The government's power to regulate the health, safety, and morals of its people.

The election strategy based on trying to get your electoral bases to the polls

Founded my thinkers such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and John Stuart Mill, this ideology based on the priority of individual liberty is the basis of most modern ideologies.

A type of media popularized in the mid-1990s, it focuses on up-the-second coverage and often features niche or biased viewpoints and personalities.

This case decided by the Supreme Court in 2010 found that campaign donations were protected speech, indirectly creating Super PACs and removing many limitations on individual donations.

The ability of more local levels of government to react to its peoples' wishes more easily.

The practice of drawing district lines in order to exclude or include certain groups to affect election results

An ideology based on support for an extremely small government, reduced to absolutely basic functions

The media's ability to decide what issues are being talked about by the general public, and to affect public opinion by focusing on some issues and omitting others.

A preliminary election to determine who will be a party's nominee for an elected position.

Sometimes referred to as "marble cake", this refers to a system where state and national governments share responsibility.

The conservative southern wing of the Democratic party from that split the party from the late 1940s until the 1980s.

A theory that states that politicians aim to situate their ideology as close the center of the ideological spectrum as possible.

A political office without an incumbent, these are usually the most hotly contested elections.

A practice used by many interest groups of hiring a lawyer or former politician to attempt to persuade government officials in order to affect policy.