Website Review

ASSOCIATES (2004, November, v. 11, no. 2) - associates.ucr.edu

*Political Sources and Resources*

Michael D. Brooks
Saint Joseph’s University
Drexel Library
Philadelphia, PA

Prior to the recent presidential election, representatives of the points of view from the right, left, all points in-between, and even the fringe were touting or spouting facts, figures, and fabrications. People were either oblivious to the barrage or absorbed by it all. But no matter what the motivation, one aspect of the entire process remains clear, the electoral process in this country is vibrant and people have feelings, fears, and opinions.

For those open-minded enough and patient enough to take the time to sift through the mountains of information, misinformation, and disinformation, there are literally thousands of sources and resources to view to obtain and ascertain objective data so more informed decisions can be reached.

In a slight deviation from my usual web site review, I have elected (pun intended) to list a very small group of sites devoted to the political process.

They are an eclectic mix of partisan, bipartisan, or nonpartisan perspectives as well as conservative, liberal, and independent sites.

What follows is a primer, if you will, for those who truly want to be better informed about the world around them.

FirstGov.gov http://firstgov.gov
The National League of Cities http://www.nlc.org/nlc_org/site/
The Daily Star http://www.dailystar.com.lb/home.asp
e.thePeople http://www.e-thepeople.org/
Congress.org http://www3.capwiz.com/congressorg/home/ or http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
Democratic National Committee http://www.democrats.org/
GOP.com: the Republican National Committee http://gop.com/ or http://rnc.org/
Democratic Action Center http://www.democraticaction.org/
National Republican Senatorial Committee http://www.nrsc.org/
The Politix Group http://www.politixgroup.com/main.html
Opensecrets.org http://www.opensecrets.org/
Nonpartisan Media Watchdog http://usconservatives.about.com/od/nonpartisanmediawatchdogs/ (This is a list compiled by About.com of nonpartisan groups that examine the mainstream media’s treatment of political issues.)
The American Civil Liberties Union http://www.aclu.org/
Center for the Study of the Presidency http://www.thepresidency.org/
Commission on Presidential Debates http://www.debates.org/
CongressLink http://www.congresslink.org/
Federal Election Commission http://www.fec.gov/
The Hill News: the Newspaper for and about the U.S. Congress http://www.hillnews.com/
Town Hall.com http://www.townhall.com
Alternet http://www.alternet.org/
American Daily http://www.americandaily.com/
Democratic Underground http://www.democraticunderground.com/
Opinion Editorials http://www.opinioneditorials.com/

This list of sites can be used as a starting point to begin the never ending quest to be the best informed voter one can be. It will also provide a head start on the next presidential election as well as all of the local elections between now and then.