A “robocall” is an automated telephone call that delivers a prerecorded message to multiple phone numbers. Typically, robocalls are used for mass messaging. In politics, …
To “play in Peoria” is a phrase meaning how well something will appeal to the heartland or mainstream America. In politics, it is a gauge of how the average American will react to a policy or proposal.
Peoria is an …
A party convention in which delegates are able to vote for the candidate of their choice, and are not tied to the results of primaries or caucuses.
Open conventions were the norm until about 1968. The Democratic Party’s delegates were …
“Appeasement” is a diplomatic policy in which nations attempt to make peace by making concessions to an aggressive nation. Appeasement is often linked with the policies of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain during World War II.
The most famous case …
A term used in journalism meaning that the information given to the reporter cannot be attributed to the person saying it. Off the record quotes are often used to protect sources who are giving information that could get them in …
A “cromnibus” bill is legislation which combines a long-term omnibus spending bill with a shorter-term continuing resolution.
Marketplace: “It’s that time of year again. No, not the holidays, but Congress’ annual maneuvering to pass a budget. It has to …
A “party line” is the ideology or the agenda of a political party. The party line consists of most core tenets of a party, as well as anything they are attempting to accomplish.
The phrase is most often used in …
“Kingfish” is the nickname for Huey P. Long, the one-time governor of Louisiana. Long was a divisive figure who played a larger than life role in his state’s politics, and beyond. He continued to loom large even after he was …
A “lid” is what White House press secretaries use to indicate that there will be no news coming out of the White House that day. It can also be called a “Full Lid.”
The White House sometimes calls a lid …
An “old bull” is a powerful and influential Member of Congress.
Old bulls are typically senior members who have worked their way into positions of power through decades in Congress.…
A “shy voter” is one who does not admit to supporting a certain candidate to pollsters, but still votes for that candidate in the election.
The term comes from the “Shy Tory Effect,” a phenomenon that found British conservatives greatly …
An “ego wall” is where people flaunt their political connections by displaying photos of themselves with more famous people.
The phenomenon is also sometimes called the “glory wall” or “me wall.”
Mike Nichols: “The ego wall is where the …
A political football is an otherwise non-partisan issue which politicians try to capitalize on and turn to their advantage. Something is said to be a political football when politicians don’t seem to be trying to solve the problem at hand …
A person with the highest status or most power in an organization. From a political standpoint, this usually refers to someone in the party leadership or with another influential position.
The term is interchangeable with mucky-muck or muckamuck.…
A “youthquake” is aocial, cultural, or political change brought about by young people. In politics, it is typically used to mean a surge of young voters in a key election.
The term originated in the fashion industry in 1965, when …
Realpolitik is a system of politics based on concrete, practical goals, rather than on morality or abstract ideals. According to Merriam Webster, the term was first used in 1895. It derives from German, in which “real” means “actual” and Politik …
Those who have been loyal supporters of a party for a long time and make up the party’s base.
Vox points out that the appeasing party faithful can be difficult, as they are sometimes opposed to bipartisanship: “Immigration in particular …
“Missile gap” is a Cold War-era phrase that was used to describe the difference in number and power of missiles between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
The term was first used by Sen. John F. Kennedy in 1958 to accuse …
The term “silent majority” refers to a large block of voters that feel marginalized, silenced or underserved by the political system. It’s commonly assumed that, if they voted en masse, this “silent majority” would have an enormous ability to affect …
Strategery is a fictional word coined by comedy writer Jim Downey in a now famous Saturday Night Live sketch written to lampoon former president George W. Bush during the election cycle of 2000, when he was still a candidate. The …
Plausible deniability is the ability to deny any involvement in illegal or unethical activities, because there is no clear evidence to prove involvement. The lack of evidence makes the denial credible, or plausible. The use of the tactic implies forethought, …
“Morning in America” is a phrase from a 1984 TV ad for President Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign to evoke a renewed American economic and social landscape.
The Reagan campaign sought to build on perceptions of economic progress during the 1984 …
“Misunderestimate” is a malapropism invented by President George W. Bush that has come to mean “to underestimate by mistake.”
Bush accidentally used the term in a 2000 interview, saying, “They misunderestimated me.” He likely meant to say “underestimated” but the …
“Goo goo is short for “good government guys,” referring to people who would fight for government reform.
This was used during the 1970s as a derisive term for those who were fighting to clean up city municipalities.
James Merriner writes …
When one political party makes major gains in the United States House and Senate and the other has few losses.
Mark Barabak: “There is no authoritative definition of a wave election. (Which is not to be confused with a …
A “backbencher” is a junior member in the British House of Commons who occupies the back benches of Parliament, sitting behind party leaders and top government officials.
