
- A shorthand term for Washington lobbyists, derived from the name of the street in Washington, DC, where lobbying firms were once concentrated.
- Mass Association
- Interest groups that have a large number of dues-paying individuals as members.
- Peak Association
- Interest groups whose members are businesses or other organizations rather than individuals.
- Free Riding
- The practice of relying on others to contribute to a collective effort, while failing to participate on one’s own behalf and still benefiting from the group’s successes.
- Solidary Benefits
- Satisfaction derived from the experience of working with like-minded people, even if the group’s efforts do not achieve the desired impact.
- Purposive Benefits
- Satisfaction derived from the experience of working toward a desired policy goal, even if the goal is not achieved.
- Coercion
- A method of eliminating nonparticipation or free riding by potential group members by requiring participation, as in many labor unions.
- Selective Incentives
- Benefits that can motivate participation in a group effort because they are available only to those who participate, such as member services offered by interest groups.
- Interest Group Entrepreneurs
- The leaders of an interest group who define the group’s mission and its goals to create plan to achieve them.
- Inside Strategies
- Tactics used by interest groups within Washington, DC, to achieve their policy goals.
- Outside Strategies
- Tactics used by interest groups outside Washington, DC, to achieve their policy goals.
- Direct Lobbying
- Attempts by interest group staff to influence policy by speaking with elected officials or bureaucrats.
- Grassroots Lobbying
- A lobbying strategy that relies on participation by group members, such as a protest or a letter-writing campaign.
- Astroturf lobbying
- Any lobbying initiated by an interest group that is designed to look like the spontaneous, independent participation of many individuals.
- 501 organization
- A tax code classification that applies to most interest groups; this designation makes donations to the group tax-deductible but limits the groups political activities.
- Political Action Committee
- An interest group or division or and interest group that can raise money to contribute to campaigns or spend on ads in support of candidates. The amount a PAC can receive from each of its donors and its expenditures on federal campaigning are strictly limited.
- 527 Organization
- A tax exempt group formed primarily to influence elections through voter mobilization efforts and issue ads that do not directly endorse or oppose a candidate. Unlike political action committees, they are not subject to contribution limits and spending caps.
- Taking the Late Train
- An interest group strategy for gaining access to future officeholders that involves donating money to the winning candidate after an election in hopes of securing a meeting with that person when she takes office.
- Initiative
- A direct vote by citizens on a policy change proposed by fellow citizens or organized groups outside government. Getting a question on the ballot typically requires collecting a set number of signatures from registered voters in support of the proposal. There is no mechanism for a national-level initiative.
- Referendum
- A direct vote by citizens on a policy change by a legislature or another government body. While referenda are common in state and local elections, there is no mechanism for a national-level referendum.
- Salience
- The level of familiarity with an interest group’s goals among general population.