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Vocabulary: Political Words

Vocabulary: Political Words

Every clique has its own language — an insider's jargon that people outside the group
don't always understand. Filmmakers talk about "panning" and "fading." Retailers talk
about "floor sales" and "back orders." Politicians have a language of their own too, and it
often appears in media reports about politics.

What exactly do politicians mean when they talk about a "lame duck" or a "rubber
chicken"? What is "red tape" and who is the "Silent Majority"? This glossary is designed to
demystify some of these terms and explain their origins. The definitions that follow, with
background drawn from Safire's New Political Dictionary, should help you understand
political talk a little better the next time you hear it on the evening news or read about it
online.

⚫ Legislative
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION =
programs which aim to create minority equality in employment, university
placements, housing  and other government beneficial situations

⚫anyANARCHY = A condition of lawlessness and disorder brought about by the absence of

controlling authority

⚫ANDROCRACY = A state or society ruled by men  

⚫power
AUTOCRACY = this is a system of government where a single person holds unlimited

⚫canAUTONOMY = a limited form of independence where, for example, a state or colony

control its own domestic matters/affairs but has no say over its foreign
matters/affairs

⚫A negative
Big Government: 
term, used mainly by conservatives to describe government programs in areas
where they believe government shouldn't be involved, especially those that spend money
on social problems

⚫ A cooperative
Bipartisan:
effort by two political parties

⚫A term
Bleeding Heart: 
describing people whose hearts "bleed" with sympathy for the downtrodden; used
to criticize liberals who favor government spending for social programs

⚫TheBully Pulpit:
Presidency, when used by the President to inspire or moralize. Whenever the
President seeks to rouse the American people, he is said to be speaking from the bully
pulpit. When the term first came into use, "bully" was slang for "first rate" or "admirable."

⚫A small
BELLWETHER =
group of people who represent the characteristics of a larger group of people. For
example, Nevada (USA) is a belwether state for US presidential elections

⚫A government with
BICAMERAL =
2 legislative houses. For example, in the UK government has the
House of Commons and the House of Lords

⚫A financially
BOONDOGGLE =
wasteful government development which has a greater cost than its value,
usually for local or political gain

⚫(noun)
Campaign: 
An organized effort to win an election (verb) To strive for elected office

⚫AnCaucus: 
informal meeting of local party members to discuss candidates and choose delegates
to the party's convention

⚫ TheChecks and Balances:

system of dividing power among the three branches of government (executive,
legislative, and judicial) to prevent any one from having too much power. Each branch has
some authority to check the power of the others, thereby maintaining a balance among
the three.

⚫TheCoattails: 
power of a popular candidate to gather support for other candidates in his or her
party. Winning candidates are said to have coattails when they drag candidates for lower
office along with them to victory.

⚫ A national
Convention:
meeting of a political party, where delegates formally elect a party's nominee

⚫someone
CANDIDATE =
standing for an election

⚫theCHECKS AND BALANCES =

system of dividing power among the three branches of government (executive,
legislative, and judicial) to prevent any one from having too much power. Each branch has
some authority to check the power of the others, thereby maintaining a balance among
the three.

⚫a country
CLIENT STATE =
that is economically or militarily dependent upon another, but not actually
controlled politically by the patron state as in the case of a ‘puppet state’
CONSERVATIVE =
many people associate conservative with the ‘right wing’. Conservative favour free
enterprise, private ownership and does not like change.

⚫theCONSTITUTION =
set of basic rules by which a country or state is governed

⚫A sudden
COUP D’ ETAT =

⚫A long-shot and often violent overthrow of a government

Dark Horse: 
candidate

⚫A representative
Delegate: 
to a party's national convention chosen by local voters to vote for a
particular candidate. Each state is assigned a certain number of delegates based on its
population.

⚫A leader
Demagogue: 
whose impassioned rhetoric appeals to greed, fear, and hatred, and who often
spreads lies. Former U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy (see McCarthyism) is often cited as a
classic demagogue.