This term is most commonly used to describe legislators in parliamentary systems from …
“McConnelling” is the practice of setting music to awkward, B-roll footage of a politician.
The term was coined after Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) re-election campaign in 2014 posted a two-and-a-half minute video of the senator campaigning set simply to music. …
A pejorative used by alt-Right conservatives to insult moderate Republicans.
It implies they have sold out and is similar to the term RINO. The term is a combination of ‘Conservative’ and ‘cuckold’ (one whose wife is cheating on him). …
To “poison the well” is to pre-emptively present adverse information to an audience, with the intention of discrediting or ridiculing what another politician intends to say.
The origin of the term lies in well poisoning, an old wartime practice of …
“The Great Mentioner” describes the phenomenon whereby certain people are “mentioned” to journalists as possible candidates for higher office.
Scott Simon of National Public Radio explained: “The late Art Buchwald used to talk about the Great Mentioner — some unnamed …
“Bed-wetting” refers to someone who expresses doubt or excessive worry about a political outcome.
ABC News reports that David Plouffe, President Obama’s former campaign manager and top political adviser, first coined the term in 2008 when Democrats began openly fretting …
A firehouse primary is a candidate nominating contest funded and overseen by a local party organization rather than public election officials.
A standard primary is operated by county and state election officials who are not affiliated with any party. Firehouse …
The Hastert rule is an informal guiding principle for leaders in the House of Representatives that dictates a majority of the majority party support any measure before it receives a vote.
This principle is named after former U.S. Speaker of …
Attempting to diminish a political foe by likening his or her words to remarks on “legitimate rape” made by former Missouri Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) while seeking a U.S. Senate seat in 2012.
Bill Lambrecht: “Akinize has …
“Chicago-style politics” is a phrase used to characterize a supposedly offensive tough, “take-no-prisoners” or “hardball” approach to politics.
Jacob Weisberg: “Chicago-style politics, in common parlance, refers to the 1950s-1970s era of the Richard J. Daley machine… The …
The “nuclear option” is when the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate disregards a rule or precedent.
This most commonly refers to an effort by the Senate to end a filibuster by a simple majority, even though rules specify that …
“Borking” is attacking a person’s reputation and views.
The term was popularized by the Wall Street Journal editorial page after the Senate rejected the nomination of Robert Bork the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987.
Bork himself later discussed the origination …
A brokered convention takes place when no one candidate wins a majority delegates during the presidential primary to earn their party’s nomination in the first vote at the nominating conference. When that happens, the nomination is “brokered,” or determined through …
“Roorback” is a false, dirty or slanderous story used for political advantage, usually about a candidate seeking political office.
In 1940 the Chicago Tribune offered this definition: “A roorback is a false report about some alleged misdeed in a candidate’s …
“Dark money” is funds used for a political campaign that are not properly disclosed before an election.
The term was apparently coined by Mother Jones.…
The “deduct box” was the locked box where legendary Louisiana Gov. Huey Long kept “deducts” from state employee salaries to fund his political operation.
Estimates suggest Long collected between $50,000 to $75,000 each election cycle from government workers. The deduct …
GOTV is an acronym for “get out the vote.”
The process by which a political party or campaign urges its supporters to vote in the immediately approaching election.…
When it’s time to leave a race for public office, candidates often announce their “suspended campaign” instead of actually dropping out.
Practically speaking, there is not a big difference and federal law does not define or officially recognize the act …
A tag-team hold is when two or more senators agree to circumvent a 2011 resolution limiting secret senate holds to two days.
One senator will inform his party leader of his intent to place a hold. Before two days pass, …
An “elastic state” is one whose voting outcome in a presidential election is relatively sensitive or responsive to changes in political conditions, such as a change in the national economic mood.
Nate Silver: “Elastic states are those which have …
“Entryism” is a political tactic of joining an organization with which you do not agree with the intention of changing it from the inside.
In his 1959 book Masters of Deceit, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover described entryist tactics …
“Ping pong” refers to reconciling the differences between a House-passed bill and a Senate-passed bill by amendments between the chambers, rather than forming a conference committee.
The New Republic: “With ping-ponging, the chambers send legislation back and forth to …
A “kangaroo ticket” is a ticket for higher office in which the person at the bottom of the ticket is considered more electable or is more well-known than the person at the top.
The Chicago Tribune defines the term as: …
A “press gaggle” is an informal briefing by the White House press secretary that, unlike a backgrounder, is on the record. However, video recording is not allowed.
It can occur anywhere, such as on Air Force One, but it …
“Smell of jet fuel” is a reference to the impatience that sets in when Members of Congress are ready to leave Washington, D.C. to return to their districts for the weekend or a legislative recess.…
An annual picnic in Fancy Farm, Kentucky that has come to represent the traditional starting point of the fall campaign season in Kentucky. The gathering attracts statewide and occasionally national candidates and is held on the first Saturday in August.…
A barnstormer travels around the country or state making political appearances during a political campaign. The phrase was first used when pilots would travel around the country to entertain with their flying skills.
