INVISIBLE PRIMARY—Yes, yes, everyone knows New Hampshire holds the first presidential primary. But even before that contest comes the “invisible primary” — also known as the money primary. This is the period we’re in right now: no actual candidates but a lot of likely contenders trying desperately to raise money and support for an eventual run.
Previous terms:
LAPSES AND REVERSIONS— Here in government budget-writing
(and budget-cutting) season, you’re bound to run across euphemisms galore. Among the most common: reversions. This is code for money that is given to state agencies, left unspent, and returned to the general fund. (Up in New Hampshire, the term is “lapses.”) The conundrum for bureaucrats: Is it better to spend everything you’re given — in hopes of getting even more next year — or scoring points with the boss (and the taxpayers) by giving some back?
THE BIG THREE—On Beacon Hill, the “Big Three” refers to the governor, Senate president, and speaker of the House. Speaker Robert DeLeo recently convinced his troops that if the House was to remain an equal partner in the triumvirate, they should strip his office of term limits, allowing him to remain at the helm indefinitely. For the senior member of the Big Three, it was a big win.
PSEPHOLOGY— is the scientific study of elections. It comes from the Greek word for “pebble,” a nod to the use of small stones in voting by the ancient Greeks. On Election Day, voters deposited pebbles into specific urns to mark their choice of candidates. The urns were then emptied onto counting boards and the pebbles tabulated to determine the winner. No possibility of ancient hanging chads.
PURPLE STATE—In 2000, TV networks started characterizing states that voted reliably Republican as “red” and states that voted Democratic as “blue.” Thus, inevitably, by 2004, what were previously known as swing states — those that could go either way — became purple states. In New England, once GOP New Hampshire has become among the purplest of the purple.
CAVE—is an acronym for Citizens Against Virtually Everything. It’s related to NIMBY-ism (Not in My Backyard) but is broader and can be applied to the opposition of nearly every sort of civic change or public policy — taxes, development, you name it. Being called a caveman isn’t exactly a compliment; being called a CAVE person can be even more insulting.
FENCE MENDING— When politicians come slinking back from Washington — or Boston — to explain a vote that was unpopular with their constituents, it’s called fence mending. It dates to 1870s, when a trip to Ohio by Senator John Sherman was criticized as political. Not so, he insisted; he was there “only to repair my fences.”
POINT OF ORDER—When debate on the floor of the House or Senate gets heated, a lawmaker may interrupt the proceedings with a call of “Point of Order!” Translation: The legislator is challenging a perceived breach of the rules. Sometimes the transgression is grave — often it’s piddly. If nothing else, a “point of order” can gum up the works and rattle the opposition.
POCKET VETO—The rules vary by jurisdiction, but in Massachusetts government, a pocket veto occurs when the governor fails to sign a bill within 10 days of the end of the legislative year. If governors don’t like a piece of legislation but don’t want to make a big stink about it, this is a way they can quietly let it die.
ENGROSSING DIVISION—It is a Massachusetts government term that gives the uninitiated almost no clue to its meaning. Turns out, it’s a House-Senate office responsible for preparing legislative documents on special parchment for final passage. The final version of a piece of legislation is, therefore, an engrossed bill.
GREENWASHING—You’ve heard the term “whitewashing,” when politicians and others conspire to hide unpleasant facts. “Greenwashing” is similar: Politicians or corporations try to make themselves appear environmentally friendly when, in fact, the truth is more complicated. The message for consumers and voters who care about such matters: choose carefully.
RED TAPE—Politicians of all stripes talk about the need to cut red tape, making government easier to navigate. Where does the phrase come from? Turns out, as far back as the 17th century, official British papers were bound with reddish twine. The use of “red tape” as a metaphor for unnecessary rules and regulations dates to at least the 18th century. Apparently pols have been promising and failing to get rid of it for centuries.
JUNGLE PRIMARY—A “jungle primary” is also called a “blanket primary” or a “top two primary.” Whatever you call it, it’s an election in which all candidates run in the same race, regardless of party. If no candidate receives more 50 percent plus one vote, the top two advance to a runoff. That’s the type of election Louisiana held this week. Stay tuned.
GROUND GAME—Come Election Day, it’s really the only term you need to know in politics. A good ground game — essentially the campaign’s ability to mobilize voters and make sure they get to the polls on Nov. 4 — can make the difference between a win and a loss. Expect campaigns and their armies of volunteers to make a mad dash to get you and your neighbors to the polling booth.
BOGSAT—An acronym that’s been around since the Kennedy administration. It stands for “Bunch of Guys Sitting around a Table” or “Bunch of Guys Sitting around Talking” — an irreverent way to describe government decision-making (or decision-avoiding). It’s also been used to describe Sunday morning TV political gab-fests. One bow to modernity: It’s sometimes spelled BOPSAT — with a “p” for “people.”
HACK HOLIDAY—For decades, the “hack holiday” was an only-in-Massachusetts tradition that gave municipal workers in Boston and the rest of Suffolk County paid days off on Evacuation Day (which coveniently falls on St. Patrick’s Day) and Bunker Hill Day (just as the weather gets nice in June). These days the hack holiday is mostly a vestige of the political past. Faced with growing scorn, state lawmakers did away with the oft-maligned perk a few years back, instead giving workers the option of taking a floating day off.
BUNDLER—The role isn’t typically well-known to voters, but the work can be critically important to political candidates. And in a presidential race, they can number in the hundreds. Bundlers collect individual contributions from like-minded donors and “bundle” them into one large contribution to a candidate. What’s in it for them? Fancy titles and extra access to the grateful pol.
