Young Women Reading

Glossary


What does a bundler bundle? Is the electoral college taking applications? Is there a legitimate reason why people talk so much about "whips" in politics?


Welcome to the wonderful world of confusing political jargon. If you don't know an S-CHIP from a GWOT, you've come to the right place. Scroll down for info on elections, campaigns and the federal government. This list will only grow, so let me know if there's something you want covered that's not here already. You're minutes away from supplementing your "School House Rock" knowledge of the political process.


Special Market Meltdown Section


The Bailout

A proposal from the Secretary of the Treasury to use $700B to buy stinker investments from banks, which the feds will sell within two years. Think of it as the banks putting their ugly children up for adoption, and the U.S. government acting as foster parents (and paying their bills) until the kids get through their awkward phases two years from now. It's possible the Treasury could get all, none, a portion or more of the $700B back.


Security

A piece of paper that proves ownership of stocks, bonds, and other investments.


Securitized Debt:

A marketing technique that converts long-term loans to marketable securities, also known as the root of our financial crisis. FOR EXAMPLE, if your mortgage was a layer of pastry, banks realized that they could stack up hundreds of mortgages, slice them up and sell them off like baklava at a bake sale. The problems came when the flakier, sub-prime pastries ended up being poisonous, but were sold into the food supply with no way to get them back or know precisely which pastries are fine and which are toxic.


Ratings Agencies

The companies, like Standard & Poor's, that decided how safe the mortgage-backed securities were to buy. The ratings agencies gave many sub-prime securities their highest AAA ratings, thus calling the poisonous pastries good enough to eat in a five-star restaurant.


Short Sell

Selling a security that the seller does not own but is committed to repurchasing eventually. FOR EXAMPLE, let's say you borrow a pair of shoes from your mom. You then sell the shoes to your sister for $100. You tell your sister you want to buy the shoes back from her, but since new shoes just came in to Nordstrom's, you only pay your sister $50 for the shoes, since they're worth less. You put the shoes back in your mom's closet, give her a $5 fee for the loaner, and pocket the $45. You just shorted those shoes. Easy money!! To bring it full circle, investors were shorting bank stocks because they knew the banks had lots of mortgage-related stinkers on their books. The S.E.C. just suspended shorting of financial stocks, since they worried it was putting those companies in danger of total failure at the hands of investors. Ironic. Those stinkers will now be purchased and sold by the Feds if the bailout goes through. (Sources: Bloomberg, Forbes, CNBC)


Elections

Here's what you need to know about Election Day, including the fact that there are many Election Days in 2008. To find out about what your state does specifically, go to CJP's "Are You Ready to Vote" page and click on your state. No two states are alike and some laws have changed lately, so check it out.

Now back to Election Day:


Absentee Voting

Casting a vote before election day with a form you mail in. Will you be out of town or busy on election day? You may be able to vote absentee. Check out your state for the rules.


Ballot initiative

An issue to be decided by popular vote, usually during general elections. These can be mundane, but important, like raising the sales tax a penny to pay for sewer repairs, or controversial, but important, like deciding to ban gay marriage. They are almost always confusing, so take the time to read them on your Secretary of State's website BEFORE you go to vote.


Caucus

The OTHER way states, including Iowa, pick their presidential nominees. Caucuses are like a debate club meeting. Everybody in the club gets together to meet and talk about who they want to be president. After everybody talks about their favorite, they vote for their choice. Does your state have a primary or caucus? CJP's "Are You Ready to Vote" page will tell you.


Early Voting

When you actually go to a polling place to vote in person before Election Day. Some states offer early voting, others do not.


Electoral College

Sit down and get comfortable, and then read all about the Electoral College from the people who really know about it—the National Archives Administration. In a nut shell, the Electoral College chooses the president. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, the president is not chosen by the people; the president is chosen by members of the Electoral College. The good news is that the people do tell the Electoral College who they WANT to be president when they vote in their primaries and caucuses, and it usually works out to be the same person. One notable exception came in 2000 when George Bush won the Electoral College and Al Gore won the popular vote. Perfectly legal and exactly what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they compromised between having the people choose the president (too low-brow?) and Congress pick the president (too scary).


Excuse vs. no-excuse early and absentee voting

Some states don't care why you can't vote on Election Day, but others make you swear you have a valid excuse, like being bed-ridden or traveling for work or attending school out of state. Be sure to check your state out before you head off to Hawaii for surfing lessons.


Off-year elections

2000, 2004, 2008—those are all presidential election years, Summer Olympic years and leap years. An election in any other year is called an "off-year" election. 2007 is an off-year.


Polling Station

A school, church or other local place in your neighborhood where elections are held on voting day. You will get a notice in the mail reminding you of where your polling station is located. If you don't, contact your Secretary of State's office or the Board of Elections.


Primary Election

There are two kinds of primaries in 2008, so bear with me.


