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Politics Exam 3
Politics terms
47
Political Studies
Undergraduate 1
04/01/2011

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Term
Conservative
Definition
one who wants less government activity on economic issues and more to promote traditional social values
Term
liberal
Definition
one who favors more government activity to foster economic equality, and less activity to promote traditional social values
Term
liberatarian
Definition
one who favors less government activity across the board including economic and social issues
Term
moderate
Definition
somewhere in between a conservative and a liberal
Term
populist
Definition
one who favors increased government activity both to regulate the economy and to protect traditional social norms
Term
Motor Voter
Definition
the 1993 national voter registration act, requires states to offer voter registration when people apply for services such as driver's licenses
Term
political ideology
Definition
a comprehensive system of belief about what government should do
Term
political socialization
Definition
the process by which people gain their opinions and knowledge about politics
Term
Caucus
Definition
a meeting of political party members
Term
divided government
Definition
a situation in which one party holds the executive branch while the other holds at least one chamber of the legislative branch
Term
king caucus
Definition
in the early nineteenth century, referred to meetings of democratic-republican members of congress who nominated presidential candidates
Term
New Deal Coalition
Definition
the voter support base of the democratic party which took from during Franklin Roosevelt's admin.
Term
artisan alignment/ realignment
Definition
an enduring pattern of party loyalty in the electorate. a realignment is a sudden and permanent shift in that pattern
Term
party in government
Definition
those who win office under the party label
Term
party in the electorate
Definition
the voters who tend to support a given party
Term
artisan polarization
Definition
the movement of parties away from each other and toward more extreme issue positions
Term
political patronage
Definition
the granting of jobs, contracts, and other official favors in return for loyalty to an individual leader or political party
Term
primary election
Definition
an election that determines who runs in the final or general election
Term
closed
Definition
only voters who register with the political party may vote
Term
semiclosed
Definition
party members can only vote in their party, but unaffiliated voters can vote in either
Term
open
Definition
any voter can cast a ballot in any party's primary
Term
blanket
Definition
a single ballot displays candidates for all parties' nominations for all offices
Term
coattail effect
Definition
the tendency for a popular candidate for higher office to draw votes for other candidates of the same party
Term
electoral college
Definition
the mechanism for formal elections of the president and vice president, 538 members, each state has the same number as senators and house members
Term
front loading
Definition
the practice of scheduling presidential primaries and caucuses at earlier and earlier dates
Term
general election
Definition
an election for final selection of a variety of offices
Term
gerrymandering
Definition
the drawing of district lines in odd shapes to benefit a particular party or group
Term
incumbency advantage
Definition
the electoral benefits that come with holding office
Term
majority- minority district
Definition
an election district in which members of an ethnic or racial minority constitute a majority of votes (ex. southern california are hispanics)
Term
midterm elections
Definition
elections that take place in even numbered years when there is no presidential election
Term
reapportionment
Definition
a process that reallocates house seats to states in line with population changes
Term
redistricting
Definition
drawing of the district lines
Term
single member district
Definition
constituencies that elect only one member to a legislative body
Term
winner take all system
Definition
the system by which the presidential candidate who wins a plurality of a state's popular votes will win all of its electoral votes
Term
deficit
Definition
an amount by which spending exceeds revenues in any given year (debt)
Term
discretionary spending
Definition
federal outlays that are subject to the annual process of appropriations unlike mandatory spending
Term
federal debt
Definition
the total value of outstanding securities that the federal government has issued
Term
fiscal policy
Definition
federal policy concerning overall levels of spending and taxes
Term
protectionism
Definition
policy of erecting rade barriers to shield domestic business from international competition
Term
regressive tax
Definition
the opposite of progressive tax, taking proportionately more from lower-income people
Term
supply-side economics
Definition
a school of thought holding that high taxes hurt economic growth by discouraging savings and investment. cutting tax rates can spur economic activity, meaning bigger profits and payrolls and greater revenues
Term
progressive tax
Definition
taxes that take proportionately more from higher income
Term
tariff
Definition
a specific figure that taxpayers may subtract from their taxable income, take exemptions for themselves and dependents.
Term
Delegate
Definition
the role played by elected representatives who vote the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions
Term
trustee
Definition
the role played by elected re[resentatives who listen to their constituents' opinions and then use their best judgment to make final decisions
Term
Enumerated powers
Definition
the 17 express powers that Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution specifically grants to Congress
Term
Implied powers
Definition
powers of the national government that the Constitution does not directly mention but that one may reasonably infer from the enumerated powers
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