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The Web: A Playground For Politicos

By R. Morris Barrett/AllPolitics

WASHINGTON (Aug. 20) -- What's a political junkie to do during the dog days of August, when the boss is on vacation, Congress is on recess, the president's putting and the AP wire is dry as a tick?

That's easy; click on AllPolitics or any one of the hundreds of political Web sites that have sprung up in the past couple of years, and spend the rest of the month exploring.

So cyberfans, clear that cache, increase that browser memory partition, and prepare for a whirlwind tour of Web politics.

Let's start at the very beginning

Every day, someone buys a computer and jumps on the Web for the first time, so we may as well start with the basics. The White House makes a good first stop, unless you can't stand any more references to bridges or the 21st century. It has predictable stuff like a directory to federal services, cute bios on Bill and Al, how to email them, press releases, and updates on projects like the administration's race relations initiative.

One nice part of the White House site is a historical section which contains background on all past presidents, first ladies, and the White House itself.

Another good online resource on presidents comes from Grolier Online, which in addition to presidential profiles, has compiled a complete set of election returns and links to 1996 campaign sites.

Cruising to Congress

Next stop on our "basics" tour is Congress. Newt Gingrich in his halcyon days of the early 104th Congress championed Thomas, a site loaded with legislative info: bills introduced in Congress, those signed into law, and background on the whole process. In fact, Newt's cyber euphoria may have been the inspiration for his ill-fated (and widely pooh-poohed) inspiration to provide all Americans with a computer tax credit. (We kinda liked that idea here at AllPolitics).

Given the volume of legislative activity, it's surprisingly easy to track items on Thomas. Say you want to see what Congress has done on funding for the Endowment for the Humanities; in the Bill Summary & Status section, there's a sophisticated search engine that allows the user to zero in what you're looking for.

In addition to Thomas, the House and Senate both have separate homepages that, if somewhat hum-drum, put you in quick touch with members, committees, schedules, and historical info. Good bookmarks for you, the political junkie.

The biggest yawn of the federal sites is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the United States Federal Judiciary page. Zzzzzzz. Who understands how all those branches work anyway? Actually, they try to explain it. Not reassuring was the site's section "For Public View" which was linked to, well, nothing.

Before we veer off into more colorful corners of cyberspace, here's a must for your "basics" queue: Project Vote Smart, a no-frills site that may just be the most comprehensive accounting of over 13,000 candidates and local leaders, including their stands on the issues, voting records, campaign finance info. Simply enter your zip code and get in instant touch with your reps at the federal and local level. This is a great site.

Party on

No political tour of cyberspace would be complete with out checking out what the political parties -- major and minor -- are doing. Though politics on the Web may not have revolutionized the 1996 campaign, there's no doubt there was an upheaval in cyberspace with the Democratic and Republican national committees trying to make use of the new medium.

Perhaps reflecting a bunker mentality, a major section of the DNC site is called "Hearings Update", replete with info (and spin) concerning Sen. Fred Thompson's Senate probe of campaign fund-raising. The RNC has relegated fund-raising info to their press releases section.

(On the RNC site, by the way, they've turned "Democrat" into an adjective. It's no longer "Democratic fund-raising scandal" but "Democrat fund-raising scandal." Ah, the vagaries of spin.)

After you're done with the big daddies, cruise to some of the third party sites: Ross Perot's Reform Party is awake at the switch with news and a nice cgi-bin application to speed you to a state Reform Party near you. The Liberarian Party site has a quiz -- Should military service be voluntary? Should taxes be ended? Should narcotics be legalized? -- to help you decide if you're a libertarian. (No wimpy education tax credits here).

Cyber comrades

Those fearing that communism has fallen into the dust bin of history can take heart at the extensive (and garish) international listing of communist and worker parties at ComInterNet. (The name alone would make Vladimir Illich proud). OK, so you can't download "The International" theme song, but you can get the lyrics (everyone knows the melody, right?) while enjoying rotating sickle and hammers. American commies will no doubt wish to express solidarity at the U.S. party headquarters.

