The American Citizen - Politics on the Web

Politics Navigator -- The New York Times offers a "selective guide to political sites on the Internet," a mostly-annotated list of sites for information on government and politics. (N.Y. Times requires a simple registration to access their site.)

The Democracy Network -- ". . . gives voters the opportunity to research issues, find the offices, ballot measures, when elections are, what election events are occurring and see who's running in their area, all based on their zip code."

CNN's Inside Politics -- continually updated coverage of politics and political races

The Political Graveyard -- Looking for info on politicians (living or dead . . . although, it can be difficult to determine which is actually the case)? This site calls itself "The Web Site That Tells Where the Dead Politicians are Buried." Includes biographic links and is searchable by categories.

Election.Com -- REGISTER TO VOTE ONLINE

New York Times: Washington -- links to daily coverage as well as special sections dealing with national races

National Priorities Project -- "The National Priorities Project says it has worked for 15 years to make our nation's budget priorities "something ordinary citizens can understand... Thanks to its Web site, more citizens than ever before have access to the organization's information: for example, what it calls the trade-off between excessive military spending and cuts in community-based programs." (source: USA Today online)

Write to Congress -- "Ever have that feeling that members of Congress are somewhat out of touch? Get them back in touch -- quickly and easily -- with the services of C-SPAN's aptly named 'Write to Congress' feature. You'll even find help in looking up your ZIP code to track down that elusive elected rep." (source: USA Today online)

National Political Index -- "...a web site which provides an index of substantive political information for voters, political activists, political consultants, lobbyists, politicians, academicians, and media editors with a wide range of products, information, services, simulations, games, and polling in an interactive communications environment."

Smart Voter -- nonpartisan voter information from the League of Women Voters.

PoliticalCartoons.Com -- "daily political cartoons by editorial cartoonists from around the world."

American Conservative Union -- "...the official online headquarters of the American Conservative Union (ACU), the nation's oldest and largest grassroots conservative organization... ACU's purpose is to effectively communicate and advance the goals and principles of conservatism through one multi-issue, umbrella organization."

Progressive Directory -- "...shares the vision to actively promote change toward a healthy society, one which is founded on principals of social justice, broadly shared economic opportunity, a robust democratic process, and sustainable environmental practices. We believe healthy societies rely fundamentally on respect for individual rights, the vitality of communities, and a celebration of diversity."

Brookings Institution -- "...an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to research, analysis, education, and publication focused on public policy issues in the areas of economics, foreign policy, and governance."

Project Vote Smart -- "[candidates'] voting records, campaign finances, position statements, backgrounds, and the evaluations done on them by over 100 competing special interest groups. Research that will defend the people's right to abundant, accurate, relevant information and enable them to check the credibility of the often misleading claims candidates make. The kind of information that is essential to prudent decision-making in the voting booth. Note: This terrific site was selected by the American Political Science Association as 'The Best Political Web Site' in existence.

Center for Democracy and Technology -- Look here for information about the practice of politics on the Internet, including electronic voting, political primaries, and more. "The Center for Democracy and Technology works to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age.

Public Campaign -- "Public Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to sweeping reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of special interest money in America's elections and the influence of big contributors in American politics."

Center for Public Integrity -- "Political shenanigans aren't restricted to Washington. The Center for Public Integrity examines how state legislators weigh their public duties against their private economic interests." (USA Today online) "At a time when the nation’s 50 state legislatures wield unprecedented power, the lawmakers who run them have significant private financial interests in the laws they impose on millions of Americans. Find out if your state lawmaker placed private financial interests ahead of the public trust..." (from the CPI front page).

Public Citizen -- "Founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, Public Citizen is the consumer's eyes and ears in Washington." Click on "Congress Watch" section to view this group's take on issues as they are dealt with by the U.S. Senate and House.

Center for Responsive Politics -- OpenSecrets.org offers valuable info about the connections between big money and politicians, includes a database on who's giving how much money to which candidates for office - - searchable by candidate, PAC, and by categories.

Congressional Accountability Project -- "Some Web sites are pretty. Some are not. And some don't have to be -- because of the power of their content. Which brings us to the Congressional Accountability Project. Trying, as the name suggests, to hold the Congress accountable, the site offers info ranging from pay and perks to ethics." (source: USA Today online)

Turn Left - The Home of Liberalism Online -- "Meet your fellow liberals by visiting home pages of those who are proud to stand up for what they believe in... You'll also find the Net's most complete guide to liberal culture and media right here."

Conservative News Service -- "The recently launched Conservative News Service says it aims to counteract what it calls a liberal bias in the American news media -- and, thus, become a primary source of info for people who put a higher premium on balance than spin..." (Ahhhh . . . their own conservative brand of balance and spin?)

United Nations Association of the United States of America -- "dedicated to enhancing U.S. participation in the United Nations system with its agenda of education, public research, and substantive policy analysis."

Views of the World -- "Weekly selection of editorial cartoons on major issues from around the globe... Prize-winning cartoonists of every shade of political opinion direct from the world's most influential publications."

Democracy Network -- Political news and grassroots activism from the League of Women Voters, "...a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy... Enter your zip code to find out who's running for offices on your ballot and where the candidates stand on issues you care about."

VoteNet -- "Looking for politics-only Web sites? A Votenet search service offers to help you wade through unrelated sites. Designed for politicians, citizens, organizations and political consultants. You can even "SpeakOut" in discussion groups on a wide range of issues." (from USA Today online).

Election Connection -- "Fake Web sites are not unknown in politics -- so says The Election Connection, with a touch of understatement. This service from George Washington University attempts to connect us to the bona-fide campaign sites." (from USA Today online)

Federal Election Commission -- "In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections."

Women's Voting Guide -- "Our non-partisan, personalized voting guide allows you to compare your positions on issues important to you with your current U.S. Senators and Representatives."

League of the South -- Bet you thought the Civil War was over, hmm? Nope! These folks still want to secede from the Union - - as Yahoo! puts it, they are an "organization promoting independence for southern U.S. States." They describe themselves as "... Southern Nationalists advocating the creation of an independent Southern Republic. " Yee-hawwwwwwww, let's hear it for Bubba Country!

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