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    American Politics: Campaigns and Elections

    The election of 1996 while a quite boring election was important in the light of the 94 election and the instability of American politics for the past decade. I know that politicians, and those who cover them in the media, like to hype the significance of each election, but it was justified in this case. This election might have fit the category of what political scientists call a realigning or critical election following on the dramatic Republican victory in 1994. The picture now appears quite complicated and unclear. The Democrats held on to the presidency and picked up about 10 seats in the House. In state houses Democrats have stopped the slide of the nineties and now hold 49 houses with the Republicans holding on to 45. The Republicans picked up several seats in the Senate and continue to control the House. The new Senate members are also more conservative and Clinton is certainly a centrist politician drifting to the right. In the South the Republicans continue to solidy their positions with the South becoming solid again but for the other party. Democrats are picking up seats in the northeast and midwest. If it is a realignment it is a very complicated one and doesn't resonate with earlier realignments. The last major realignment was in the New Deal era and at least since the later part of the Sixties this realignment has been weakening, but with no clear replacement. The last twenty-five years have frequently been characterized in the literature as one of dealignment from both parties and the rise of the independent voter. While these trends have not disappeared the 1994 Congressional elections suggested the beginnings of a major realignment with the Republicans gaining control of both houses. The 1996 election have not clarified the charater of our system. One of the most disturbing aspects of the 96 election was the turnout of less than 49% of the eligible voters. Electoral turnout continues it slide from the high of 63% in 1960. The media, polarization of the parties, nasty tone of many campaigns, and clear early lead of Clinton have all took their toal on turnout.

    I have collected some very good sites that will help us keep track of the 96 elections. We are all dependent, and to some degree manipulated, by the media. One way of overcoming that dependence is by expanding the sources that we rely on for coverage of the campaigns and politics. In addition to the print, television and radio medium there is now a wealth of information available on the Web and it derives from a variety of sources. There really is no excuse for us not to be informed about American politics. The Politics Now and All Politics now sites are great for exit poll data. They have the natioanl exit polls and also many of the state polls. For a political junkie it is great. fun.

    Campaign 96 as Seen From the Media

    • All Politics--This is a venture of Time and CNN.
    • Campaign Central--This is a product of Losser and Associates, a private web consulting firm. It is a quite useful site for following the elections.
    • C-Span--The Cable TV show that has revolutionized the coverage of politics. This was Newt Gingrich avenue to power in Congress.
    • C-Span's Campaign '96--C-Span coverage specifically on the election campaign
    • CBS Campaign '96--If you don't get enough of Dan Rather on the nightly news here is a second chance.
    • Congressional Quarterly: American Voter96--The Congressional Quarterly is one of the best sources for the daily ebb and flow of American politics
    • Doonesbury Electronic Town Hall--Doonesbury cartoons are always fun, but this site offers even more. You can participate in a straw poll, chat hall, and follow the latest twists and turns of the campaign. It is updated daily.
    • Election Connection '96
    • Election Day on the Web--This is another chance to participate in a straw poll.
    • Election96 InfoCenter
    • Election Nexus
    • Elections '96
    • George Magazine's Campaign '96--Another one of those Kennedy's
    • HotWired: Netizen--This is the electronic of the very hip Wired.,/b>
    • League of Women Voters--Interactive--The League has been working for much of this century to make us more responsible citizens.
    • MoJo's Race for the White House: --This is an electronic of the perodical Mother Jones.
    • MSNBC Decision '96--You should at least take a peak at this site. This is a union of two of the biggest companies in the distribution of information: Microsoft and NBC.
    • MTV: Choose or Lose--This is the responsible citizen of MTV. It is a useful site.
    • NetVote '96
    • NPR Election '96--This is a good site from National Public Radio.
    • New York Times--They will be updating their news continously.
    • Pathfinder--This is a general news page. It does cover the elections quite thoroughly.
    • Politics Now-This is a service of ABC News, the Washington Post, Newsweek, and the National Journal--This is a really good site with stories and latest polls. It is updated daily.
    • Road to the Whitehouse
    • Roll Call Election
    • San Jose Mercury News: Mercury Center Politics--This has been one of the first and most inovative newspapers on the net.
    • Showdown '96
    • U.S. News Online--Election '96
    • Voter's Almanac
    • Web Archive 96: Internet Election Archive--As the name suggests they are building an archive of information on the Web. This is a formidable task.

    Campaign 96 as Seen From the Candidates

    • Lamar Alexander home page. You remember him. He's the fellow that made plaid shirts famous.
    • Harry Browne for President. The Libertarian Candidate
    • Pat Buchanan (Official) for President--He describes himself as "morally righteous, conservative and christian."
    • Clinton-Gore96--This is the official home page for the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential candidates
    • Bill Clinton the Early Years (Parody)
    • Dole-Kemp Online Campaign (Official)
    • Dole-Kemp Campaign (Parody)
    • Dole Watch
    • Newt Watch (Parody)--Newt is not a candidate but this page is keeping track of his activities just in case
    • Presidential Candiates--1996--Follow the Campaign of your Favorite Candidate

    Campaign 96 as Seen From the Political Parties and Political Movements

    • Conservative Generation X
    • Democratic National Committee
    • Libertarian Party
    • Republican National Committee
    • Republicans Web Central
    • UWSA--United We Stand America

    Voting and a Democratic Society

    • League of Women Voter's
    • Vote Smart Web--This is a very good site.

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    Last updated 16 November 1996

    If you wish to comment or send a message: C-Helm@wiu.edu