To vote, or not to vote
How often elections happen for:
The President
The Senate
The House
What is
President: Every 4 years
Senate: Every 6 years
House: Every 2 years
The two main parties in the United States.
What are the Democratic and Republican parties?
This group decides the rules for campaign funding.
What is the F.E.C.?
Examples include Emily's List, who's goal it is to get female candidates elected, and the NRA, who's goal is all about gun rights.
What is a single issue group?
The four major sources of media coverage
What are TV, Internet, Radio, Newspaper?
An example of this is an old, white, Republican decides that for the 16th time in a row he is going to vote for the Republican candidate.
What is party-line voting?
Where do the nominees for each party getting selected?
What is the National Convention?
The election after the primary election.
What is the general election?
When people outside of a group benefit from the group's work.
What is the free-rider problem?
The role of the media that can lead to "horse race journalism."
What is scorekeeping?
This amendment allowed people to vote regardless of the color of their skin or their previous condition of servitude.
What is the 15th Amendment?
What GOP stands for and the party it represents.
What is the Grand Old Party, Republican?
Of the three types, the type of primary election that gives voters the greatest options: open, closed, or caucus.
What is an open primary?
A term for when multiple interest groups come together for a particular cause.
What is coalition building?
The four major types of linkage institutions.
What are voting/elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media?
Term for when state legislatures redraw their congressional districts for the House of Representatives.
What is redistricting?
Three values that a Democrat or Republican would have.
What are
Democrat: Pro-choice, pro gun-control, pro-affirmative action, suppports entitlement spending, anti-death penalty
Republican: Anti-abortion, 2nd amendment, pro-death penalty, against deficit spending, reducing tax rates
This term is used for a candidate who is currently in office and is running again.
What is an incumbent?
The term for when interest groups are in short term relationships with members of Congress, agencies in the bureaucracy, and sometimes even other interest groups.
What is an issue network?
The role of the media considered to be the "fourth branch of government."
What is watchdog media?
Term for when politicians concentrate like-minded voters in a congressional district.
What is packing?
The term for when conflict between the two parties causes policies to not be passed.
What is political gridlock?
The term for what candidates do when they adjust their message in between the primary election and the general election.
What is pivot?
An interest group can file this if they want to insert their opinion on a case.
What is an Amicus curiae brief?
Bias created when media outlets focus on news stories that will get them more views/clicks.
What is commercial bias?