Gov final
The collection of all forms of media that communicate information to the general public is called _____ _____, including television, print, radio, and Internet
mass media
The media engages in ______ _______, which is the act of choosing which issues or topics deserve public discussion
agenda setting
The publication of the Federalist Papers, as well as the Anti-Federalist Papers, in the 1780s, moved the nation into the _____ _____ era, in which partisanship and political party loyalty dominated the choice of editorial content.
party press
With the arrival of the Progressive Era, the media began __________ : the writing and publishing of news coverage that exposed corrupt business and government practices.
muckraking
The rise of free news blogs, such as the Huffington Post, have made it difficult for newspapers to force readers to purchase online subscriptions to access material they place behind a ______ ______.
digital paywall
Before ________, few voters were able to see a president or candidate speak or answer questions in an interview.
television
In 1976, President Gerald Ford, who was behind in the polls, invited ______ ______ to debate, and televised debates became a regular part of future presidential campaigns.
Jimmy Carter
______ ________ occurs when citizens use their personal recording devices and cell phones to capture events and post them on the Internet.
Citizen journalism
In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled that while the government can impose _____ _______ on the media, meaning the government can prevent the publication of information, that right is very limited.
prior restraint
Laws that mandate federal and many state government proceedings and meeting documents be made available to the public are called ________ _____.
sunshine laws
_______ ______ are groups of people with similar interests who work together to create and implement policies.
Political parties
Growing regional tensions eroded the ________ Party’s ability to coordinate elites, and it eventually collapsed following its opposition to the War of 1812.
Federalist
During the 1820s through the 1850s, the Democratic Party emphasized _______ _______, which focused on building direct relationships with voters rather than on promoting specific issues.
personal politics
In 1892, a third party known as the ________ Party formed in reaction to what its constituents perceived as the domination of U.S. society by big business and a decline in the power of farmers and rural communities.
Populist
The ____-_____ system came into being because the structure of U.S. elections, with one seat tied to a geographic district, tends to lead to dominance by two major political parties.
two-party
________ ______, commonly referred to as first-past-the-post, is based on the principle that the individual candidate with the most votes wins, whether or not he or she gains a majority (51 percent or greater) of the total votes cast.
Plurality voting
Under the model of ___________ __________, legislative seats are allocated to competing parties based on the total share of votes they receive in the election.
proportional representation
The 1932 election, between Hoover and FDR is considered an example of a ________ _______, one that represents a sudden, clear, and long-term shift in voter allegiances.
critical election
_____ ________ make up the majority of the voting public.
Party identifiers
______ _________ occurs when one or more houses of the legislature are controlled by the party in opposition to the executive.
Divided government
Article I of the Constitution specifies that the U.S. House of Representatives members must be at least ____ years old to serve.
25
The term of office for a U.S. senator is ___ years.
6
Congress is a ________ _________ with ____ members.
bicameral legislature; 535
A ________ allows members of the Senate to prevent a vote on proposed legislation by speaking continuously on the floor.
filibuster
The process of allocating congressional seats among the fifty states is called _________.
apportionment
______ _______ is the current Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Kevin McCarthy
________ _______ is the current majority leader of the U.S. Senate.
Charles Schumer
The jurisdiction of _______ committees is defined by the subject matter of legislation.
standing
A senator or representative running for re-election is called the _________
incumbent
A proposed piece of legislation is called a _____.
bill
The ___ _______ _________ Act of 1973 asserts that the president can send American troops into action abroad only in the event of a declaration of war or other statutory authorization by Congress.
War Powers Resolution
Many presidents have made use of ________ ________ in foreign affairs, in order to around the need for Senate approval of treaties.
executive agreements
An _________ ______ is a rule or regulation issued unilaterally by the president, with the status of a law
executive order
The ________ is the informal designation for the heads of the major federal government departments.
cabinet
After the president, vice president and Speaker of the House, the ________ ___ _____ of the ______ is the next in line in presidential succession.
president pro tempore; Senate
A _______ _______ is an announcement the president makes about his interpretation of a congressional enactment he is signing into law.
signing statement
The president’s State of the Union address is mandated by the ___________.
Constitution
The turning point in American politics toward a president-centered government came during the administration of _________ _________.
Franklin Roosevelt
Richard Nixon claimed _________ ________ when he refused to turn over secret White House tapes to congressional investigators.
executive privilege
Use of the presidential ____ varies considerably across presidential administrations, and they are not often overridden.
veto
_________ _______ ____ is the only person to have served both as president and as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
William Howard Taft
A confrontational legal system under which each party presents its version of events is referred to as a(n) ________ ________.
adversarial system
_______ ___ of the U.S. Constitution establishes the judicial branch of government.
Article III
According to the U.S. Constitution, the _______ has the authority to create lower courts.
Congress
The lawful authority of a court to hear a case is referred to as its _________.
jurisdiction
The equal protection clause is found in the __________ __________ of the U.S. Constitution.
Fourteenth Amendment
________ ______is the power of courts to declare actions of Congress, the president, or state officials unconstitutional, and therefore void.
