machine, political

An administration of elected public officials who use their influential positions to solidify and perpetuate the power of their political party, often through dubious means. Machine politicians make free use of the spoils system and patronage , rewarding loyal party supporters with appointed government jobs. Other machine methods include gerrymandering election districts; planting party representatives in neighborhoods; making deals with judges, lawyers, and other professionals; and “buying” votes by offering social services to potential voters. When machine politics was especially strong in the United States, during the latter half of the nineteenth century, politicians would go so far as to offer beer for votes and would embezzle large amounts of public money. Machines also dominated party caucuses and conventions, thereby affecting politics at all levels of government.

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The most impressive political machine of the twentieth century was that of Mayor Richard Daley , in Chicago .

Machines are usually associated with big-city politics.

Is this an isolated event for OFA and the Obama political machine?

But I was never part of any political machine in the real sense.

But it was still an unorganized effort, while Limbaugh has a powerful bully pulpit, he does not have a political machine.

Like Clinton, Romney is competent and polished and has a powerful political machine.

One man ran one political machine in each city, which served as the nexus of business, politics and money.

After much rioting and corruption, Mahone's political machine finally lost control of the state in 1883.

Equally characteristic is the faith in the 'political machine.'

This is one of the inconsistencies of the tunes played by the political machine in modern Italy.

The first is of those who are powerful as well as rich, and conduct the operations of the vast political machine.

The political machine runs the town, and the bosses own the machine.

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