STRUCTURE OF DEMOCRACY

<H2><b>About The Structure of Democracy</b></H2> <p>The 'Structure of Democracy' is the way that we organize our government, political parties, and civic institutions to insure accountability between elected officials and the people. The struggle over ratification of the federal Constitution in 1787 started a debate over the structure of democracy in America that has continued ever since. Unfortunately, millions of Americans from all sides of the political spectrum are now saying that this structure of democracy isn't working anymore and they want it changed. But how to change it isn't clear. For this reason, the Institute for the Study of Civic Values has established this web page as a resource center for people working to promote democracy in America.<p> As an added resource, on September 24, 1996, O'Reilly and Associates released <strong><a href="http://www.ora.com/catalog/netactivism/noframes.html">NetActivism: How Citizens Use the Internet</a></strong>, by ISCV President Ed Schwartz. This is a step-by-step guide for citizens who want to use email and the World Wide Web as tools for political empowerment, and discusses how to make best use of many of the sites found on this page. Here, you can check out a few of the <b><a href="http://libertynet.org/~edcivic/netactiv.html"></b> key organizations </a> that are making effective use of the Internet, a <b><a href="http://libertynet.org/~edcivic/woodall.html"></b>profile of NetActivism</a> that appeared in the October 10th "Tech.Life" edition of the <b>Philadelphia Inquirer</b>, and an <b><a href="http://www.ora.com/catalog/netactivism/excerpt/index.html"></b> excerpt </a> from the book itself. <p> <p> <IMG SRC="hline.gif" ALT=" " width="576" height="5"><p> <b><H2>Searchable Guide to Email Lists</H2></b> <p> The key to networking with people who share your views throughout the country is joining an email list devoted to your interests. Here, we provide easy access an online directory of political lists and a searchable database of all lists for your own use. <p> <ul> <b><li><a href="http://www.voxpop.org:80/jefferson/doityourself/lists/">Political ListServs and Mailing Lists</a></b> <b><li><a href="http://www.liszt.com/">Searchable Guide to Email Lists</a></b> </ul> <IMG SRC="hline.gif" ALT=" " width="576" height="5"><p> <b><H2>Structure of Democracy: Congressional Accountability Form</H2></b>How accountable are your Senators and Congresspeople to their states and districts? The Institute has developed this Congressional Accountability Form using the resources of the Internet to help you find the answers. Try it. Every link included on the Structure of Democracy page is here to help you answer these questions. <p> <ul> <li><b><a href="http://libertynet.org/~edcivic/congress.html">Congressional Accountability Form</a> </ul><p> <IMG SRC="hline.gif" ALT=" " width="576" height="5"><p> <b><H2>Structure of Democracy: Federal Elected Officials</H2></b> <ul> <b><li><a href="http://policy.net/capweb/Senate/Senate.html">The Senate: Names and Addresses</a> <li><a href="http://policy.net/capweb/House/House.html">House of Representatives: Names and Addresses</a> <li><a href="http://www.geopages.com/CapitolHill/1007/">Congressional Email Addresses </a> <li><a href="http://www.PoliticsUSA.com/PoliticsUSA/resources/almanac/">Almanac of American Politics: Profiles and Ratings of Senators and Representatives</a>/<li><a href="http://www.vote-smart.org/congress/">Project Vote Smart Biographies, Interest Group Ratings of Senators and Representatives</a> <li><b><p><a href="http://www.mojones.com/coinop_congress/data_viewer/data_viewer.html">Mother Jones Guide to Campaign Contributions</b></a> <li><a