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Internet Life mind government

U.S. Political Groups

  BY LAMONT WOOD   

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.



The best site was also the one that made the most effort at being non-biased: Project Vote Smart. This non-partisan, non-profit organization was founded by former presidents Ford and Carter to offer a one-stop source of political information, pulling together sources from across the Net, as well as internally compiled data. Not only will you see a complete reference list of members of Congress, but you can check how each voted on a selection of recent bills, broken down by issue as well as individual bill. The only evident bias was in the staff's decisions concerning which bills are important. If recent votes do not throw much light on the way your representative thinks, look at the list of how each political action committee rates him or her. Another fascinating database here lists the amount of total contributions each member received, broken into individual contributions and PAC contributions, broken down by industry and sector. There's also an excellent list of links to other political and government sites, plus as information about the U.S. Supreme Court and important decisions; information about state governments and state laws; "issue briefs" from various interest groups and journals; historical material; and even political humor.


If Newt's got your goat, don't miss the NewtWatch, which offers a negative twist on every piece of information that has ever surfaced concerning the life, career, and finances of the House Speaker. Don't miss the text of his doctoral dissertation, "Belgian Education Policy in the Congo, 1945-1960." You'll find a list of links to the growing galaxy of Newt-gazing sites, pro, con, and too weird for categorization.


While the Republicans seem slow to have an official Web site, no such inhibitions trouble United We Stand America, the political organization left over from billionaire Ross Perot's quixotic presidential campaign in 1992. The party's site is the prototypical example of a Web site hard at work, offering reports, speeches, newsletters, legislative updates, contact lists, graphics to be used in slide shows for party leadership presentations, and material by Perot himself. Meanwhile, an unofficial UWS site perpetually under construction could also be called non-partisan, with collections of assorted political links and speeches by Ross Perot. The site warns: "Do not expect government to save you, do not expect United We Stand to save you, do not expect me or this service to save you. You are responsible for helping yourself."


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.


If politics to you means fighting red tape, then be sure submit the proper documentation so as to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations when accessing Get Government Off Our Back. GGOOB (yes, that's what it calls itself) is a non-partisan coalition dedicated to fighting the size of government and cutting government regulations at all levels. Don't miss the endless horror tales about red tape. "The Lord's Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, and there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence. Yet, government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words."


No national site for the League of Women Voters surfaced, which is a shame, but the site for the Iowa chapter appeared to cover a lot of ground.

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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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