In the United States, the Constitution Party is a third party. It is the third largest political party nationwide in regard to the number of registered voters. The party is known for the slogan, “Forging a Rebirth of Freedom.” It…
The Committee of the Whole, officially the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, is a parliamentary measure regularly invoked in the United States House of Representatives for the purpose of relaxing some of the rigid…
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) is a labor union in the United States. It originally consisted of skilled workers from several smaller craft unions who may have become dissatisfied with their allegiance to another labor union, the Knights of…
Graft is a form of political corruption in which an official gains something due to a position of power, trust, or insider knowledge. Many governments have systems in place to prevent graft, and a discovery of graft can mark the…
A standing committee is a group of members of a larger body, such as a legislature or membership association, appointed for a specific purpose and, usually, a specific period of time. In the United States Congress, both the House and…
The Modern Whig party is an American grassroots movement initiated by veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its party name was taken from the Whig party of the 19th Century, which rejected authoritative rule in the government. The…
The idea of a filibuster is most closely associated with the United States Senate, which has perhaps turned the practice into an art form. Filibusters also have been used in other legislatures around the world, such as Canada, the United…
The Blue Dog Democrats are a coalition of moderate and conservative Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives. Their numbers vary, but generally hover between 30 and 50 individuals. This relatively new force in the Democratic party claims…
Senate hearings are an important part of the work of the United States Senate. Both houses of Congress hold hearings in order to gather information, review the performance of government organizations and investigate possible wrongdoing. In addition, the Senate holds…
The political category of “progressive Democrats” generally refers to a grass-roots movement that seeks to work within the Democratic Party toward some overall goals and in accordance with principles associated with the “left” of the party, or those not wholly…