Amicus Curiae Brief
Friend of court" brief filed by an interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision.
Dealignment Argument
Contention that parties are less meaningful to voters, who have abandoned the parties in greater number to become independents.
Divided Government
Government in which one party controls the presidency while another party controls the Congress.
Elite Theory
Theory that upper class elites exercise great influence over public policy.
Factions
Terms used by Madison to denote what we now call interest groups.
Fairness Doctrine
FCC rule (no longer in effect) that required broadcasters to air a variety of viewpoints on their programs.
Feeding Frenzy
the media "attack" when they sense wrongdoing or scandal in government, and devote great amounts of coverage to such stories.
Free Rider Problem
The problem faced by interest groups when citizens can reap the benefits of interest group action without actually joining, participating in, or contributing money to such groups.
Horse Race Coverage
The tendency of the media to report on an election campaign as if it were a horse race, i.e who is ahead, who is behind, who is gaining ground.
Iron Triangle
An informal association of federal agency, congressional committee, and interest group that is said to have heavy influence over policy making.
Litigation
The act or process of carrying out a lawsuit.
Lobbying
Attempting to influence policy makers.
Nonpartisan Elections
Elections in which candidates are not identified by party membership on the ballot.
Office Column Ballot
Ballot in which candidates are arranged by office rather than party. Encourages split ticket voting.
Party Column Ballot
Ballot in which candidates are arranged by party rather than office. Encourages straight ticket voting.
Photo Opportunity
A staged campaign event that attracts favorable visual media coverage.
Pluralism
Theory that policy making is the result of interest group competition.
Political Action Committee (PAC)
An interest group that raises funds and donates to election campaign.
Patronage
Appointing loyal party members to government positions.
Revolving Door
The cycle in which a person alternately works for the public sector and private devote, thus blurring the individual's sense of loyalty.
Selective Exposure
The practice of selectively choosing media sources which are in harmony with ones own beliefs.
Selective Perception
The practice of perceiving media messaged the way one wants to.
Sound Bite
A short, pithy comment that is likely to attract media attention.
Spin Control
Placing a certain slant on a story to deflect negative public attention against a candidate or office holder.
Unit Rule
An abandoned rule of the Democratic Party national convention in which the candidate with the most delegates from w state won all of that state's convention votes.