AP Gov 4/20 Vocab Quiz Flashcards
Party Realignment
a party loses groups of people to a different party for a significant period of time. This tends to be signaled by a critical election.
Dealignment
a large portion of the electorate abandons its previous political party affiliation, without developing a new one to replace it.
Divided Government
One party controls the White House, and another controls one or both houses of Congress
interest groups
A group of individuals with common interests and seek to influence the government in some way. Interest groups affect policy through grassroots mobilization: interest groups organize citizens(alot of them), who act to influence policymakers through media coverage; lobbying: direct contact with policymakers for the purpose of persuasion through the provision of information, political benefits, etc: litigation: the use of courts to gain policy preferences through cases or amicus curiae briefs (“friend of the court” briefs)
political action committee (PAC)
a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns.
SuperPAC
allowed to give an unlimited amount of money to a candidate or political party. Money still comes from individual donors, labor unions, and nonprofits. The difference is in that they may not act “in concert or in cooperation with” the candidate, the candidate’s organization, or a political party.
Elite/Class theory
a group theory that argues that power is concentrated in the largest and richest organizations.
Pluralist theory
the theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government. The outcome of this competition is compromise and moderation.
Hyperpluralist theory
A state in which many groups or factions are so strong that a government is unable to function.
Mass media
television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other means of popular communication
Linkage institutions
A linkage institution is a structure within a society that connects the people to the government or centralized authority. These institutions include: elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.
horse-race journalism
a practice which journalist and reporters use in regards to government coverage and campaign coverage with emphasis on who is gaining or losing, not on what is being done about issues.
Redistricting
The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population
Gerrymandering
the drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent
Incumbent
The person currently holding office
franking privilege
Privilege that allows members of Congress to mail letters & other materials to constituents postage-free
standing committees
Permanent body with specified legislature responsibliites: evaluate bills and either kill them or pass them along for further debate, each has a jurisdiction over a certain area, each has several subcommittees
conference committee
both houses have passes a different version of the same bill; is formed to achieve an agreement between both the house and the senate on the exact wording of the bill; temporary
House Rules committee
unique powerful position (gatekeeper power), determines the terms on which legislation with reach the floor, sets the time limit of the debate time for a bill, decides whether and how a bill may be amended
House Ways and Means Committee
drafts tax legislation, jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue raising measures
Seniority system
a system that gives the member of the majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee the leadership of that committee
Filibuster
a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches
Cloture
a rule for limiting or ending debate in a deliberative body
Logrolling
legislator supports a proposal favored by another in return for support in his or hers
