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PoliSci > Exam #2 (vocab) > Flashcards

Exam #2 (vocab) Flashcards

1
Q

gerrymandering

A

manipulation of legislative districts to favor a particular party

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2
Q

Keynesianism

A

a system of economics which is about demand management in an economy, when an economy is ‘sluggish’ or experience a regression, it should be the responsibility of the government to stimulate the economy

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3
Q

political polarization

A

political polarization is very intense in the current political climate
“the other is the enemy” mentality
this is seen particularly in the Republican party

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4
Q

spoils system

A

a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives govt jobs to its supporters, friends, and relatives

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5
Q

‘packing & cracking’

A

“packing” is the dilution of minority group voting strength by improperly placing more minority voters into a district than is necessary to elect a representative of their choice
“cracking” is the splitting of a geographically compact minority population among 2 or more districts, thereby reducing the groups ability to elect a representative in any district

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6
Q

fiscal policy

A

taxes in spending (increase spending, cut taxes) (the more money in people’s pockets, the more money they have to spend), fight inflation by doing the opposite to fight recession through raising taxes

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7
Q

partisan, bipartisan, nonpartisan

A

partisan: someone who supports one part or party
bipartisan: can refer to any political act in which both of the major political parties agree about all, or many parts of a political choice
nonpartisan: not partisan; free from party affiliation or bias

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8
Q

machine politics

A

the election of officials and the passage of legislation through the power of an organization created for political action

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9
Q

filibuster & cloture

A

filibuster: action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question
cloture: a procedure used in the Senate to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter; used to overcome or deter a filibuster

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10
Q

monetary policy

A

the federal reserve is an independent institution in the U.S. and the theory is that you don’t want politicians to be able to get their hands on that to do things to benefit their own agenda (the kind of policy that regulated the money in the economy, lower interest rates)

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11
Q

negative partisanship

A

A symptom of deep polarization. When support for a party is driven by hostility to the other party. Often results in citizens voting for a candidate they recognize as deeply flawed because they can’t stand the thought of voting for anyone from the other party.

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12
Q

Progressive Era Reforms

A

this idea included major reforms such as direct primaries, campaign finance, civil service, anti-lobbying laws, state income and inheritance taxes, child labor restrictions, pure food, and workmen’s compensation laws

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13
Q

proportional representation system

A

an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the idea that seats in parliament should be in proportion to the votes cast)

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14
Q

primaries (open, closed, and semi-)

A

open: allows all registered voters to pick a candidate from any political party
closed: you must vote for the candidate in the party you are registered with
semi: independent voters can vote either democratic or republican

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15
Q

run-off elections

A

a second election held to determine a winner when no candidate in the first election met the required threshold for victory; can be required for both primary elections and general elections

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16
Q

casework

A

when members of congress and their staff work on behalf of constituents to resolve difficulties with federal agencies, in accordance with the law

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17
Q

PACs & super-PACs

A

PACs: commonly understood to be a type of political committee that is not authorized by a candidate
Super-PACs: common shorthand for what the FEC refers to as an independent expenditure-only political committee

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18
Q

McCain-Feingold

A

(the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act) is a major federal law regulating financing for federal political candidates and campaigns; was designed to address two key campaign finance issues: soft money and issue advocacy

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19
Q

dark money

A

refers to spending to influence elections, public policy, and political discourse, where the source of the money is not disclosed to the public

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20
Q

top 2 (or 4) primary

A

a type of primary election where all candidates are listed on the same ballot

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21
Q

party list (in P.R. system)

A

a system based on proportional representation based on preregistered political parties, with each party being allocated a certain number of seats roughly proportional to their share of the vote

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22
Q

swing states

A

(aka battleground states) are states that could “swing” to either Democratic or Republican candidates depending on the election; because of their potential to go either way, political parties often spend a disproportionate amount of time and campaign resources on winning these states; (some states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin)

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23
Q

‘faithless’ electors

A

generally a party representative who does not have faith in the election result within their region and instead votes for another person for one or both offices, or abstains from voting

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24
Q

pork barrel

A

a metaphor for the appropriation of govt spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to direct expenditures to a representatives district

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25
Q

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

A

enforces federal campaign finance laws, including monitoring donation prohibitions, and limits and oversees public funding for presidential campaigns

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26
Q

Citizens United ‘10

A

a Supreme Court case that ruled that corporations and other outside groups can spend unlimited money on elections

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27
Q

National Popular Voter Interstate Compact

A

an agreement among a group of U.S. states and D.C. to award all of their electoral votes to whichever presidential ticket wins the overall popular vote in the 50 states and D.C.

