Descriptionary

bread-and-butter issue any political issue that affects the voters' pocketbooks.

brinksmanship risk-taking politics often involv­ing threats, and particularly the threat of military or nuclear intervention, with the goal of trying to make an opponent concede.

brouhaha an uproar, as over a controversy.

buck-passing passing the burden of responsibility to someone else.

bully pulpit a prominent high position that allows a politician to moralize and pontificate.

bureaucracy government administration composed of bureaus headed by nonelected officials. Also, any government office that, through convoluted channels and overly strict adherence to rules, impedes or slows down action.

business cycle the normal up and down cycling of the economy, from expansion and boom to contrac­tion and recession, usually occurring roughly every three to five years and characterized by rising unem­ployment during downturns and rising inflation dur­ing expansions.

cabinet the heads of executive departments who serve as advisers to the president.

cant the vernacular used by a politician; pet words and phrases used by politicians.

canvass to gauge support for a candidate before the vote.

card-carrying denoting a member or supporter of a cause or organization, such as a card-carrying mem­ber of the ACLU.

caucus a meeting to select candidates and plan a campaign.

centrist one who tends to favor policies that fall between the left-leaning ideals of the Democratic Party and the right-leaning Republican Party, or one who takes a middle position on any issue.

chamber the House of Representatives or the Senate.

civil disobedience

resisting the law to promote a cause.

cloture in the Senate, the process by which debate time is limited to one hour per senator.

coattail the winning of a congressional seat by party association with a popular presidential candidate.

cold war nonmilitary hostilities between two nations.

communist economy an economy based on the sharing of goods and services and overseen and man­aged by a government.

congress any assembly of government representa­tives, but especially Congress, the national legislative body of the United States, comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Congressional Record the printed daily account of the debates and votes of the House and Senate, pub­lished by the Government Printing Office.

congressman/congresswoman a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

conservative one who is generally opposed to change; a supporter of the status quo.

constituency collective term for the citizens of a leg­islative district. In the case of a senator, a state.

constituent a citizen of a particular legislative district.

consul an official appointed to a foreign city to rep­resent its commercial interests.

consulate the office of a consul.

coup d'etat the sudden takeover or overthrow of government.

cronyism favoritism toward friends, resulting in sometimes questionable political appointments and reciprocal backscratching.

cult of personality

the blind following of a charis­matic leader, such as a dictator, in which an aura of power is maintained through propaganda and perva­sive indoctrination via various media outlets.

dark horse a candidate whose chances of winning an election are slight to none.

deep-six to throw out or get rid of something, often with the hope that it will never be found or discovered.

deflation a nationwide dropping of prices for goods and services.

delegate a person chosen to represent a constitu­ency at a convention.

delegation a group of representative from an orga­nization or area.

demagogue a politician who appeals to the greed, fears, and prejudices of the voters; a spellbinding ora­tor who panders to voter selfishness.

Democratic Party evolving from the principles of Thomas Jefferson and further refined by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, the left-leaning or liberal-oriented one of the two major political par­ties of the United States, symbolized by the mas­cot of a donkey, and most often characterized by members who tend to favor labor unions, abortion rights, gay rights, gun control, affirmative action, regular upward adjustments of the minimum wage, extensive social services including welfare, and strong environmental policies with business-limiting regulations.

depression a period of extreme economic down­turn, marked by plunging manufacturing, employ­ment, and sales of goods, along with rising bank­ruptcies and tighter credit, and noted for being more severe and protracted than a recession.

despot a tyrant or dictator.