when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature; this form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of europe a view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work; according to this model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates; once in office, parties would carry out their campaign promises delegates to the Democratic party's national convention who obtain their seats on the basis of their positions within the party structure

1. coalition government

when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature; this form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of europe

2. responsible party model

a view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work; according to this model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates; once in office, parties would carry out their campaign promises

3. Superdelegate

delegates to the Democratic party's national convention who obtain their seats on the basis of their positions within the party structure.

4. Slective perception

the act of paying the most attention to things that one already agrees with or has a predisposition towards.

5. Presidential primary

a state-level election to determine which candidate the state's delegates will support.

6. Party platform

the party's statement of its goals and policies for the next four years.

7. National primary

a proposal by critics of the caususes and presidential primaries systems who would replace these electoral methods with a nationwide primary held early in the election year.

8. McGovern-Fraser Commission

a committee in the Deomocratic party charged with recommending changes in party rules to promote more representation of women and minorities in the delegate selection process.

9. Federal Election Campaign Act

1974 legislation designed to regulate campaign contributions and limit campaign expenditures.

10. Caucus

a meeting to determine which candidate delegates from a state party will support..