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28
Q

Tea Party (recent)

A

an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican party that began in 2009; was a major factor in the 2010 wave election (Republicans gained 63 House seats and took control of the U.S. House of Reps); called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget deficit through decreased govt spending

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29
Q

campaign caucuses

A

meetings run by political parties that are held at the county, district, or precinct level

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30
Q

oppo research

A

the practice of collecting information on a political opponent that can be used to discredit or weaken them

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31
Q

Super Tuesday

A

traditionally the biggest day nationwide for primary elections and caucuses before the actual Election Day in Nov

32
Q

‘65 Voting Rights Act

A

signed by President Lyndon Johnson; outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War

33
Q

populism

A

a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of the common people and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite group

34
Q

strong vs. weak party systems

A

The U.S. has a weak system
a) Does the party choose the candidate?
b) Does the party provide the money to facilitate the campaign?
(answer for both in the U.S. is no which is why it is a weak system)

35
Q

Electoral Count Act

A

a U.S. federal law that added to procedures set out in the constitution for the counting of electoral votes following a presidential election

36
Q

party platform

A

outlines a party’s principles, goals, and positions on domestic and foreign affairs

37
Q

gender gap

A
38
Q

soft money

A

(sometimes called non-federal money) means contributions made outside the limits and prohibitions of federal law; this means that it is direct corporate and union contributions and large individual and PAC contributions

39
Q

Shelby Co. v. Holder

A

gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965

40
Q

Southern strategy (Nixon)

A

a Republican Party electoral strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans

41
Q

executive agreement

A

agreement with another country (essentially a treaty but doesn’t require approval of Senate and is for less important things)

42
Q

two presidencies thesis

A

theory that there are two distinct presidencies, one for foreign and one for domestic policy, and that presidents are more successful in foreign than domestic policy

43
Q

the Muller Report

A

official report documenting the findings and conclusions of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election

44
Q

party vote

A

legislative vote in which the majority of one party votes on one side and the majority of the other party on the other side (this used to be rare but in this era of hyper-partisanship they are much more common)

45
Q

House Rules Committee

A

considers all bills reported from policy and fiscal committees and determines whether, and in what order, to schedule their consideration on the floor of the House

46
Q

continuing resolution

A

a temporary funding measure that Congress can use to find the federal govt for a limited amount of time

47
Q

trusteeship v. delegate theory of rep.

A

These ‘trustees; have autonomy to deliberate and act as they see fit, in their own conscience even if it means going against the explicit desires of their own constituents. By contrast, in the Delegate model, the representative is expected to act strictly in accordance with the beliefs of their constituents

48
Q

“imperial” presidency

A

describes a US presidency that has more power than the Constitution allows

49
Q

executive order

A

executive orders have the force of law where they direct agencies to take/not take actions

50
Q

signing statements

A

when the president signs a piece of legislation/bill into law they will sometimes attach a statement to the bill stating they will sign off under certain conditions

51
Q

gaslighting

A

a manipulative tactic in which a person, to gain power and control of another individual, plants seeds of uncertainty in another person’s mind

52
Q

Speaker, majority/minority leaders

A
53
Q

rider

A

An additional provision added to a bill or other measure under the consideration by a legislature, which may or may not have much, if any, connection with the subject matter of the bill

54
Q

earmarks

A

a provision inserted into a discretionary spending appropriations bill that directs funds to a specific recipient while circumventing the merit-based or competitive funds allocation process

55
Q

casework

A

refers to the process by which legislatures, or their staff, assist individual constituents with issues or problems they are facing; allows lawmakers to directly address the concerns and needs of the people they represent

56
Q

unitary executive theory

A

president is ‘top dog’ and should have full power

57
Q

executive privilege

A

basic claim of president to have privileged information that doesn’t need to be known by congress

58
Q

coattails

A

the impact one candidate can have on others in the same party

59
Q

line-item veto

A

a type of veto power that allows the executive to cancel specific parts of a bill (usually spending provisions) while signing into law the rest of the bill

60
Q

leaders

A
61
Q

log-rolling

A

the process by which politicians trade support for one issue or piece of legislation in exchange for another politician’s support, especially by means of legislative votes

62
Q

workhorse, show horse

A

workhorse: performs the job well
show horse: doesn’t perform as well but is more notable, flashy, and attention-grabbing

63
Q

labs of democracy

A

This concept explains how within the federal framework, there exists a system of state autonomy where state and local govts act as social laboratories, where laws and policies are created and tested at the state level of the democratic system, in a manner similar to the scientific method.

64
Q

impeachment process

A
  1. The House of Representatives brings articles (charges) of impeachment against an official
  2. If the House adopts the articles by a simple majority vote, the official has been impeached
  3. The Senate holds an impeachment trial. In the case of a president, the U.S. Supreme Court chief justice presides
  4. If found guilty, the official is removed from office. They may never be able to hold elected office again.
  5. If they are not found guilty, they may continue to serve in office
65
Q

bully pulpit

A

a public office or position of authority that provides its occupant with an outstanding opportunity to speak out on any issue

66
Q

markup

A

the process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation

67
Q

whips

A

an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature

68
Q

cloture

A

the filibuster ends and whatever bill is being filibustered is being put up to vote (60 vote requirement)

69
Q

Charlottesville

A
70
Q

Reagan(ism)

A

emphasized lower taxes, deregulation, and free market capitalism

71
Q

Jerry Falwell (Moral Majority)

A

Moral Majority, American political organization founded in 1979 by religious leader Jerry Falwell, with the purpose of advancing conservative social values; helped to establish the religious right as a force in American politics

72
Q

Phyllis Schlafly

A

A conservative activist that is best known for her opposition to the women’s movement and especially the Equal Rights Amendment

73
Q

Newt Gingrich

A

served as House Speaker and played a key role in several govt shutdowns, and impeached President Bill Clinton on a party-line vote in the House

74
Q

Grover Norquist

A

founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases

75
Q

Mitch McConnell

A

has been the leader of the Senate Republican Conference since 2007, including as majority leader from 2015-2021, making him the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history

PoliSci (5 decks)

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