⚫DEFICIT SPENDING = government intentionally spending more money than it takes in

⚫legislation
DELEGATED LEGISLATION = rules, regulations, by laws which supplement the primary

⚫A leader
DEMAGOGUE =
who gains popularity by appealing to prejudice. A demagogue is often
considered manipulative and dangerous

⚫transfer
DEVOLUTION =
of powers from the national or central government to state or local government

⚫where
DIRECT DEMOCRACY =
the citizens themselves are heavily involved, often being able to vote on all matters
affecting them

⚫A sequence
DYNASTY =
of hereditary rulers

⚫seeENABLING LEGISLATION =
delegated legislation

⚫the part
EXECUTIVE =
of government which executes  the law of the land, as compared to the
legislature which creates and maintains the law

⚫ What
Fence Mending:
politicians do when they visit their electoral districts to explain an unpopular action.
The term originated in 1879, when Ohio Senator John Sherman made a trip home that
most people considered a political visit. Sherman insisted, however, that he was home
"only to repair my fences."

⚫AnFilibuster: 
attempt by a Senator or group of Senators to obstruct the passage of a bill, favored by
the majority, by talking continuously. Because there is no rule in the Senate over how long
a member can speak, a Senator can prevent a bill from coming up for a vote by talking
endlessly. Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina set the record in 1957 by speaking
for more than 24 hours without stopping.

⚫AnFishing Expedition: 
investigation with no defined purpose, often by one party seeking damaging
information about another. Such inquiries are likened to fishing because they pull up
whatever they happen to catch.

⚫Where
Front Burner: 
an issue is placed when it must be dealt with immediately

⚫A political
FASCISM =
ideology that embraces strong leadership, singular collective identity and the
will to commit violence or wage war to further the interests of the state

⚫A system
FEDERALISM =
under which governmental powers are divided between the central government
and the states or provinces all within the same geographical territory

⚫situation
FILIBUSTER =
where debate is extended to delay, or even prevent, a vote on a given proposal

⚫an FIRST-PAST-THE-POST =
electoral system where the winning candidate needs only the most votes, even if well
below a majority (pluralist voting)

⚫theFRANCHISE =
right to vote

⚫FIXED TERM = a set amount of time a political representative can be in office for
⚫someone
FREE RIDER =
who is unintentionally able to benefit from government policy without incurring
the costs

⚫ TheGerrymander:
reorganization of voting districts by the party in power to insure more votes for their
candidates. The term originated in 1811, when Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts
signed a bill that changed districts to favor the Democrats. The shape of one new district
supposedly resembled a salamander, provoking a Boston newspaper editor to say,
"Salamander? Call it a Gerrymander!"

⚫ Grand
GOP:
Old Party, nickname of the Republican Party
⚫Political
Grass Roots: 
activity that originates locally, or arises from ground level.

⚫Manipulate
GERRYMANDER =
the boundaries of an electoral constituency so as to favour one party or class

⚫A method
GOING NEGATIVE =
of campaigning where one criticises and shows the negatives of the opposition,
rather than showing the positives of his or her own party

⚫theGRASS ROOTS =
ordinary people

⚫A writ
HABEAS CORPUS =
(court order) for a government authority to present to court a person it is detaining,
and give justification as to why he/she should continue to be detained

⚫theHANSARD =
official UK parliamentary record of whatever is said in the UK Parliament.

⚫ TheHONEYMOON PERIOD =
first few months of a new government during which the incumbent/s (see below) are
granted an almost conflict free period by their political opposition and the media 

⚫AnIdeology: 
integrated system of ideas about politics, values, and culture. Those who espouse an
ideology are sometimes criticized as rigid and narrow-minded.

⚫A current
Incumbent: 
officeholder

⚫TheInside the Beltway: 

area inside the Capital Beltway, a highway that encircles Washington, D.C. An issue
described as "inside the Beltway" is believed to be of concern only to the people who work
in and with the federal government and of little interest to the nation at large.

