unit 5 linkage institutions

Political Party Platform

a document that outlines a political party's beliefs, values, and goals- including the party's stance on various issues such as the economy, healthcare, education, foreign policy, and social issues.

Party Conventions

events held by political parties to nominate their candidates for president and vice president, as well as to adopt their party platform and unify their party members behind their chosen candidates

GOP

a nickname for the Republican Party, founded in 1854 and has historically been associated with conservative and right-wing ideologies.

Split-Ticket Voter

a person who votes for candidates from different political parties in the same election, rather than selecting all candidates from a single party.

Super Delegate

an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote, usually high-ranking party officials or elected representatives.

Third Parties

competitive minor parties that play a distinct role on the larger parties, congress, and the decision-making possess but are usually brushed under the rug in elections

Political Party Realignment in US

a significant shift in the traditional voting patterns of a country or region, resulting in the emergence of new political coalitions and the decline of old ones- occurred several times throughout history, most notably during the Civil War, the Great Depression, and the Civil Rights era.

Federal Elections Campaign Act (1974)

a federal law that regulates political campaign spending and fundraising was enacted in 1974 and has been amended several times since then (requires disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures, limits on contributions to candidates and political parties, and public financing for presidential campaigns)

Winner-Take-All Voting

a system that exists in the electoral college in which they award all their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the majority of the popular vote (restricts third parties)

Midterm Elections

elections held in the middle of a president's term, where voters elect members of Congress, governors, and other state and local officials- occur every two years, and are often seen as a referendum on the president's performance.

Closed Primary

an election in which you must be registered with one political party in order to vote

Open Primary

an election in which you do not have to be registered as one political party to vote

Electoral College

a group of electors appointed by each state who formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States- the number of electors each state has is determined by the number of representatives it has in Congress.

Open Seat

a seat in a state or district being contested by candidates, none of whom currently holds the office.

Caucus (Iowa)

party members meet at community centers, schools, and private homes where they listen to endorsing speeches, discuss candiates, then finally cast their vote before leaving (less conveniant and more public)

Safe State

a state that is constantly always republican or democrat (alabama R and massachusetts D)

Swing State

a state that commonly goes back and forth between republican and democrat (floridia and pennsylvania)

Narrowcasting

a communication strategy that targets a specific audience or demographic with specialized content or message - the opposite of broadcasting, which aims to reach a wide and diverse audience.

Super Tuesday

a day when several states coincidentally hold primaries

527 & 501(c)(4)

tax-exempt organizations in the United States. 527 organizations are political organizations that engage in political activities, such as influencing elections and lobbying. 501(c)(4) organizations are social welfare organizations that are allowed to engage in some political activities, but their primary purpose must be to promote social welfare. forma

PAC

formal groups formed from interest groups, donate heavily to incumbents

Super PAC

a type of independent political committee that can raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations, and unions to support or oppose political candidates or issues- not allowed to coordinate with candidates or political parties, but they can spend unlimited amounts of money on advertising and other political activities.

FEC

the committe that montiors and enforces campain regulations

Reapportionment

the process of redistributing the number of seats in a legislative body, such as the U.S. House of Representatives, based on changes in population. This occurs every 10 years following the decennial census.

Redistricting

redrawing lines to create new districts when populations rise or fall

Gerrymander

redrawing district lines to favor one politcal party (cracking and packing)

Incumbency advantage

the ability to use all the tools of the presidency to support canidacy for a second term

McCain-Feingold Act (BCRA) (2002)

also known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002, is a United States federal law that regulates the financing of political campaigns. It was designed to limit the influence of wealthy donors and special interest groups in the political process by placing restrictions on campaign contributions and expenditures.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

a federal law that gives the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency.

Lobbyist

individuals or groups who attempt to influence government officials and policies on behalf of a particular interest or organization (corporations, non-profit organizations, or other groups to advocate for specific legislation or regulations that benefit their clients)

K Street

a major thoroughfare in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. It is known for its many lobbying firms, law firms, and advocacy groups.

Iron Triangle

bonds among a bureacratic agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group

Issue Networks

collectives with similar goals that come together to support a specific issue, but do not have the long term relationships like iron triangles do

Power Elite Theory

the United States is actually run by a small group representing the most wealthy, powerful, and influential people in business, government, and the military

Pluralism

a multitude of views between the three branches of government that ultimatley results in a consensus on some issues

Amicus Curiae

“friend of the court case” in which they have an interest but no client

Think Tanks

conservative research institutions with specific ideological goals

Broadcasting

putting on information through the media that aims to reach a wide and diverse audience.

Gatekeeper

editorial boards of news media that determine what is news worthy and what infromation the public will receive

Watchdog

the presses function of keeping an eye on government or industry looking for corruption, scandal, or inefficiency

Scorekeeper

the media tracking political success and failure

Shield Laws

laws that protect reporters from revealing their sources

Prior Restraint

judicial suppression of material that would be published or broadcast, on the grounds that it is libelous or harmful (limited severely by the first amendment)

Fairness Doctrine

a former federal policy that required radio and television broadcasters to present alternative viewpoints

FCC

regulates electronic media and has authoirty over the content of radio, telelvision, wire, and satellite broadcasts

Pentagon Papers

revealed that the Harry S. Truman administration gave military aid to France in its colonial war against the communist-led Viet Minh, thus directly involving the United States in Vietnam;

Telecommunications Act 1996

significantly reduced regulations on media concentration and cross-ownership of media outlets

Mainstream media

the collection of traditional news organizations