Project Vote Smart "is an extraordinary gathering of people committed to one purpose: to strengthen the most essential component of democracy -- access to information -- even as it suffers grave attacks from candidates and political parties, many who are now willing to manipulate information and deceive voters." It's a great starting point for information concerning candidates and issues.Presidential candidates, are featured here. Did you know there are six of them? (And I'm still unhappy with the choices. I lean Obama but will wait until tonight's Frontline before deciding finally which way to go).
Lehigh Valley's congressional candidates:
Congressman Charlie Dent is featured prominently here. His opponent, Siobhan Bennett, is displayed here. (If you feel comfortable electing someone who can't name the leader of a country in which we have 30,000+ troops, then God bless you).
Contested state representative races.
132d district: Jennifer Mann faces Mike Welsh. (Mike Welsh believes Allentown's public safety is an issue, while Mann has used her state house seat as a springboard to seek other offices).
133rd district: Joe Brennan faces Guy Gray. (One of the House's most liberal members faces an attack from the left. No good deed goes unpunished).
187th district: John Ritter faces Gary Day. (Ritter's battle against Day is small stuff. His real fight, right now, is with cancer. In late October, he reported he is in full remission).
Unfortunately, state row offices are not included.
This is a great site for gathering basic, unbiased information on candidates. Its easy-to-navigate design makes it especially useful to voters who want to do a little last-minute, spin-free, issues-based research.
ReplyDeleteI sent a link to this site earlier today to AJ. He had asked about an unbiased source. This is both unbiased and contains much more detail than you'll find in the newspaper or here, with the possible exception of the congressional race. I covered that heavily, but with a point of view.
ReplyDeleteI thought I's share it with readers looking for answers they can trust.
I wish it covered the row offices and had more details on ballot questions.
Perhaps one day VoteSmart.org will expand to include more. It would be a huge undertaking, but well worth it.
ReplyDeleteIf I may be so bold, I also think this site would make a nice addition to your blog's link listing. It's a great resource for voters of every political persuasion. Just something to consider...
Good suggestion! I will link to Vote Smart tonight.
ReplyDeleteIf I also may be so bold, just like voter lists, why not "purge" some of the site links on your blog that haven't seen activity for six months or a year? BTW, I use your blog daily to launch to other sites so there's some utility in the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteI will keep one link active - LVDem. He is the original. I will purge inactive blogs.
ReplyDeleteThe changes you recommend have been made.
ReplyDeletevotesmart, and politico are my top two refrences for my diatribes on my blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Bernie.
ReplyDeleteWell?
ReplyDeleteIt's 11:50 and the show is over, who are you going to endorse?
I'm voting Obama.
ReplyDeleteFrontline's program was outstanding, pointing out the strengths of both candidates. You can't watch that program without reaching the conclusion that both of them are good men.
What has bothered me about Obama is whether he practices what he preaches. As state senator and US Senator, he appears to be fairly partisan, which belies his argument that left and right need to come together.
What swayed me was his performance as the first black President of Harvard Law Review. He worked with conservatives and was more concerned with the quality of trhe product than ideology.
I fault no one who votes for McCain. It is a tough decision.
I will not vote Nader. I've done so before but do respect ewnough of Obama's message to say he has earned my vote. I believe he will make an effort to bring Americans together, something we desparately need.
GO SAM
ReplyDeleteIf we were playing poker I'd respond with "nice hand."
ReplyDelete