⚫TheIMPEACHMENT = 
legislative equivalent of a criminal prosecution, where a high government official is
subject, by a house of Parliament or Congress, to an investigation and trial 

⚫theINCUMBENT =
current holder of a position of authority e.g. Obama is the incumbent president of the
USA

⚫A word
KLEPTOCRACY =
to describe an extremely corrupt government

⚫AnLame Duck: 
officeholder whose term has expired or cannot be continued, who thus has lessened
power

⚫Liberal.
Left-wing: 
The labeling system originated from the seating pattern of the French National
Assembly, which put liberals on the left, moderates in the middle, and conservatives on
the right.

⚫A group
Lobby: 
seeking to influence an elected official, or the act of doing so. The term originated
in the seventeenth century, when people waiting to speak with legislators at the English
House of Commons waited in a large atrium outside the legislators' hall, called the lobby.

⚫AnLAISSEZ-FAIRE = 
economic system with total or near total lack of state interference 

⚫A political
LIBERALISM =
philosophy encouraging the freedom of the individual, nonviolent modification
of political, social, or economic institutions to assure restricted development in all
spheres of human endeavour, and governmental guarantee of individual rights

⚫A person
LIBERTARIANISM = 
who believes that people should be allowed to do and say what they want
without any interference from the government. They straddle both the left and the right
wing

⚫A government
LIMITED GOVERNMENT =
set up to have limited power over its citizens, with a greater emphasis on
local politics

⚫Politics
Machine Politics: 
controlled by a tightly-run organization that stresses discipline and rewards its
supporters. Machines are usually found in large cities and are frequently accused of
corruption.

⚫TheMcCarthyism: 
practice of smearing people with baseless accusations. Refers to the tactics of
Senator Joseph McCarthy, who in the 1950s destroyed the careers of many prominent
Americans by branding them Communists.

⚫ A journalist
Muckraker:
who seeks out the scandalous activities of public officials. Derived from the
Man with the Muck Rake, a character in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, who could
never look up, only down.

⚫A seat
MARGINAL SEAT =
held by a political party by a very narrow margin and so at risk of being lost e.g.
Party A won the seat by 51% at the last election, so they are at risk of losing the seat to
party B at the next election

⚫givenMANDATE =
by the people through an election, which authorises the winning party to exercise its
manifesto

⚫WhenNomination: 
a political party chooses its official candidate for a particular office

⚫TheNominee: 
candidate chosen by a political party to run for a particular office

⚫Someone
OMBUDSMAN =
(in some countries) who investigates complaints from the people of certain
administrative roles

⚫ShortPhoto-Op: 
for "photo opportunity," an event staged specifically for news cameras to help a
politician appear in magazines and newspapers, on television, or online

⚫ ThePlatform:
positions that a party adopts, and stands on, at the beginning of an election
campaign

⚫AnPolitical Party: 
organization that seeks to achieve political power by electing its members to public
office

⚫A vote
Political Suicide: 
or action that is likely to be so unpopular with voters as to cause a politician's
probable loss in the next election

⚫A survey
Poll: 
used to gauge public opinion concerning issues or to forecast an election

⚫Wasteful
Pork Barrel: 
and unnecessary projects that politicians secure for their local districts, usually
to gain favor with local voters. The term dates from the days when salted pork was
occasionally handed out to slaves from large barrels. An observer once wrote that the
mad rush of politicians to get their district's share of treasury funds looked like slaves
rushing to the pork barrel.

⚫A state
Primary: 
election in which party members vote for a candidate from within their party. The
vote determines how many of that state's delegates each candidate gets.

⚫ A political
Pundit:
analyst, commentator, or columnist who usually works for a newspaper or
magazine, or in broadcasting. Derived from a Hindi phrase meaning "learned one."

⚫thePLATFORM =
political agenda of a candidate or party
⚫government
PLUTOCRACY =
controlled by or greatly influenced by, the wealthy

⚫mostly
PRIMARY ELECTION =
occurring in America, an election where the successful candidate wins no actual
office but merely becomes eligible to contest the upcoming official election representing
a particular party

⚫A research
POLL =
survey as well as another word for an election

⚫A political
POPULISM =
philosophy supporting the rights and power of the people in their struggle
against the privileged elite

⚫ Quasi
QUANGO =
Autonomous Non-Government Organisation. A body financed by government but
not under its direct control

⚫In the
PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILL =
UK it is proposed legislation introduced not by the government or opposition but by

⚫A militant
just an individual MP
Reactionary: 
conservative; opposite of "radical," which means ultraliberal

⚫Government
Red Tape: 
paperwork and procedures that are slow and difficult. Stems from an
eighteenth-century British practice of binding official papers with a reddish twine.