UNDERWATER—A candidate who is “underwater” in the polls has greater unfavorable marks from voters than favorable. That means more voters view him or her in a negative light — a dangerous place to be come Election Day. In a way, an underwater politician isn’t all that different from an underwater mortgage. The perceived debt is bigger than the value. Never a good thing.
#mapoli— If you follow political types on Twitter, you’ve probably seen this hashtag. Short for Massachusetts politics, it cropped up a few years ago as a catchall marker for state politics-related tweets. Not that we’re in the business of endorsements, but this one is worth a look if you want to keep up on goings-on from the trail, campaign gossip, and the occasional war of words.
FITN— is an acronym well known to a certain crowd of political junkies: fans of the New Hampshire presidential primary on Twitter. For years the contest has been known as the “first in the nation.” The FITN hashtag was created ahead of the 2012 campaign and quickly caught on. Among its first users: the daughters of GOP candidate Jon Huntsman, who were, briefly, a Twitter phenomenon themselves.
UNCONCESSION—The rarest of political speeches, the unconcession is made by a candidate on Election Night who mistakenly believes he or she has lost the race, gives up prematurely — and then takes it back. Sound far-fetched? Bob Dole did it in 1996, after prematurely sending a fax to newsrooms conceding to President Bill Clinton. (Eventually, of course, he lost.) Four years later, Al Gore unconceded to George W. Bush. That election was ultimately determined by the Supreme Court in Bush’s favor.
GOTV—The handshakes, the ad wars, the debate prep, the endless parades: None of it matters as much as the candidates’ get-out-the-vote efforts for Tuesday’s primary. “Get out the Vote” — GOTV to the insiders — is shorthand for the campaigns’ ability to ensure the support they’ve courted translates to actual votes at the polls. What makes a successful GOTV? Volunteers to make phone calls and last-minute neighborhood visits, drivers to ferry voters to polls. Observers say a well-orchestrated GOTV effort can make or break the day in a tight race.
MONEY BOMB—Not nearly as explosive as it sounds — a money bomb is a coordinated, online political fund-raising drive. A campaign designates a particular day or hour when donors are asked to contribute en masse, creating a dramatic influx of cash in a short amount of time. The event is heavily promoted to create Internet buzz and ensure the candidate is effectively “bombed” with money at the allotted time. So maybe it is rather explosive, after all.
AD BUY— Campaign shorthand for exactly what it sounds like — the purchase of advertising space for a candidate, whether on TV or radio, in print or online. As primary day nears and candidates scramble to get their message out, you can expect to hear a lot about competing, big-dollar “ad buys” and the onslaught of political advertisements that will follow.
FRIDAY NEWS DUMP—If you’re a politician who has bad news to share, what better time to do it than a Friday in August? Voters are at the beach, eating ice cream, and doing pretty much anything but paying attention. So it should come as no surprise that Friday afternoons in summer have become a favorite for the newsmaking set to share big revelations. To the ink-stained wretches grudgingly covering it all, it became known as the Friday news dump.
POOL—“The Pool,” as it is affectionately known, is a group of media outlets that “pool” their resources. A handful of journalists cover an event, with the promise to produce a “pool report” to be shared among the group. Pool coverage is often required for space reasons — because a courtroom, for example, or a politician’s plane is too small to accommodate a crowd.
PORK BARREL— The term describes wasteful spending on projects by politicians trying to ingratiate themselves with constituents. One early 20th-century writer speculated that the term might be traced to the distribution of rations of salt pork to slaves on plantations. These days, pointing to examples of political pork barrel spending is tricky. After all, one person’s pork is another person’s plum.
LAME DUCK— In modern parlance a lame duck is an elected official nearing the end of his or her tenure — either because of a lost re-election bid, term limits, or the decision not to seek reelection. A lame duck generally has less clout than someone at the beginning of a political career. The term’s origin is wholly different: In 18th-century Britain it referred to a stock broker who couldn’t meet his debts. Bulls, bears, and lame ducks apparently charged, prowled, and waddled all over the London Stock Exchange.
BELLWHETHER— Did you know a bellwether is the leader in a flock of sheep, the one with the bell around its neck so you can hear the flock coming? Neither did we. But in politics, the term isn’t so different – it’s a community whose politics hint at the mood of the region as a whole. Just as the sound of the bell predicts the flock’s direction, a bellwether town can suggest which way political winds are blowing.
RINO — Short for “Republican in Name Only,” a derogatory term used by conservatives to criticize Republicans who often side with Democrats. To Republicans from other parts of the country, New England can seem like RINO country. RINOs, like rhinos, can find thick, protective skin particularly useful.
PRESSING THE FLESH — Fourth of July is like Christmas for political candidates. Parades in every town, opportunity aplenty for shaking hands and kissing babies. It’s known in political parlance as pressing the flesh. The art of courting supporters the old-fashioned way, by getting in front of voters and giving them a firm handshake.
DARK MONEY —Money from an unknown source spent to influence elections that sometimes leaves voters scratching their heads even as they head to the polls. Massachusetts lawmakers are working to pass a bill that aims to improve transparency and shine a light on funding sources.
BODY MAN — A personal assistant to a political candidate or elected official. The body man is the guy glued to the politician’s side, his pockets filled with snacks and personal items, his task to keep breath fresh, bathrooms located, and his boss on time.
STEMWINDER — A speech both lengthy and rousing. The origin relates to quality. When the stem-winding watch appeared, it was considered superior to the key-winding version. A stemwinder came to mean something first rate, typically a speech. The long part came later, because good orators could also be long-winded.