Learn the Jargon

In a church, the section of a congregation hosting the most vocally devout worshipers; in politics, the most fervent supporters of a candidate or issue.

The label that politicians apply to policies they’re trying to sell that aren’t automatically popular with the public or others in their party.

A candidate’s quick biographical shorthand to reassure audiences, “I’m not a snooty elitist; I’m just like you.”

A Wild West metaphor, it describes a political situation from which you can’t easily extricate yourself and are vulnerable to attack.

 A reference to the hydrogen bomb-riding warmonger in the classic black comedy “Dr. Strangelove,” in politics it connotes someone who’s recklessly hurtling toward certain doom.