The appearances are typically set up by …
The “six-year itch” is the election held in the sixth year of a president’s tenure in which the party holding the White House historically loses a substantial number of House and Senate seats.
The Atlantic: “For decades political analysts …
Democrats In Name Only (DINO) is a disparaging term that refers to a Democratic candidate whose political views are seen as insufficiently conforming to the party line.…
“Hiking the Appalachian Trail” is a euphemism for a politician who claims to be doing one thing but in reality went to meet with his mistress.
The term was coined after South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) went missing in …
The Checkers speech was a nationally-televised address made by Sen. Richard Nixon (R-CA) on September 23, 1952 as he was fighting to retain his spot on the national Republican ticket as the vice presidential nominee.
Nixon had been accused of …
A “stalking horse” is a candidate put forward in an election to conceal an anonymous person’s potential candidacy. If the idea of the campaign proves viable, the anonymous person can then declare their interest and run with little risk of …
A “Dorothy Dixer” is a planted or pre-arranged question asked of a government minister by a backbencher of his or her own political party during Parliamentary Question Time.
The term refers to American advice columnist Dorothy Dix’s reputed practice of …
A Senate hold is how a senator informally signals his objection to a bill or nomination.
Most congressional actions clear parliamentary hurdles by “unanimous consent” of the Senate, so a senator who intends to object to such procedures can, effectively, …
Political fundraisers who can collect contributions from their networks of friends, family members and business associates and then deliver the checks to the candidate in one big “bundle.” Campaigns often recognize these bundlers with honorary titles.
Bundling has always existed …
A leak in politics is the spread of secret, often unfavorable, news about a politician to the media by someone in his or her inner circle.
Some leaks by politicians are intentional, also called a trial balloon, so that …
A Mae West hold type of Senate hold nicknamed because of the senator’s implied desire to make a deal, rather than block a legislative action entirely.
The reference to movie star Mae West alludes to her frequently misquoted line from …
Godwin’s Law is a term first promulgated in 1990 by author and lawyer Mike Godwin. Originally intended as a lesson in information “memetics,” or how the evolution of information spreads and evolves on the Internet, the term is used to …
A “by-election” is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections.
It’s also frequently referred to as a special election.
Typically, a by-election occurs when the incumbent has resigned or died, but …
Left-leaning pundits, paid activists, and heads of liberal institutions.
The term “professional left” was coined by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs in an interview with The Hill when he dismissed the concerns of liberals frustrated with President Obama: “I …
Releasing bad news or documents on a Friday afternoon in an attempt to avoid media scrutiny is often called a “Friday news dump” by members of the media.
NPR: “Often, the White House sets the release of bad news …
Honest graft refers to the money-making opportunities that might arise while holding public office. The activities are, strictly speaking, legal, although they might raise eyebrows or provoke criticism.
The term “honest graft” was coined by George Washington Plunkitt, a Tammany …
A “flip-flop” is a sudden reversal of opinion or policy by a politician, usually running for office.
NPR notes the term “has been a fixture in popular American parlance at least since the 1880s. A New York Tribune writer in …
A “Sister Souljah moment” is a public repudiation of an extremist person or statement perceived to have some association with a politician or his party.
It’s a strategy designed to signal to centrist voters to show that the politician is …
The “Washington Monument strategy” is named after a tactic used by the National Park Service to threaten closure of the popular Washington Monument when lawmakers proposed serious cuts in spending on parks.
Roll Call calls it “an old legislative ploy …
“Frugging” is an unethical fundraising tactic where a telemarketer falsely claims to be a researcher conducting a poll, when in reality the “researcher” is attempting to solicit a donation.
The Washington Post cites Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions advocacy group as …
A “pen and pad briefing” is a briefing held by lawmakers or White House officials at which video and photography is not allowed. It’s similar to a backgrounder.
While reporters used to gather around the person doing the briefing …
A jungle primary is an election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party.
It’s also known as the “blanket primary,” “open primary” or “top two primary,” since …
The “Richards effect” is the phenomenon in which polls consistently underestimate support for female candidates relative to white male candidates.
The termed was coined by political scientists Christopher Stout and Reuben Kline who noted that in the 1990 Texas gubernatorial …
“Spin Alley” is the place designated after a political debate where reporters interview analysts and campaign operatives who attempt to “spin” the news coverage of the event.
A video from the 2008 presidential campaign shows what “spin alley” looked like …
Ronald Reagan famously said that the “eleventh commandment” was, “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.”