Prop

When you hear about a "prop" followed by a number, it's a state proposition or ballot initiative, like California's "Prop 187."


Provisional ballot

If you are told that you are not registered to vote, and you think you are, you can always ask to cast a provisional ballot. You will vote as normal, and the Secretary of State's office will later check to make sure you are actually registered. If everything is square, then your vote gets counted.


Registration

In every state except North Dakota, you have to be registered with your state or county before you can vote. Some states make you register at least 30 days in advance, others let you register when you go to vote. You only have to register once when you move to a state, but most states make you re-register if you move, change your name. Check yours to make sure. How do you know if and where you're officially registered? Contact your elections officials or go to this great page at the National Association of Secretaries of State.


Registration Deadline

The last possible day to register to vote. Some states want your application post-marked that day, others want you registered that day. Others let you register at the polling station. Check your state on CJP's "Are You Ready to Vote" page.


Secretary of State/Board of Elections

These are the state agencies that run elections.


Campaigns


527

A "527" gets its name from the section in the tax code that covers political groups, zzzzzz. So boring. Try this: 527s were some of the biggest players in the 2004 elections and likely will be again in 2008. They are tax-exempt, mostly unregulated political groups created specifically to influence elections. Unlike political campaigns or candidates, they can raise and spend as much money as they want and do not have to reveal who is behind the effort. The Swift Boat Veterans and America Coming Together were both major 527s in 2004.


The Base

The Base- The core group of voters for either party (conservatives for the Republicans and liberals for the Democrats). It's critical for candidates to motivate their base voters with issues they care about in order to win election.


Bundler

A donor to a political campaign who volunteers to coordinate the donations of other people and thus "bundle" tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. George W. Bush's campaign pioneered the use of bundlers, whom they called "Rangers," and the practice has exploded in the 2008 election cycle. Accusations of fraud in bundling are becoming more common, with donors sometimes reimbursing people for giving donations in their own names.


Campaign Finance Reform

Any effort to take the money out of politics. Good luck. John McCain sponsored the most significant piece of Campaign Finance Reform in recent years, and has been attacked by conservative groups ever since for reducing their influence.


Dialing for Dollars

The act of fundraising for a political candidate. This typically involves a candidate getting a list of potential donors' phone numbers from a staff member, calling the donor, shooting the breeze for a minute or two, and then asking for campaign contributions. It's not pretty.


DSCC

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Based in Washington, the DSCC is like the locker room for all Democratic nominees for U.S. Senate every two years. Sen. Chuck Schumer is the chair this year, meaning he helps recruit candidates to run, coordinate their "message" and raise money for their races.


DCCC

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, known as the "D-Triple-C," does for the Democrats' House of Representatives candidates what the DSCC does for the Senate candidates. Rep. Rahm Emanuel chairs the DCCC, as he did last year when the Democrats won control of the House.


Field Operations

Yards signs, bumper stickers, rallies for Candidate X…. field operations are a key element of every campaign, in addition to fund raising and communications. The Field team should know who is likely to vote, convince them to vote for Candidate X, and then get them to the polls on Election Day, even if it means picking voters up in a van and driving them to the polling station themselves.


Filing Deadline

The date by which candidates need to register themselves to run for office in a particular election. This doesn't have anything to do with you, unless you are running for office.


Going Up

When a candidate begins running television commercials prior to an election. For example, Ron Paul is "going up in Iowa."


Hustings

A candidate "on the hustings" is one who is giving speeches and engaging with voters. A husting was a platform where elections were held in 19th-century England.


McCain-Feingold

Sen. John McCain's campaign finance reform bill that passed in 2002. Parts if have been found unconstitutional, but one hasn't. If you're tired of hearing, "I'm Candidate X and I approved this message," you know who to thank.


Media Consultant

A consultant who advises candidates on commercials, speeches and other external communications. Usually charges mammoth amounts in fees. If you give a dollar to a candidate, the media consultant probably takes home 15 cents of it.


Netroots

The coalition of left-wing bloggers led by those at the Daily Kos and MoveOn.org. The Netroots have become a powerful liberal interest group within the Democratic party.


Nominee

The choice of each party to run in the general election.


NRCC

The National Republican Congressional Committee. As the DCCC is to the Democrats, the NRCC is to the Republicans. Rep. Tom Cole is the Chair this cycle.


NRSC

The National Republican Senatorial Committee. The Republican equivalent to the DSCC. Senator John Ensign chairs the RNSC this cycle.


PAC

Political Action Committee, pronounced "pack" and often combined with other words like WolfPAC, ColdPAC, or Joe-SixPAC. PACs function to elect or defeat candidates or issues and can receive campaign contributions up $5,000 each. Nearly every federal elected official has a PAC, and many use them to help get other people elected for their own reasons.


