What is a good nonpartisan resource to learn about how political candidates REALLY feel about various issues?

Question

I am looking for a resource that will allow me to look at how political candidates running for office REALLY feel about various important topics today. A resource that is truly nonpartisan, and which gives detailed information about the candidate, specifically how they have voted on various laws and legislative topics, as well as affiliations with corporations or other candidates.

Any help would be appreciated. Wishful thinking I know!

Answer 1

Believe the opposite of what they say.

Answer 2

The problem is that the very people who claim to be nonpartisan (example news reporters) do have an agenda and are spinning what they say to influence your opinion. The level of this type of propaganda is so high and so blatant that even the most unsuspecting consumer is beginning to notice.

So, what do you do when most of the media that claims to be nonpartisan do have a hidden agenda? You must learn to read between the lines. If you examine them carefully you will soon be able to pick out the propaganda.

Most new stories, for instance, will feature quotes from very biased sources in an attempt to make a point. You should be asking yourself why the person is trying to make this point.

Here is an example: The reporter is quoting opinion polls that say 55% of the registered voters are planning to vote for a Democrat for congress. The story shows excerpts of an interview with a Democratic campaign manager that says the trend is turning towards the Democrats and they are going to take over the house. Then the reporter does a "man on the street" interview with a person who says he is unhappy with the way president Bush is running the Iraq war.

In this example the poll was actually commissioned and paid for by companies in the new media for the purpose of steering public opinion not reporting it. The reporter could have chosen other people who would state the case for the other side but that would not move the reporter’s agenda along. In this example you should be asking yourself why the reporter is only presenting one side of the issue.

Answer 3

There is no such source. The best you can do is track back through their history of actions and see if they coincide with what they claim they believe.

A candidate's detractors will often present the flaws in the character but may also distort or outright lie. A candidate's supporters will not reveal the bad stuff.

I find some of the more conservative news/views sites like Newsmax and WorldNetDaily to be a reasonably good source of the 'dirt' that candidates don't want exposed.

Here is an example, showing that Nancy Pelosi does not actually believe in what she says:

Pelosi claims to be a staunch union supporter, and along with her husband has received the Cesar Chavez award from the United Farm Workers Union, notes Schweizer.

Unions are, in her words, "fighting for America's working families" and battling "the union-busting, family-hurting" Bush administration. But Schweizer uncovered that a $25 million Northern California vineyard the Pelosis own is a non-union shop!

Pelosi's hypocrisy doesn't stop there.

The congresswoman is the top recipient among members of Congress in campaign contributions from labor unions, and has received more money from the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union than any other member of Congress in the last several election cycles.

But in addition to the wine business, the Pelosis own a large stake in the exclusive Auberge du Soleil hotel in Rutherford, Calif. The hotel has more than 250 employees, but once again, Schweizer found, it is strictly a non-union shop.

The Pelosis are also partners in a restaurant chain called Piatti, which has 900 employees.

"But a union card is not required to work there bussing tables, washing dishes, serving guests or preparing food," Schweizer wrote in NewsMax Magazine.

"As with Auberge du Soleil, at Piatti the Pelosis' commitment to organized labor ends at the front door."

Pelosi has also demonstrated hypocrisy on the environment. "With us," she proclaims, "the environment is not an issue – it's an ethic. It's a value."

That's what she says. Schweizer exposed what she does: One of her largest investments is a private partnership called Lions Gate Limited, which operates the CordeValle Golf Club and Resort in San Martin, Calif.

To get a permit to build the facility, the partners promised to build a "public course" providing considerable access to non-members, and to abide by several environmental requirements to ensure that there would be minimal ecological damage.

But after the facility opened, the county's Planning Commission found that the golf course was in fact private – and the club had "ignored" many of its permit requirements concerning the environment!

Answer 4

http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm

Answer 5

internet