Lest you think they're not Hot! Hot! Hot! the Socialist Party USA Cybercenter has one of those "Top 5% Of All Web Sites" icons prominently displayed. After an audio greeting, check out socialism's principles, a brief history, and a listserve, among other features.

A bit closer to the mainstream and worth bookmarking for your political parties index are those other third parties that made headlines in last year's campaign -- the U.S. Taxpayers Party, the Natural Law Party. Ever earnest (and low-budget) Green parties can be found at the Green Parties of North America site.

Activate this!

Political activists, ever eager for publicity and media coverage, have turned to the Web in force. Starting with the take-no-prisoners partisans, two well-stocked servers of content and links from the left and right are the Right Side of the Web and Turn Left.

Setting the tone, the Right Side greets you with, "Ken Starr has apparently made up his mind about what happened to Vince Foster ... Have you?" There's a polling section with a Campaign 2000 presidential preference straw poll, as well as such questions as "Who is the most irritating, annoying liberal in Congress?" and "The Clinton Scandal Poll: Which is worst?"

The Right Side also features a Rush Limbaugh section (who, by the way, doesn't have his own cyber home), and a "Speaker's Corner" to sing Newt's praises. The irreverent tone to this site aptly captured by the "lock and load" sign off from "The View From the Right Side."

About as hostile to its opponents is Turn Left, which in addition to guides to liberal politics, culture, the issues, offers ways to "Fight The Right" and there's even a page where users can rant or rave about whether a city is liberal-friendly.

Groused one user about Elmira, N.Y., "I spent the longest nine months of my life there. This is the only place out of all of the places I have ever lived where being anything other than a raging conservative was out of the question."

A tad more highbrow than the Right Side are the American Conservative Union and Town Hall; the latter has a pull-down menu listing about 40 conservative sites.

Meanwhile, there is seemingly a dearth of sites targeted to moderate Republicans, unless you count the terribly tacky Moderate Republican Bloc site. The Log Cabin Republicans, a coalition of gay Republicans, have an underwhelming site that includes "Who We Are," Cabin Talk, and a listing of local chapters

Billing itself as a "Tool for Party Activists," Digital Democrats, encourages users to create their own Democratic Web pages free of charge! And, ever wonder where to get one of those bumper stickers that says "Friends Don't Let Friend Vote Republican"? You can get one here.

Think tanks and policy schools

The egghead politico community that hopes to persuade rather than goad you into their ideological camp has put reams of policy material online. You can order up books and studies, e-mail scholars and preview upcoming events.

Just left of center is the granddaddy of think tanks, the Brookings Institution. On the right is the Heritage Foundation. The libertarian-minded Cato Institute lets those with Java-equipped browsers calculate what they might make with a privatized Social Security system. The Urban Institute regularly publishes its findings of the new welfare law's impact. (Another good place to check in on welfare reform is the Department of Health and Human Services Welfare Reform page.

If you can stand the download time, Policy.com is a good place to go for a listing of think tanks, universities, associations, and government links. Plus, the site stays fresh by highlighting breaking news stories, hot political issues, and upcoming events in the policy community. Kinda boring but a good resource.

You might want to check in with public policy schools like Harvard's Kennedy School or Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School. Some 30 schools are listed on the Wilson School's site.

Big media muscles in

Guess to be fair we'd better mention what AllPolitics' competition is up to. Cloakroom is a new site from National Journal, one of the partners of the now-defunct PoliticsNow site. Those willing to pony up $9.95 each month get, among other features, access to several staples of inside-the-Beltway print resources -- the Hotline (an insider's daily guide to politics), the Almanac of American Politics and the Capital Source. Cloakroom also features "The Buzz," a rotating group of columns looking at Congress, campaigns, budget battles and the media.

