30+ Resources For US Politics On The Web

Credit:

The United States election for President is over a year away (November 3rd, 2008), but from the fervor in the press, one might think it's tomorrow. With the primaries still looming, now is the time to start looking in to the information out there on the web, and we've gathered 30+ tools to help you do just that!

Don't forget to check out our post where you can suggest future toolbox topics! (This list, for example, came from one of the suggestions.)

Campaign Funding

Credit:

CampaignMoney.com - See who's giving money, even down to your zip code, and who they gave it to.

FEC.gov - The Federal Elections Commission home page with daily news on the results of their overseeing activities.

FollowTheMoney.org - Focusing on the donations given at the state Congressional level.

NewsMeat.com - Not only can you see how much a candidate has spent, but how much money they have on hand and what what their odds of winning look like.

OpenSecrets.org - Look up any member of Congress and see how their funds were gathered: personal funds, personal donations, and more.

Information

Credit:

Please note: For all of the political parties in the USA to be listed, it would be a toolbox of its own. We listed the two biggest, and two of the best known independents. This should not in any way be seen as bias to these parties.

DeclareYourself.com - A nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to get 18-year olds interested in politics and registered to vote.

Democrats.org - The homepage of the national Democratic party.

GOP.com - Homepage for the Republican party.

GP.org - Website for the Green Party candidates.

LWV.org - Homepage for the League of Women Voters, a non-partisan organization dealing with women's issues in the political process.

LP.org - Homepage of the Libertarian National Committee.

MAPLight.org - Primary focus is on California politics, but discusses national issues that deal with California also.

OnTheIssues.org - Look up any candidate, down to state, and see where they stand on a multitude of issues and how they've voted.

PoliticalBase.com - Shows you campaign contributions, compares the candidates on the issues in a simplified grid format and more.

PoliticalTrends.info - Attempts to give you a visual image of how the blogosphere is reacting to the issues.

RockTheVote.com - Helps you get registered to vote.

SelectSmart Presidential Candidate Comparison - Choose one candidate from each column, and get a side-by-side comparison of their information.

SpeakOut. com - Tracking all the candidates and the issues that will shape this election cycle.

Stateline.org - A collection of blog from across the country to attempt to paint a picture of the national political climate.

USPoliticsGuide.com - Collecting information on the candidates, the issues and all the latest news from around the web.

Vote-Smart.org - A movement of young voters to help educate everyone about the issues and candidates.

WebMD Health Issues - Explains the key health issues that are sure to be a focus in the 2008 election, and lets you know where they politicians stand on each.

Miscellaneous

Credit:

Intrade.com - A mock stock market based on the politicians and issues facing them over the next year.

PoliticalCompass.org - Unsure if you're left or right? Take this multiple choice test to see where you stand.

TheWSX.com - A stock market based on the politics of Washington D.C.

News

Credit:

HostileCrowd.com - A Digg-style site for political news.

PoliticalNewsDaily.com - Brings together political news from a selection of sources in to one convenient location.

PoliticalNewsToday.com - News from across the country related to politics, all in one place.

SparkMeter.com - A news site that allows people to vote on the stories to show how much it leans to the left or right.

Social Networks

Credit:

Essembly.com - A non-partisan, politically minded social network.

VocalNation.net - A mixture of community/social network/message board where people can gather to discuss issues and see what the opinions of different parts of the nation are.