href="http://www.crp.org">Center for Responsive Politics: Monitoring Money in Politics</a> </ul> <IMG SRC="hline.gif" ALT=" " width="576" height="5"><p> <b><H2>The Structure of Democracy: Government</H2></b> <b><h3>The Federal Government</H3></b> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov">Citizen's Guide to the White House</a> <li><a href="http://policy.net/capweb/congress.html">CapWeb Guide to the United States Congress</a> <li><a href="http://thomas.loc.gov">Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet</a> <li><a href="gopher://ftp.senate.gov/">US Senate Gopher Server</a> <li><a href="ftp://ftp.senate.gov/committee/Dem-Policy/general/dpc.html">Senate Democratic Policy Committee</a> <li><a href="http://www.house.gov/">US House of Representatives Home Page</a> <li><a href="http://www.house.gov/orgs_pub_hse_ldr_www.html">US House of Representatives Republican, Democratic Leadership</a> <li><a href="http://www.yahoo.com/Government/Agencies/">Federal Agencies (Yahoo List)</a> <li><a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/">Supreme Court Decisions</a> </ul> <b><H3>State and Local Governments</H3></b> <ul> <b><li><a href="gopher://www.polisci.nwu.edu:70/1D-1%3A2727%3Astates">General Information on State and Local Government</a> <li><a href="http://www.yahoo.com/Regional_Information/States/">Yahoo State and Local Information by State</a> <li><a href="http://www.state.ky.us/nasire/NASIREhome.html">State Government Resources on the Internet</a> <li><a href="http://http://www.vote-smart.org/state/Topics/">State Government Home Pages</a> <li><a href="http://www.cais.com/nlc/nlc-loc.html">League of Cities: Local Government Associations and Home Pages</a> </ul> </b> <IMG SRC="hline.gif" ALT=" " width="576" height="5"><p> </ul> <b><H2>Structure of Democracy: Political Parties</H2></b> <b><ul> <li><a href="http://www.democrats.org/">Democratic National Committee</a> <li><a href=" http://www.webcom.com/~digitals">Digital Democrats</a> <li><a href="http://www.democrats.org/organizations/">Democratic Party Organizations</a> <li><a href=" http://wavefront.wavefront.com/~dfl/dfl.html">Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Minnesota</a> <li><a href="http://www.rnc.org/">Republican National Committee</a> <li><a href="http://www.gop.org/">GOP Online</a> <li><a href="http://www.rpi.edu/~scotta/republican.html">Cyber Republicans Home Page</a> <li><a href="http://www.reformparty.org/">Reform Party(Ross Perot)</a> <li><a href="http://www.rahul.net:80/lp/">Libertarian Party</a> <li><a href="http://www.greens.org">Green Parties of North America</a> </ul></b> <IMG SRC="hline.gif" ALT=" " width="576" height="5"><p> <b><H2>Structure of Democracy: Voter Education, Registration, Participation</H2></b> <b><H3><strong>Voter Registration, Voter Information</strong></a></b></H3> <b><ul> <li><a href="http://netvote96.mci.com/register.html">Netvote 96:Register to Vote Online</a> <li><a href="http://www.cviog.uga.edu/gainfo/voter/voter_ed.htm">Congressional Quarterly Non-Partisan Voter Education Links</a> <li><a href="http://www.iupui.edu/~epackard/eleclink.html">Voter Registration, Procedures</a> <li><a href="http://www.lwv.org/~lwvus/">League of Women Voters</a> <li><a href="http://essential.org/human_serve/human.html">HumanServe: Campaign for Universal Voter Registration</a> <li><a href="http://www.otan.dni.us/cdlp/vip/home.html">Voter Involvement Project, California</a> <li><a href="http://www.otan.dni.us/cdlp/vip/ervgtitle.html">Easy Reader Voter Guide, California</a> <li><a href="http://www.webcom.com/cvf/">California Voter Foundation</a> <li><a href="http://freenet.msp.mn.us/govt/e-democracy/">Minnesota E-Democracy