Judicial review
In Federalist no.78, _________ _______ described the judiciary as “the least dangerous branch” because it has no power over the sword or the purse.
Alexander Hamilton
The U.S. Supreme Court granted itself the power of judicial review in the case of _______ _ _______.
Marbury v. Madison
____ ___ served as the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
John Jay
_______ ______ nominated Sandra Day O’Connor, to be the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ronald Reagan
The _________ Party dominated Georgia politics from 1872-2002
Democratic
_____ _______ was Georgia’s first Republican governor, elected in 1868.
Rufus Bullock
_____ _______ is the current President Pro Tempore of the Georgia State Senate.
Butch Miller
____ ___________ is the current Georgia Secretary of State.
Brad Raffensperger
____ _____ is the current Georgia Lt. Governor and President of the State Senate.
Burt Jones
The Georgia ______ __ _______ has 15 judges who are elected in non-partisan campaigns.
Court of Appeals
Georgia's _______ courts have jurisdiction over most cases involving inheritances and estate distributions, as well as other property and real estate transactions between multiple parties.
probate
The Georgia __________ commissioner is responsible for gas quality.
agriculture
beat
the coverage area assigned to journalists for news or stories
cultivation theory
the idea that media affect a citizen’s worldview through the information presented
equal-time rule
an FCC policy that all candidates running for office must be given the same radio and television airtime opportunities
fairness doctrine
a 1949 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) policy, now defunct, that required holders of broadcast licenses to cover controversial issues in a balanced manner
framing
the process of giving a news story a specific context or background
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
a federal statute that requires public agencies to provide certain types of information requested by citizens
hypodermic theory
the idea that information is placed in a citizen’s brain and accepted
indecency regulations
laws that limit indecent and obscene material on public airwaves
libel
printed information about a person or organization that is not true and harms the reputation of the person or organization
minimal effects theory
the idea that the media have little effect on citizens
priming
the process of predisposing readers or viewers to think a particular way
public relations
biased communication intended to improve the image of people, companies, or organizations
reporter’s privilege
the right of a journalist to keep a source confidential
slander
spoken information about a person or organization that is not true and harms the reputation of the person or organization
soft news
news presented in an entertaining style
yellow journalism
sensationalized coverage of scandals and human interest stories
bipartisanship
a process of cooperation through compromise
gerrymandering
the manipulation of legislative districts in an attempt to favor a particular candidate
majoritarian voting
a type of election in which the winning candidate must receive at least 50 percent of the votes, even if a run-off election is required
majority party
the legislative party with over half the seats in a legislative body, and thus significant power to control the agenda
minority party
the legislative party with less than half the seats in a legislative body
moderate
an individual who falls in the middle of the ideological spectrum
party identifiers
individuals who represent themselves in public as being part of a party
party organization
the formal structure of the political party and the active members responsible for coordinating party behavior and supporting party candidates
party platform
the collection of a party’s positions on issues it considers politically important
party polarization
the shift of party positions from moderate towards ideological extremes
party realignment
a shifting of party alliances within the electorate
party-in-government
party identifiers who have been elected to office and are responsible for fulfilling the party’s promises
party-in-the-electorate
members of the voting public who consider themselves part of a political party or who consistently prefer the candidates of one party over the other
political machine
an organization that secures votes for a party’s candidates or supports the party in other ways, usually in exchange for political favors such as a job in government
precinct
the lowest level of party organization, usually organized around neighborhoods
reapportionment
the reallocation of House seats between the states to account for population changes
redistricting
the redrawing of electoral maps
safe seat
a district drawn so members of a party can be assured of winning by a comfortable margin
sorting
the process in which voters change party allegiances in response to shifts in party position
third parties
political parties formed as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties, also known as minor parties
cloture
a parliamentary process to end a debate in the Senate, as a measure against the filibuster; invoked when three-fifths of senators vote for the motion
collective representation
the relationship between Congress and the United States as a whole, and whether the institution itself represents the American people
conference committee
a special type of joint committee that reconciles different bills passed in the House and Senate so a single bill results
constituency
the body of voters, or constituents, represented by a particular politician
delegate model of representation
a model of representation in which representatives feel compelled to act on the specific stated wishes of their constituents
descriptive representation
the extent to which a body of representatives represents the descriptive characteristics of their constituencies, such as class, race, ethnicity, and gender
enumerated powers
the powers given explicitly to the federal government by the Constitution to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, raise and support armies, declare war, coin money, and conduct foreign affairs
implied powers
the powers not specifically detailed in the U.S. Constitution but inferred as necessary to achieve the objectives of the national government
inherent powers
the powers neither enumerated nor implied but assumed to exist as a direct result of the country’s existence
joint committee
a legislative committee consisting of members from both chambers that investigates certain topics but lacks bill referral authority
majority leader
the leader of the majority party in either the House or Senate; in the House, the majority leader serves under the Speaker of the House, in the Senate, the majority leader is the functional leader and chief spokesperson for the majority party