The phrase was coined in the 1960s by Gaylord Parkinson, who was the state chairman of California Republicans at the time. Parkinson added, “Henceforth, …
Agitprop is political propaganda, especially in the form of art or literature, which is used to advance a political stance.
The term originated in Soviet Russia and is an abbreviation of agitatsiya propaganda (agitation propaganda.) Propaganda was a key aspect …
A “gotcha question” is one posed by a reporter in an effort to trick a politician into looking stupid or saying something damaging.
New York magazine: “When it does happen, they are often quick to blame their boneheaded remarks …
A Rose Garden campaign is when an incumbent president takes advantage of the power and prestige of his office to help him run for re-election.
The phrase originally referred to a president staying on the grounds of the White House …
A “Cherokee Strip” is the seating area in the U.S. Senate chamber when some members of the majority party mist sit on the side of the minority party.
From the Senate historian: “Occasionally one party maintains such an overwhelming …
The “cracker vote” refers to native Floridian white voters, whose families have typically lived in the state for generations.
Former President Bill Clinton told CNN in late 2008 that he would travel to Florida on behalf of Barack Obama’s presidential …
A money blurt is the strategy of using a politician’s controversial statements to attract a large number of campaign donors.
Washington Post: “Here’s how it works: An up-and-coming politician blurts out something incendiary, provocative or otherwise controversial. The remark …
A “heck of a job” is a complete and total screw-up. It’s used, ironically, to show when one’s view of a situation is in contradiction to easily-observed facts.
The phrase comes from President George W. Bush who visited Louisiana in …
A front-porch campaign is one in which the candidate stays close to home throughout the campaign. Instead of crisscrossing the country to woo voters, the candidate connects with supporters locally (by making speeches from his front porch, for example).
The …
“Astrotweeting” is the creation of fake Twitter profiles to show support for a political candidate.
Bill White described the practice in an Texas Monthly interview about his 2010 race against Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R):
…There were also some silly
“Dummymander” is a play on the term “gerrymander,” and it refers to a redrawing of a district map that actually ends up benefiting the opposite party that was designed to help.
When a political party in power reshapes …
“Talking points” are a clear and concise list of ideas making up a politician’s main arguments in a stump speech. They’re typically used as a guide and not read word-for-word.
William Safire noted that he first heard the phrase …
To be “thrown under the bus” is to be sacrificed by someone hoping to avoid blame themselves, often in order to make political gain.
Newsweek: “In general, ‘thrown under the bus’ is a metaphor for what happens when someone …
“Netroots” is grassroots political activism organized through blogs and other online social media.
The term was coined by Jerome Armstrong and is used in his 2006 book co-authored with Markos Moulitsas, Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of …
The term “Teflon president” describes a president who has a seemingly magical ability to avoid blame. A Teflon president is so charismatic that — like a Teflon pan — nothing unwanted can stick to him. No matter how much …
A “red herring” is a political diversion which draws attention away from something of significance.
Michael Quinlan notes the term likely originates from an article published on February 14, 1807 by journalist William Cobbett in the Weekly Political Register. …
Lettermarking is when lawmakers send letters to government agencies in an attempt to direct money to projects in their home districts.
Jacob Sullum: “While none of these requests is legally binding, agencies are loath to antagonize the legislators who …
The “Washington Read” is the phenomenon by which, through a form of intellectual osmosis, a book is absorbed into the Washington atmosphere, according to the Washingtonian magazine.
“According to former White House speechwriter Dan McGroarty, to qualify as a Washington …
A “money bomb” is an intense grassroots online fundraising effort over a brief fixed time period to support a candidate for election.
The term was first applied to a fundraising effort on behalf of the 2008 presidential campaign of Rep. …
The “incumbent rule” is a rule of thumb used by pollsters that says incumbents rarely get a higher percentage in the election than they receive in polls, and that voters still undecided on the very last poll tend to “break” …
“You’re no Jack Kennedy” is a phrase used to deflate politicians who are perceived as thinking too highly of themselves.
The words come from the 1988 vice presidential debate between Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX) and Sen. Dan Quayle (R-IN). When …
If the Senate initiates appropriations legislation, the House practice is to return it to the Senate with a blue piece of paper attached citing a constitutional infringement since all measures are supposed to originate in the House. The practice of …
A “push card” is a small, easy access, wallet-sized campaign sign typically given to a potential voter during door-to-door canvassing or at an event.
They’re also sometimes called palm cards because they’re designed to be small enough to fit in …
In politics, a “turkey farm” refers to a government agency or department that is staffed primarily with political appointments and other patronage hires. In particular, it is used to refer to hires that are underqualified but are put in …
The “candy desk” is where a supply of candy is kept in the U.S. Senate.
Sen. George Murphy (R-CA) originated the practice of keeping a supply of candy in his desk for the enjoyment of his colleagues in 1965. In …