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U.S. Political Groups
![]() ![]() ![]() It's said about politics that you have to be smart enough to do it, but dumb enough to take it seriously. The Web can't help you with the latter proposition, but it can be a great benefit with the former. Below are some of the principal Web sites related to U.S. national politics, rated by how valuable their contents were likely to prove to a browsing citizen. Alas, quality, form and content do not always coincide: The most sophisticated layouts often overlay uninteresting content. Meanwhile, the sites are not rated for bias: Every site had a bias of some sort. In fact, after a while you may begin to wonder if bias is not aligned with that factor that allows you to take politics seriously.
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No in-house site for the Republican Party emerged, although we found in-depth sites maintained by activists. Despite its name, Republicans Web Central is maintained by Valley Tech Corp., a research firm that works for NASA and also has an Internet access operation in the Rio Grande valley. (Hence, it also offers a good collection of Mexican links.) You'll find thorough coverage of the GOP presidential campaign, with links to Usenet newsgroups that follow the candidates, plus information on state and local races and links to state and local resources. "Hope Isn't In Arkansas, It's In 1996," says the logo. The graphics are as strong as the content.
The Heartland Institute is a think tank near Chicago whose site is commonly seen in collections of political links, especially of the Democratic stripe. (But if you're looking for liberal bias, be prepared to see arguments against speed limits appearing alongside arguments that there is no environmental crisis.) Most of the contents are excerpts (promos, actually) for the institute's publications, including books, policy papers, and its magazine, Intellectual Ammunition. However, the material leans more toward lawyerly analysis than toward hard data.
The Cato Institute is a non-partisan public policy institute in Washington, D.C. Besides information about the institute itself, its research, and testimony of Cato scholars before Congressional committees, we saw promos for its scores of books and publications, with excerpts. Generally, the subjects show a libertarian inclination, aiming to reduce the role of government.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee provides funding and research for Demo members of the Senate. It appears to be a great place for picking up Demo-slanted gossip on local Senate elections. There's also a good set of links to other political sites, and an interesting collection of on-line political cartoons.
Comedian Pat Paulsen began running for president after his mock editorials on the soon-suppressed Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967 proved a hit. He's still at it. The site looks disquietingly real, down to archives of press releases and policy statements, and appeals for volunteers. Also available are the text of Paulsen's original Smothers Brothers editorials. Alas, no other political site can offer material of such quality.
Fighting for on-line civil liberties is The Electronic Frontier Foundation. Besides information about the EFF itself, you can follow the progress of various Internet decency bills.
If you're planning to be in San Diego for the 1996 GOP convention, check out this site for information about where to go and what to do while you're there. Plus there's some information about the campaign itself. The site is done by The San Diego Daily Transcript, a lawyer-business newspaper.
The mildly pro-Clinton stance of the Turn Left is undercut by the realization that they like him because they see that conservatives hate him. The site is a grab bag of what's being talked about by liberals, badly obscured by poor contrast between the background and text colors.
The University of Michigan's Political Science Resources on the Web is a good list of links to political organizations and political action committees, from the NRA to the NOW.
For another one-color scheme, there's the site of the Green Parties of North America, with background information and contacts for local Green Party offices in the U.S. and Canada. Nearly all their efforts appear to be at the local level.
The 1992 presidential campaign of Californian Jerry Brown has morphed into a political organization called We The People. Read about how pervasive corporate influences have destroyed democracy.
The John Birch Society is after "Less government, more responsibility, and--with God's help--a better world." You name it, and there's probably a document here carping about it.
Score cards showing how each member of Congress voted on conservation issues, percentage-wise, are the main draw at the League of Conservation Voters.
Finally, if outsiders are truly in, politically, then there's every reason to check out Fidel For President. Of course, it refers to Fidel Castro, dictator of Cuba, who it bills as "the ultimate Washington outsider." Among the discussions of possible running mates and ads for T-shirts and memorabilia, you'll see a link to the alt.smokers.cigars Usenet newsgroup. Cute.
The House Democratic Leadership has a site that holds information on the activities of the Democratic House leaders, policy statements, and the leaders' biographies.
The House Republican Conference had just two documents: the "Republican Plan for America's future" and the text of a speech Newt Gingrich gave in April.
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Copyright (c) 1995 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. Internet Life and the Internet Life logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. |
![]() QUICK CLICK! Project Vote Smart NewtWatch Clinton Yes! United We Stand America an unofficial UWS site Republicans Web Central Get Government Off Our Back League of Women Voters The Heartland Institute The Cato Institute Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Pat Paulsen The Electronic Frontier Foundation 1996 GOP convention Turn Left Political Science Resources on the Web Green Parties of North America We The People The John Birch Society League of Conservation Voters Fidel For President The House Democratic Leadership The House Republican Conference |