The New York Times site has a politics section that follows the fund-raising story, and has a good set of political Web links. No doubt causing untold anguish among the ranks of its crusty print partner, the Times site has even deigned to include a section of -- gasp! -- political cartoons.

George magazine has its online counterpart, and those wishing to peruse all those unforgettable covers can do so. There appears to be about a two-month lag on posting the monthly magazine (alas, bare-chested John-John hasn't made it onto the site yet).

Even if it is funded by Microsoft, Slate must be considered a Web gem, if only for the sheer volume of substantive editorial content written specifically for the Web. It's like an online version of The New Republic, politically and substantively. Maybe that's because veteran TNR writer Michael Kinsley is in charge. Another good left-of-center 'Zine is Salon.

And let's not forget the flavor du jour -- the Drudge Report. Recently in hot water for falsely accusing a Clinton administration official of spousal abuse, and often featuring such subtle headlines as "Monstrous boa reported by terrified villagers!", Drudge has scooped big media on some major stories like Bob Dole's running mate selection of Jack Kemp. Saying he has over 50,000 email subscribers, Drudge is on the Web, American Online, and, who knows, he probably has a movie deal by now, too.

Simply scandalous

Washington's myriad scandals -- from Bill to Newt to Hillary to Paula -- are keeping cyberfolk busy. Newest on the block are the new Paula Jones Legal Fund site, and Clinton crony James Carville's attack-fire-with-cajun-fire site. With news updates and background on the case and Paula, the Jones site invites users to emblazon their site with a purple ribbon.

Carville has named his site the Education and Information Project, offering a daily fare responding to Clinton antagonists, from the "Book on Kenneth Starr" to a copy of Carville's letter to House Government Reform and Oversight Chairman Dan Burton that says, "If you are not too busy shooting up watermelons in your back yard, I am ready, willing and able to testify before your Committee on any day and at any time." Or this missive from Carville To Whitewater Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr: "Hey partner, here's just a bit of some friendly advice, spend less time trying to cash in on your 15 minutes of fame and wrap up this farce of an investigation."

Some Whitewater sites are collecting cobwebs, but still looking fresh is Willie Horton admaker Floyd Brown's Citizen's United Whitewater Information Site. Less subtle is the "Death of Vincent Foster" site, offering "ACTUAL VIDEO OF A SUICIDE BY SHOOTING IN THE MOUTH." This site must be seen to be believed.

The Washington Times maybe the only newspaper site with a Whitewater section built into the navigation. The Washington Post has a not-so-easy-to-find section on Whitewater with a good chronology.

Also coming to the president's defense is the Nation magazine's Digital Edition Extra "Starr Watch."

The Friends of Hillary site lets you read excerpts of the first lady's weekly column and from her book "It Takes A Village". And the president's young supporter group, the Saxophone Club, though set up to help re-elect him, is still in business.

From the wacky to the tacky

Not to be missed is "The Ever-lasting GOP Stopper" page of Dan Quayle quotes, featuring such notables as, "One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice president, and that one word is 'to be prepared'" or "I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy -- but that could change."

If less devastating, the "Stupid Quotes By Bill Clinton" contains some doozies too, like, "I am curbing the influence of money in our political system" and "You know, if I were a single man, I might ask that mummy out. That's a good-looking mummy!"

Backed by an Elvis "All Shook Up" soundtrack, "Elephants R Us" offers a "Hillary-ometer" that gauges what "mode" the first lady is operating today: "First Lady," "Barracuda," "Thinks She's President," or "Bakes Cookies." "Whaaaar's Beeeel?" asks the user to locate the president on a clickable map, accompanied by a bluegrass melody. This is more fun than vicious.

Now, a moment of silence

A note of sadness to close out: Though the Web is only in its infancy, burgeoning with new sites every day, one can only mark the passing of "Hillary's Hair" with profound grief. This site presented a parade of the first lady's ever-changing hair styles.

OK, now get back to work!