Project</a> <li><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/ballotbox/box.cgi">"The Ballot Box Battle": A Ballot Box for Kids</a> <li><a href="http://www.fec.gov/">Federal Election Commission</a> </ul> <b><H3>Partisan Voter Mobilization</H3></b> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.democrats.org/getactive/vol/">Democratic National Committee Volunteer Form</a> <li><a href="http://democratic-party.org/create/PerFormPro.exe?cmdfile=c:\htdocs\shop\item_show_list.cmdl&cart_id=0815115953&cat_id=1">Digital Democrat Precinct Walker Software</a> <li><a href="http://www.rnc.org/school/getinvolved.html">Republican National Committee: How to Get Involved</a> <li><a href="http://www.reformparty.org/support.htm">Reform Party: Getting Involved</a> </ul> <b><H3>Activist Voter Education and Mobilization</a></H3></b> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.aflcio.org/standup/">AFL-CIO StandUp Campaign</a> <li><a href="http://www.aauw.org/5000/ad.html">American Association of University Women Voter Education Campaign</a> <li><a href="http://www.cc.org/voter/">Christian Coalition Voter Education Campaign</a> <li><a href="http://www.bbai.onramp.net/wlc/po50351.htm">Emily's List Women Vote Campaign</a> <li><a href="http://www.lcv.org/home/grassroots.html">League of Conservation Voters Grassroots Network</a> <li><a href="http://www.cygnus.nvi.net/naacp_washington_bureau/emppubed.html">NAACP Voter Empowerment Project</a> <li><a href="http://www.rockthevote.org/">Rock the Vote (Youth Voter Registration, Education)</a> <li><a href="http://naid.sppsr.ucla.edu/southwest/index.html">Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project</a></b> </ul> <IMG SRC="hline.gif" ALT=" " width="576" height="5"><p> </b><H2>The Structure of Democracy: Interest Groups</H2></b> <b><H3>Liberal </H3></b> <b><ul> <li><a href="http://www.lcv.org">League of Conservation Voters</a> <li><a href="http://www.igc.apc.org/women/feminist.html">Feminist Activist Resources on the Internet</a> <li><a href="http://www.aflcio.org/">AFL-CIO</a> <li><a href="http://www.igc.apc.org/labornet/unions.html">LaborNet</a> <li><a href="http://www.lpa.org/lpa/index.html">Labor Policy Association (Includes Congressional Voting Records on Labor Issues) <li><a href=http://www.igc.apc.org/laborlink/">Labor Link (Labor Sites)</a> <li><a href="http://www.nea.org">National Education Association</a> <li><a href="http://www.aft.org//index.htm">American Federation of Teachers </a> <li><a href="http://www.willamette.edu/~jchamber/ada.html">Americans for Democratic Action</a> <li><a href="http://www.tmn.com/cdf/index.html">Children's Defense Fund</a> <li><a href="http://www.stand.org/">Stand for Children Web Site: Children's Defense Fund</a> <li><a href="http://www.bin.com/assocorg/naacp/naacp.htm">NAACP</a> <li><a href="http://www.bin.com/assocorg/rainbow/rainbow.htm">National Rainbow Coalition</a> <li><a href="http://www.nul.org.">National Urban League</a> <li><a href="http://www.essential.org/orgs/public_citizen/public_citizen.html">Public Citizen: Ralph Nader</a> <li><a href="http://www.cis.yale.edu/ypunion/ASPN.html">American Student Political Network</a> </ul></b> <b><h3>Conservative</H3></b> <ul> <b><li><a href="http://www.clark.net/pub/jeffd/index.html">The Right Side of the Web</a> <li><a href="http://www.portcom.com/BMDesign/TCL/">The Conservative Link</a> <li><a href="http://www.cc.org/">Christian Coalition Home Page</a> <li><a href="http://www.libertarian.com:80/">Libertarians on the World Wide Web</a> <li><a href="http://www.portcom.com/BMDesign/TCL/conservative_links/prolife.html">Pro-Life Organizations</a> <li><a href="http://www.nra.org/">National Rifle Association </a> <li><a