markup
the amending and voting process in a congressional committee
minority leader
the party member who directs the activities of the minority party on the floor of either the House or the Senate
oversight
the right to review and monitor other bodies such as the executive branch
politico model of representation
a model of representation in which members of Congress act as either trustee or delegate, based on rational political calculations about who is best served, the constituency or the nation
pork-barrel politics
federal spending intended to benefit a particular district or set of constituents
president pro tempore
the senator who acts in the absence of the actual president of the Senate, who is also the vice president of the United States; the president pro tempore is usually the most senior senator of the majority party
representation
an elected leader’s looking out for constituents while carrying out the duties of the office
select committee
a small legislative committee created to fulfill a specific purpose and then disbanded; also called an ad hoc, or special, committee
Speaker of the House
the presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of the majority party; the Speaker is second in the presidential line of succession, after the vice president
surge-and-decline theory
a theory proposing that the surge of stimulation occurring during presidential elections subsides during midterm elections, accounting for the differences we observe in turnouts and results
trustee model of representation
a model of representation in which representatives feel at liberty to act in the way they believe is best for their constituents
whip
in the House and in the Senate, a high leadership position whose primary duty is to enforce voting discipline in the chambers and conferences
bully pulpit
Theodore Roosevelt’s notion of the presidency as a platform from which the president could push an agenda
Executive Office of the President
the administrative organization that reports directly to the president and made up of important offices, units, and staff of the current president and headed by the White House chief of staff
going public
a term for when the president delivers a major television address in the hope that public pressure will result in legislators supporting the president on a major piece of legislation
impeachment
the act of charging a government official with serious wrongdoing, which in some cases may lead to the removal of that official from office
king caucus
an informal meeting held in the nineteenth century, sometimes called a congressional caucus, made up of legislators in the Congress who met to decide on presidential nominees for their respective parties
line-item veto
a power created through law in 1996 and overturned by the Supreme Court in 1998 that allowed the president to veto specific aspects of bills passed by Congress while signing into law what remained
Office of Management and Budget
an office within the Executive Office of the President charged with producing the president’s budget, overseeing its implementation, and overseeing the executive bureaucracy
rally around the flag effect
a spike in presidential popularity during international crises
amicus curiae
literally a “friend of the court” and used for a brief filed by someone who is interested in but not party to a case
appellate court
a court that reviews cases already decided by a lower or trial court and that may change the lower court’s decision
appellate jurisdiction
the power of a court to hear a case on appeal from a lower court and possibly change the lower court’s decision
associate justice
a member of the Supreme Court who is not the chief justice
brief
a written legal argument presented to a court by one of the parties in a case
chief justice
the highest-ranking justice on the Supreme Court
circuit courts
the appeals (appellate) courts of the federal court system that review decisions of the lower (district) courts; also called courts of appeals
civil law
a non-criminal law defining private rights and remedies
common law
the pattern of law developed by judges through case decisions largely based on precedent
concurring opinion
an opinion written by a justice who agrees with the Court’s majority opinion but has different reasons for doing so
conference
closed meeting of the justices to discuss cases on the docket and take an initial vote
courts of appeals
the appellate courts of the federal court system that review decisions of the lower (district) courts; also called circuit courts
criminal law
a law that prohibits actions that could harm or endanger others, and establishes punishment for those actions
dissenting opinion
an opinion written by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion of the Court
district courts
the trial courts of the federal court system where cases are tried, evidence is presented, and witness testimony is heard
docket
the list of cases pending on a court’s calendar
dual court system
the division of the courts into two separate systems, one federal and one state, with each of the fifty states having its own courts
judicial activism
a judicial philosophy in which a justice is more likely to overturn decisions or rule actions by the other branches unconstitutional, especially in an attempt to broaden individual rights and liberties
judicial restraint
a judicial philosophy in which a justice is more likely to let stand the decisions or actions of the other branches of government
majority opinion
an opinion of the Court with which more than half the nine justices agree
Marbury v. Madison
the 1803 Supreme Court case that established the courts’ power of judicial review and the first time the Supreme Court ruled an act of Congress to be unconstitutional
oral argument
words spoken before the Supreme Court (usually by lawyers) explaining the legal reasons behind their position in a case and why it should prevail
original jurisdiction
the power of a court to hear a case for the first time
precedent
the principles or guidelines established by courts in earlier cases that frame the ongoing operation of the courts, steering the direction of the entire system
Rule of Four
a Supreme Court custom in which a case will be heard when four justices decide to do so
senatorial courtesy
an unwritten custom by which the president consults the senators in the state before nominating a candidate for a federal vacancy there, particularly for court positions
solicitor general
the lawyer who represents the federal government and argues some cases before the Supreme Court
stare decisis
the principle by which courts rely on past decisions and their precedents when making decisions in new cases
trial court
the level of court in which a case starts or is first tried
writ of certiorari
an order of the Supreme Court calling up the records of the lower court so a case may be reviewed; sometimes abbreviated cert.