1
(3 words, also in acronym form) Groups that fund election campaigns, attacking the opponent’s position while seeming to educate the public. (p168)
2
(2 words) Cabinet secretaries and Supreme Court justices require the approval of the Senate, but the President of the United States currently has the authority to unilaterally hire over 350 people to high-level positions within the federal government.
3
(3 words) The first US constitution 1781-8, which established a loose league of independent states under a very weak central government (p142)
4
(2 words)District courts have the power to hear a case for the first time in most federal cases, i.e. they have _____ _________
5
(2 words) There are three of these and one vice-presidential one. The first one took place in 1960 when Senator John F Kennedy bested Vice-President Richard Nixon in visual appearance and style.
6
(2 words) The people are the power behind government (p146)
7
(2 words) The ___ _____ Reform Act in 2002 established rules to control the ways public or private money can be used during the election process. (p168)
8
(2 words) A president belonging to one party and majorities belonging to the other party in one or both houses of congress, which can lead to political deadlock and a decline in the public’s confidence in government.
9
(4 words) Works alongside the Rules Committee, whose members he/she chooses scheduling the work of the chamber, limiting debate and restricting amendments to a bill from the floor, decides which bills are brought up for a vote and has total power over who speaks during debate. (p156)
10
(2 words the _____ of ______) The constitutional framework’s basic principles are a republican form of government, federalism, the ______ of ____ (between the legislative. executive and judicial branches) , checks and balances and constitutional change. (p143-148, p147)
11
(2 words)The process where Americans vote for people called 'electors' in their state who are supporting the candidate they want to become president - The more people who live in a state, the more electors there are for that state. So California for example, with a population of 38.8 million, has 55 votes - while Delaware, (pop. 936,000), has just three votes. (telegraph and p171)
12
(2 words)The theory of constitutional law holding that the president can possess more power. George Bush said it was essential after 9-11, should not be subject to the usual critical oversight (inspection) of congressional committees, should be able to hire and fire government officials without senatorial interference and so on (p164)
13
(2 words _____ and _____ clause) The Constitution’s broad language has allowed the Supreme Court to expand federal power into areas originally left to the states such as in commerce, provision of general welfare and the creation of all laws that are “_____ and _______”. (p146-7)
14
Also known as redistricting, this is how the seats are divided among the states according to their population, the reassignment of the number of House seats to each state, after every ten-year federal census.
15
(2 words) The Majority Party of the House elects a speaker and a ____ ____ as this/her next in command and a whip to help round up votes (p156)
16
(3 words) An area where either Republicans or Democrats could win. The growth of African American voting, the influx of people from other regions, Latinos, the elderly, and the economic modernisation and urbanization of the South have turned the area into a __-____ ____.
17
The ____ ______ versus the Federal Election Commission case – eliminated the BCRA’s limits on campaign spending (p168)
18
(2 words) The Constitution lays the foundation for federalism through the concepts of “______ ________” to the states and “delegated” ones to the Federal Government in the Tenth Amendment. (p146)
19
(3 words) The _-_-_ system: The candidate who wins a state (even with a minority of its popular vote) receives all the votes in the college. This system is supposed to reward small states which get three electoral votes no matter how small their population. (p171)
20
(2 words) The right to decide in cases determining whether congressional, presidential and states’ acts are in accordance with the Constitution and to declare them void if it deems that they are not. (p175-176)
21
(2 words) Independent candidates and minor or splinter parties. Their policy suggestions are often adopted. (p153 and p154)
22
sitting members (i.e. of the senate) (p160)
23
An attempt to defeat a bill by talking until its supporters withdraw it so that other business can be finished. Only 60 members of the chamber need to vote for closure, limiting speeches to an hour. (p156)
24
Interest groups formed to lobby other members. Congress has over 100 of these, which allow members to gather in groups that are increasingly important rivals to the parties as the source of policy proposals. (p157)
25
______ elections need to be won first for a person to run for a seat in Congress. Two or more candidates from the same party compete in a ______ for the right to represent the party in the general election campaign.
26
______ elections take place where registered members of a political party in a city, town or county gather to vote for their preferred party candidate. (dummies)
27
The president can __ legislation passed by Congress, but a ___ can be overridden by two-thirds majorities of both Houses. They can take place in two ways... via a ___ message giving presidential objections or by no action being taken within ten days of the adjournment of Congress on bills that come to the White House (the so-called pocket ____)(p147, p164)
