Where everything is bipartisan until it is not.
When election officials remove people from voter registration rolls, often based on criteria that can be mistaken or discriminatory. It's spring cleaning for democracy, except it deletes the wrong people.
A form of government where the executive is drawn from and answerable to the legislature, as opposed to a presidential system where they're separate.
The polite euphemism for legalized bribery where wealthy donors and corporations purchase favorable legislation through campaign contributions.
When multiple legislators formally support a bill, signaling partisan agreement or in some cases just trying to look active without doing actual work.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the government agency ensuring workers don't die on the job—a surprisingly controversial position.
Adjective describing districts that have been distorted beyond recognition to ensure a particular party's electoral advantage, from geometry to insanity.
A budget-related bill passed through the reconciliation process that bypasses the filibuster. The legislative loophole.
The geographic area a representative is supposed to serve, unless gerrymandering has made that area look like a Rorschach test.
Redrawing districts specifically to pack or crack opposition votes—pack them into a few safe districts or crack them across many others.
The decennial reallocation of House seats among states based on population, guaranteeing that rural states stay overrepresented.
The congressional committee that controls how much money each agency gets, making them vastly more powerful than policy committees.
An unpledged party official who can vote for any nominee at a convention, allegedly ensuring party establishment control over the nomination process.
An acronym for 'Not In My Back Yard,' describing people who support development in theory but absolutely not near their house. Selfishness with a friendly facade.
The legislative enforcer tasked with ensuring party members show up and vote the right way. Part politician, part babysitter, part mafia lieutenant.
A written set of policy positions that a political party adopts to appeal to voters, usually ignored by the party once elected.
A clause in new legislation that exempts existing practices or entities from the new rules, allowing them to continue old ways while everyone else must comply. Special treatment dressed up as compassion.
An organized group seeking political influence for their specific agenda, funded by lobbying and campaign contributions. Legalized extortion.
A debunked conspiracy theory originating from anonymous 4chan posts. Proof that the internet's capacity for fiction-turned-belief is genuinely frightening.
A period when politicians gather to debate bills, argue about procedure, and occasionally pass something accidentally while everyone's distracted.
A thinly-veiled double entendre referring to the practice of ambushing college students with one-sided political arguments, usually filmed and curated to make one side look bad. It's debate theater for people who think 'winning' means editing out the moments you lose.
A group of officials theoretically responsible for ensuring an organization follows rules, though they often rubber-stamp whatever management proposes anyway.
To publicly humiliate a public figure by throwing a pie at them during a speech or event—a protest tactic that's somehow both messy and oddly dignified. It's the pastry-based equivalent of heckling with more structural integrity.
A special legislative body convened specifically to draft or amend a nation's constitution, theoretically more deliberative than regular legislatures.
Redrawing districts specifically to advantage one party over another, often making elections predetermined. Democracy's most dishonest art form.