⚫ TheRubber Chicken Circuit:

endless series of public dinners and luncheons politicians must attend to raise funds
and make speeches. The food often includes chicken, which is cooked hours earlier and
then reheated, giving it a rubbery texture.

⚫Government
RED TAPE =
paperwork and procedures that are slow and difficult. Stems from an 18th-
century British practice of binding official papers with a reddish twine!

⚫A public
REFERENDUM =
vote with possibly legally binding consequences

⚫theREPATRIATION =
sending back of someone to his country of origin such as an illegal immigrant or
prisoner of war

⚫electing
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY =
someone to represent your interests
RIGHT WING =
 A political philosophy which favours conservative, pro-market,  attitudes with a
preference for (some) individual rights over interventionist government, a strict approach
to law and order, and  a strong defence force and a sense of nationalism

⚫TheSilent Majority: 
mass of Americans whose opinions are not loud and public, but who together have
enormous power. Popularized by President Richard Nixon, who claimed that Vietnam War
protesters comprised a minority, while a "silent majority" supported the war.

⚫Candidates
Slate: 
for various offices running as a team; or a group of delegates running on
behalf of one candidate

⚫ TheSmoke-Filled Room:
sort of place where behind-the-scenes political wheeling and dealing, often devious,
occurs. Refers to the penchant of many political operatives for smoking cigars.

⚫A politician's
Spin: 
attempt to shape the way the public looks at an issue or event, much the way
a tennis player uses spin to direct the ball. Political advisers who spin are known as "spin
doctors."

⚫To Stump: 
campaign in person on a local level

⚫TheSwing Vote: 
undecided, usually independent, portion of the electorate that can "swing" the
outcome of an election one way or the other

⚫a seat
SAFE SEAT =
in a constituency where it is fairly certain as to which party will win

⚫remain
SEPARATION OF POWERS = ensuring the executive, the legislature and the judiciary
separate and independent of one another

⚫a method
SOCIALISM =
of government in which the means of planning and producing goods and
services are controlled by a central government which also seeks to collect the wealth of
the nation and distribute it evenly amongst its citizens

⚫voters
SWING VOTERS =
who are not loyal to any particular party but swing from one party to another
according to the circumstances of the time

⚫AnTrial Balloon: 
idea a politician suggests in order to observe the reaction. If public reaction is
favorable, the politician takes credit for it; if not, the idea dies quickly.
⚫government
THEOCRACY =
controlled by the church/priesthood or a proclaimed living god e.g. as there is
in Iran

⚫controlling
TOTALITARIAN = a government that wishes to subordinate the individual to the state by
not only all political and economic matters, but also by seeking to control the
attitudes, values, and beliefs of its population

⚫theTURNOUT =
percentage of enrolled citizens who actually vote

⚫creating
UTILITARIANISM =
policy for the happiness of the greatest number of people

⚫TheWhip: 
party member who makes sure that all other members are present for crucial votes
and that they vote in accordance with the party line. The term originated in British fox
hunting, where the "whipper-in" was responsible for keeping the hounds from straying.

⚫ TheWhistle-Stopping:
practice of making speeches in many towns in a short time, often during a single day.
When politicians traveled by train, small towns were called whistle-stops. Politicians
would use the stop to deliver a quick campaign speech, often from the back of the train,
before heading to the next stop.

⚫ A vindictive,
Witch Hunt:
often irrational, investigation that preys on public fears. Refers to witch hunts
in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, where many innocent women accused of
witchcraft were burned at the stake or drowned.

⚫A party
WHIP =
whip is a parliamentary party disciplinary officer who ensures that his/her party
members do the right thing such as being in attendance for certain crucial votesCLIENT
STATE = a country that is economically or militarily dependent upon another, but not
actually controlled politically by the patron state as in the case of a ‘puppet state’.

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