"Track bills, review upcoming legislation, and see how your local representatives are voting in your state."

Great local government resources - articles, stats, and more - for Washington State.

"Vital Statistics on Congress, first published in 1980, long ago became the go-to source of impartial data on the United States Congress. Vital Statistics’ purpose is to collect and provide useful data on America’s first branch of government, including data on the composition of its membership, its formal procedure (such as the use of the filibuster), informal norms, party structure, and staff. With some chapters of data dating back nearly 100 years, Vital Statistics also documents how Congress has changed over time, illustrating, for example, the increasing polarization of Congress and the diversifying demographics of those who are elected to serve."

"The Living Room Candidate contains more than 300 commercials, from every presidential election since 1952, when Madison Avenue advertising executive Rosser Reeves convinced Dwight Eisenhower that short ads played during such popular TV programs as I Love Lucy would reach more voters than any other form of advertising. This innovation had a permanent effect on the way presidential campaigns are run."

"Welcome to OpenGovernment, a public resource for government transparency at the state, city, and local levels. Free and open-source." As of 1/11 info from CA, LA, MD, TX & WI.

"Stateline is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Center on the States. Since 1999, it has reported and analyzed trends in state policy. "

"A one of a kind interactive visualization that allows anyone to explore actual patterns of lawmaking in Congress. Get the ‘big picture’ Compare the bills and resolutions introduced by Senators and Representatives and follow their progress from the beginning to the end of a two year Congress. Dive deeper Filter by topic, type of legislation, chamber, party, member, or even search for a specific bill."

A project of WSU Vancouver librarian Kathi Carlisle Fountain

Think Tanks and Foreign Policy

Reports and monographs from the think tank. Many are available fulltext online.

"Founded in 1955, FPRI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S. national interests. We add perspective to events by fitting them into the larger historical and cultural context of international politics." Note their Security and International Affairs think tank directory (not just US institutions)

"Whether you want to understand the actions of an organization or a politician, find a journalistic source, lend your support to a cause, or find an internship or job, this project will provide a starting point to acquaint you with the variety of advocacy groups in the United States."

"Freedom House's programs support human rights and democracy advocates in their efforts promote open government, defend human rights, strengthen civil society and facilitate the free flow of information and ideas. "

Security Studies and Conflict Research
Includes publications, the Facts on International Relations and Security Trends (FIRST) Reference Database, the Parallel History Project on NATO and the Warsaw Pact, extensive links and more.

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An excellent, well-maintained resource with "over 2000 carefully selected, annotated links in 35 international affairs categories"

"H.L. Mencken said “Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage.” Here at The Monkey Cage, we talk about political science research and use it to make some sense of the circus that is politics. "