href="http://www.constitution.org/mil/cs_milit.htm">Constitution Society's Militias Page-Includes National Directory Militias</a> </ul></b> <b><h3>In a Class By Itself</h3></b> <ul> <li><b><a href="http://stormfront.wat.com/stormfront/">White Nationalists (Exactly What It Sounds Like)</a> </ul></b> <IMG SRC="hline.gif"=[ALT " "] width="576" height="5"><p> <b><H2>Structure of Democracy: Current Issues</H2> <H3>Political Issues</H3> <ul> <b><li><a href="http://www.doc.gov/BudgetFY97/index.html">President Clinton's Proposed 1997 Budget</a></b> <b><li><a href="http://libertynet.org/~edcivic/fedbud95.html">Federal Budget Battle: 1995-96</a> <b><li><a href="http://www.vote-smart.org/issues/">Project VoteSmart: Issue Information (comprehensive list)</a> <li><a href="http://libertynet.org/~edcivic/welfref.html">Welfare Reform</a> <li><a href="http://libertynet.org/~edcivic/village.html">It Takes a Village to Raise a Child (Family, Education Debate)</a> <li><a href="http://libertynet.org/~edcivic/gopcont.html">Republican Contract With America</a></b> <li><a href="http://www.usia.gov/abtusia/posts/GE1/wwwh0005.html">US Foreign Policy Positions</a></b> <li><a href="gopher://ftp.senate.gov:70/11/member/nj/bradley/speeches">Speeches by Senator Bill Bradley on Race, Campaign Financing, Civil Society</a> <li><a href="http://rpinfo.its.rpi.edu/dept/environ/guide/treaty.html">Treaties: Full Text of NAFTA, GATT, and other controversial treaties</a> <li><a href="http://www.psi.net/chapterone/pubpolicy/psubject.html#history">Books on Public Policy Issues</a> </ul> <b><H3>Governmental Reform</H3> <ul> <b><li><a href="http://epn.org/idea/civic.html">Civic Participation and Political Reform, Idea Central Articles</a> <b><li><a href="http://www.clearlake.ibm.com/Alliance/">Alliance for Redesigning Government</a></b> <b><li><a href="http://www.ned.org/">National Endowment for Democracy</a></b> <b><li><a href="http://www.transport.com/~pin/projdemo/">Project Democracy</a></b> <b><li><a href="http://www.auburn.edu/alacon.html">Alabama Constitution Project</a></b> </ul> <IMG SRC="hline.gif" ALT=" " width="576" height="5"><p> <b><H2>Structure of Democracy: Government on the Internet: Interesting Models</H2> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.civic.net:2401/lgnet/index.html">The Innovation Group: Local Government Information on the Internet</a></b> <b><li><a href="http://www.dar.cam.ac.uk/www/e-demos.html">Democratic Dialogue Project</a></b> <li><a href="http://libertynet.org:80/~happy">Councilwoman Happy Fernandez, Philadelphia</a> <li><a href="http://www.access.digex.net/~issd/">Baltimore County Police Department, Maryland</a> <li><a href="http://reagan.eecs.uic.edu/cgi-bin/imagemap/button?226,223">Chicago City Council</a> <li><a href="http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/ccc.html">Madison, Wisconsin City Government </a> <li><a href="http://www.window.state.tx.us/">Texas, State Comptroller John Sharp</a> <li><a href="http://www.ism.net/missoula/index.html">Mayor Daniel Kemmis, Missoula, Montana</a> <li><a href="http://www.dash.com/netro/gov/denaudit/Index.html">Don Mares, City Auditor, Denver</a> <li><a href="http://bcn.boulder.co.us/government/boulder_city/neighborhood_handbook/hndbkhom.html">Boulder Neighborhood Handbook, Boulder, Colorado</a> <li><a href="http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/home.html">City of Palo Alto, California</a> <li><a href="http://www.pan.ci.seattle.wa.us./seattle/ethics/ethics.htm">Voters, Ethics, & Elections Information, Seattle, Washington</a> <li><a href="http://www.pixi.com/~bainum">Councilman Duke Bainum, Honolulu, Hawaii</a> </ul> </b> <p> <p> Return to <b><a href="iscvhome.html">ISCV Home Page</a></b> <p>