Pollster

A consultant to campaigns who takes polls to gauge the electorate's opinion of the candidate, and then advises the candidate on what to do about it.


Poll tax

A fee for voting that originated in 14th-century England. Poll taxes were once collected in the U.S. to keep African-Americans and other minorities from voting. The 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes, but people still use the term to describe anything that seems like a veiled effort to keep a group from voting, including requiring a picture i.d.


Public Financing

Federal funds made available to a candidate in exchange for that candidate agreeing to limit their own spending. Public financing was designed to take some of the money out of politics by putting a cap on spending, but many presidential campaigns, including the Clinton and Obama campaigns, have announced they will forgo public funds and spend as much as they want.


Rangers

Rangers- The original "bundlers" from the George W. Bush campaign.


Spokesperson

A press secretary or media advisor who fields reporters questions and speaks on behalf of a candidate when the candidate cannot or should not speak for themselves. Watch as spokespeople step in to deny an accusation or attack an opponent, when having the candidate do so would be unseemly.


Straw Poll

An early mock election that gauges support for each candidate running before an election. Mitt Romney won the Iowa Straw poll in August 2007. Gets its name from the practice of holding a piece of straw to the wind to see which direction the wind is blowing.


Stump

Stump- As in a "stump speech" or "on the stump." The stump is figuratively where a candidate gives a speech, taken from the time when candidates would stand on an old tree stump or a soap box to be seen above the crowd while giving a speech.


Swing Voters

Swing Voters- Voters who have not voted consistently for either party. The conventional wisdom says that 45% of people will vote Republican, 45% will vote Democrat, and 10% are swing voters who can be persuaded to vote either way.


Third-party Candidates

A candidate in a general election for any office who is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. Ross Perot and Ralph Nader have been the most notable third-party candidates in recent presidential elections.


Government


Amendment

A suggested change to a bill that has be approved by a majority of Congress to be included in the bill itself.


Authorization

The amount of money that Congress agrees CAN be spent on a project or in a budget.


Appropriation

The amount of money that Congress agrees WILL be spent on a project or in a budget. Money usually cannot be appropriated unless is has already been authorized.


Back-bencher

Typically a House member in his first or second term, sitting toward the back of the chamber presumably learning how the process works. Newt Gingrich was known as a prototypical back-bencher, mastering the House rules and building relationships, before rising to become House Speaker in 1995.


Caucus

Any group that gathers formally in Congress, including by party or issue. In addition to the Democratic and Republican caucuses, there are caucuses for ethnic groups, farm states, centrists, fiscal conservatives, military boosters and so-on. Caucus can also be used as a verb, meaning to meet or gather. As in, "Hey- let's caucus on that."


Filibuster

Derived from a Dutch term for hijacking, a filibuster is a tactic to stop debate, and therefore progress, in the Senate. Any senator has the right to filibuster, as the fictional Senator Smith did in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."


FOIA

Freedom of Information Act, pronounced "foy-ya." Any member of the public can file a FOIA request to see non-classified government documents. Reporters frequently issue FOIA's, with campaigns and interest groups engaging in the practice more and more. A FOIA request can sometimes take years to fulfill.


Freshman

A Member in his or her first term in Congress.


GWOT

The Global War on Terror. The title assigned by the Bush Administration to America's global response to 9-11.


”The Leadership”

The highest ranking members of both parties in the House and Senate.


Majority Leaders/ Minority Leaders

The highest ranking members of the House and Senate for both parties, except the House Democrats. The highest ranking Democrat in the House is the House Speaker.


Member

Any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate.


President pro-tem

The most senior member of the Senate's majority party and 3rd-in-line to the presidency after the Vice President and House Speaker. The current President pro-tem is Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia.


S-CHIP

State Children's Health Insurance Program. Low-cost health insurance, subsidized by the federal government and administered by the states, for low-income children not covered by Medicaid. Congress recently voted to expand S-CHIP to include more children, but the President vetoed the bill because of its costs spiraled when extended to middle-class children and some adults. He also felt it crept too close to "nationalized health care."


Speaker of the House

The highest-ranking member of the House of Representatives and 2nd-in-line to the presidency, following the Vice President. Nancy Pelosi is the current House Speaker and first woman to hold the job.


Veto

Veto- The president's ability to stop a bill from being passed even after Congress has approved it. Congress can override the president's veto with a 2/3 majority in both houses. “Veto” comes from the Latin "to forbid."


Veto-proof majority

The number of votes required to override a presidential veto by a two-thirds majority, 290 in the House and 67 in the Senate.


Whip

The second-in-command for each party in the House and Senate responsible for counting the number of supporters for each bill before the votes are cast. This is called "whipping the votes," and comes from the fox-hunting term "whipper-in." The whipper-in is the person responsible for counting the number of riders and hounds that go out on the hunt and making sure that the same number comes home.