As we invest $ Billions and our citizens die to create democracy in Iraq, it is disheartening to see the spirit of democracy degrade in our own country. Our leaders now spend a lot less time being leaders and lot more time focusing on being elected.
The whole point of our representative system is that we elect people we believe will make the best decisions on our behalf. When having a position on an issue becomes a liability to getting elected, you know we have a serious problem.
Politicians Grow Wary Of Survey as Internet Spreads Attack Ads
Wall Street Journal
October 25, 2006
Unfortunately, the group, Project Vote Smart, is being undermined by the same negative forces it's trying to combat. Working out of a former dude ranch in Montana, Vote Smart runs a Web site and a toll-free number that tracks more than 10,000 candidates running for federal and state offices. Along with gathering voluminous data on voting records, speeches and endorsements, the nonprofit conducts an exhaustive survey of the candidates' positions on issues ranging from abortion to welfare.
For years, the survey was catching on with incumbents and challengers alike. But lately, the number of candidates taking the survey has dropped dramatically. The reason: Many are afraid their opponents will use the information against them in attack ads. "We tell our candidates not to do it," says Rep. Anne Gannon, the Democratic leader pro tempore of the Florida House of Representatives. "It sets them up for a hit piece."
Vote Smart officials say only 48% of the federal candidates they approached this year listed their positions on the survey. In 1996, the response rate was 72%.
"We're measuring the inability of people to get information to make an informed opinion," says Richard Kimball, president of Vote Smart.
Officials from one or both parties in 16 states have advised candidates not to fill out the survey, according to a Vote Smart study. "In the information age, anything you say can and will be used against you," says New York Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf.
Vote Smart also tries to stay in the vanguard of technology. The organization's Web site, www.vote-smart.org1, which gets over 16 million hits a day, was launched in 1995 -- long before other political organizations discovered the full potential of the Internet. By the 2008 election, Vote Smart is hoping to add links to televised debates and other video. "We've become very good at this," Mr. Kimball says.
