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Monster Vocab
for all the ap nerds
63
Other
12th Grade
01/05/2017

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Cards

Term
Block Grants
Definition
Federal money given to the states with few restrictions about how it should be spent.
Term
Categorical Grants
Definition
Money given by the federal government to the states to be used for a narrowly defined purpose, and with "strings attached."
Term
Cooperative Federalism
Definition
A system where the federal government and the states work together in funding and administering programs.
Term
Devolution
Definition
A process by which the national government returns more power and authority back to its states.
Term
Federalism
Definition
A system of government where power is shared between the national government and the states in which the states have some protected powers.
Term
Fiscal Federalism
Definition
The use of spending by the national government through the grant process to influence state policies.
Term
Unfunded Mandate
Definition
A federal requirement that forces the states to spend their own money.
Term
Demographics
Definition
The statistical characteristics of a population.
Term
Gender Gap
Definition
The tendency of men to support candidates from the Republican party at greater rates than women.
Term
Political Culture
Definition

The shared political values of a society.

 

Term
Political Efficacy
Definition
An individual's belief that his or her political participation can make a difference.
Term
Political Socialization
Definition
The process by which an individual develops his or her political values/
Term
Caucus
Definition
Face-to-face meetings of party members at the localor state level to determine their party's candidate for office.
Term
Closed Primary
Definition
A vote by party members to determine their party's candidate for office, which is restricted to those who are registered to the party.
Term
Critical Elections
Definition
An election where new coalitions of voters have formed, beginning a new party era.
Term
Dealignment
Definition
When voters no longer identify with one of the two major parties and become independent voters.
Term
Divided Government
Definition
When the presidet is from one political party and one or both houses of Congress are controlledby the opposing political party.
Term
General Election
Definition
A political contest to select the person who will hold a government office.
Term
Gerrymandering
Definition
Drawing congressional district boundaries to benefit a group, usually a political party.
Term
Independent Expenditures
Definition
Money spent on ads that are not sponsored by a candidate or party.
Term
Midterm Election
Definition
An election in which voters select members of Congress but not the president.
Term
Open Primary
Definition
An election to determine a party's candidate for officec in which that party's members and unaffiliated voters may vote.
Term
PAC
Definition
An organization that is registered by the Federal Election Committee and donates money directly to a candidate or campaign.
Term
Realignment
Definition
The process through which voters leave one of the major party coalition and join the other major party's coalition.
Term
Single-Member Districts
Definition
The electoral system used to select members of the House of Representatives.
Term
Super PAC
Definition
An organization, which need not disclose its members and can spend a vast, unlimited amount of money on a political campaign.
Term
Grassroots Lobbying
Definition
Ordinary citizens raising awareness for a cause and pushing the government to adopt a particular policy.
Term
Horse Race Journalism
Definition
The tendancy of the media to focus on which the candidate is ahead in the polls rather than focusing on the issues.
Term
Interest Group
Definition
An organization that advocates for policies through lobbying, electioneering, grassroots mobilization, and protesting.
Term
Issue Network (Iron Triangle)
Definition
A relationship between interest groups, agencies, and congressional committees in a certain policy area.
Term
Lobbying
Definition
Efforts by an interest group or individual to contact a member of Congess and advocate for a particular policy.
Term
Party Polarization
Definition
When political parties move farther away from each other ideologically, also moving away from the political center, refusing to compromise.
Term
Pluralism
Definition

A theory of government in which many groups compete for policy, with no one group being able to dominate the political system.

 

Term
Policy Agenda
Definition
Problems that have the attention of the government and the public.
Term
Political Party
Definition
A group of indivduals who organize to run candidates for office.
Term
Casework
Definition
When congressional staff help a constituent solve a problem.
Term
Expressed Powers
Definition
Powers that are given to an institution of government directly in the Constitution, such as Congress's power to tax.
Term
Filibuster
Definition
A procedure used in the Senate to talk a bill to death.
Term
Franking Privilege
Definition
The free mail and electronic sign system used by members of the congress.
Term
Implied Powers
Definition
Powers that are necessary to carry out an expressed power in the Constitution, like the power of Congress to establish a bank.
Term
Incumbent
Definition
An officeholder who is running for reelection.
Term
Logrolling
Definition
When members of Congress trade votes for favors in order to get the bills theey support passed.
Term
Motion of Cloture
Definition
A vote by 60 senators to end a filibuster.
Term
Oversight
Definition
Congressional committee hearings held to determine how well an agency is doing its job.
Term
Pork Barrel Spending
Definition
A provision in a bill that benefits a specific congressional constituency.
Term
Executive Order
Definition
A presidential directive.
Term
Inherent Powers
Definition
Powers that are naturally held by the government of the soverign nation, such as war.
Term
Lame Duck Period
Definition
The time during which a president who has lost an election or had ended a second term is still in offive before the new president serves.
Term
Pocket Veto
Definition
When a president does not sign a bill witin 10 days when Congress is not in session.
Term
White House Staff
Definition
The president's personal assistants and advisors.
Term
Amicus Curiae
Definition
An argument filed with a court by an individual or group who is not a party to a lawsuit, "friend of the court."
Term
Judicial Activism
Definition
A philosophy that the Supreme Court should make bold new policy through their court rulings.
Term
Litigation
Definition
A lawsuit.
Term
Original Intent
Definition
Making judicial decisions by considering what the founding fathers ment in writing the Constitution.
Term
Stare decisis
Definition
When a court follows precedent by letting a previous decision stand; "let the decision stand."
Term
Writ of certiorari
Definition
A document issued by the Supreme Court if it has agreed to hear a case.
Term
Entitlements
Definition
Promises made by the government to an identifiable group of people who are guranteed benefits.
Term
Fiscal Policy
Definition
Impacting the economy through taxing and spending in the budget.
Term
Mandatory Spending
Definition
Expenditures that the federal government is obligated to make, like entitlements and interest on the national debt.
Term
Monetary Policy
Definition
Influencing the economy through federal interest rates, reserve rates, and the amount of money in circulation.
Term
Uncontrollable spending
Definition
Expenditures that the federal government cannot realistically reduce because they are required by law.
Term
Selective Incorporation
Definition
The process by which the Bill of Rights has been applied to the states on a case-by-case basis through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Term
Suffrage
Definition
The right to vote.
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