Today we’re going to be using a website called Project Vote Smart, a bipartisan website that publishes the biographies, voting records, and other details about all presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, and state legislative candidates. Keep reading after the jump for the activity instructions.
To submit your answers for this activity, type them into a Word document and then email them to me, or you can submit them as a comment on this blog entry at the bottom of this page.
Due Dates:
A Day: Tuesday, 11/11
Part One: Interest Groups & PACs
- First read about political action committees and interest groups.
- How are PACs and interest groups different?
Part Two: Project Vote Smart
- Go to the Project Vote Smart website, and scroll down to ‘Current Officials,’ about halfway down the page. (You may want to change the zip code, depending on where you live.)
- Choose one Senator or Representative and tell me the following:
- How many years have they been in office?
- What were the last ‘key votes’ they voted on, and how did they vote?
- Now, on the left hand side of the page, click on ‘Interest Group Ratings,’ select ‘Kentucky,’ and then select ‘Congress’ from the list. Using the same person you picked in Part A, tell me the following:
- Pick two categories that interest you from the list (like the environment, or veteran’s issues). Did the representative vote the preferred position of any interest group more than 60% of the time? If so, state the name of the group and percentage they voted for the interest group.
- Of the groups you identified above, pick two, and tell me what they’re about. What do you think this suggests about your representative’s views?
Part Three: Open Secrets
- Now go to OpenSecrets.org, and on the right hand side of the page, search for the name of your representative you selected.
- How much of the representative’s money was raised from individual contributions as opposed to political action committees, or PACS? How might different funding sources influence a politician?
- What types of industries contributed the most amount of money to this official
November 7, 2008 at 15:29
H.W. Show Me The Money
By: Kyle Blankenship
Part one
A] A pac is a name given to a private group no matter what the size. A pac recieve money and raise money from the special group’s constituents, and on behalf of the special interest, makes donations to political campaigns. Where a interest group is a collection of people who seek to make a polictical desion on something. Examples of a interest group is: Trade Unions, and buisness groups. Examples of a pac is: Private companies like big law ferms.
B] 1a) Mitch McConnell Senator of U.S. he has been in office sence 11/06/1984 and he is in the senior seat.
1b) He voted on the United States india Nuclear Agreement and he voted yes. Also he voted yes on the second economic package. And his third was the Amtrak Reauthorization where he voted yes again.
B] 2a) Mitch McConnell voted 88% for the American Farm Beaueau and he voted 100 percent on National right to life committee the first is to save agricultur and the nezt is the right to life.
2b)I thank that we should vote to save and help the agricultural world because that’s where are meet and produces comes from mostly so I would go for what he voted on.
November 11, 2008 at 23:17
1. A political action committee is formed to help a candidate to get elected, by advertising, fund raising, campaigning, etc. An interest group is formed to get influence on political decisions.
2. a) Mitch McConnell has been in office 24 years, now starting his 25th.
b) His last key votes were on the second economic package, the amtrak reauthorization, and the india nuclear agreement.
c) Two that interested me were labor issues and gun issues. McConnell did not vote in favor of almost all the labor issues. He agreed over 60% with the national rifle association all the time.
d) Him almost never voting for the issues under labor shows that he clearly disagrees with unions because most of the issues were about union rights, this just shows McConnell is taking the republican side of the issue. Mitch also voted for the national rifle association an association based on electing represntatives for them that are pro-gun owning and supporting the 2nd ammendment.
3. a) 65% of contributions came from indivdual donors where 26% came from PAC’s. These finances could affect the politicians decisions, because if they got the majority of their money PAC’s they would be more influenced to agree with them.
b) The top five industries that donated were: 1 investment companies 2 law firms 3 retired 4 real estate 5 health professionals