By Billy Hallowell, VoterWatch For the past two months, I have had the distinct honor of working with a wonderful classroom of undergraduate students at The College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York City (my alma mater).  Instructed by Dr. Joseph Skelly and Dr. Jacqueline Guzda, these students are studying the intersection of politics and communications. Over the span of three in-person visits, I spoke with the students about lobbying, earmarks and the importance of the o... Read Full Story

By Billy Hallowell, VoterWatch While the first two presidential debates were completely inadequate in terms of providing valuable information about candidate stances, the final debate was more open in terms of scope and communication.  While still not subscribing to the recommendations that The Open Debate Coalition laid out, the final debate did provide a more informative forum. While we are happy to have Dick Morris and our “regulars” on board for this final debate, we ... Read Full Story

With the final debate comes Dick Morris’ last VoterWatch media player commentary this electoral season.  We must say that we were honored to have Dick on board for this important project.  His commentary brought in unbelievably interesting perspective.  To see Dick’s final commentary, click the image below.  Also, be sure to visit his interactive web site for his free column and much more: Read Full Story

Today’s Transparency Recap begins with former Congressman Mark Foley’s successor, Florida Congressman Tim Mahoney.   CREW blog‘s “Florida Congressman, Tim Mahoney, implicated in payoff from campaign to former ‘mistress,’” details the sex-related scandal.  According to CREW blog, “West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL)...agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him... Read Full Story

Here at VoterWatch, we have decided to create a community where journalists and open government professionals can convene to share ideas, events, programs, editorial work and much more.  Please sign-up today for your free account at TransparencyMatters.org! Read Full Story

By Danielle Lanzet, VoterWatch In a funeral oration delivered by Pericles - a distinguished political leader and general of ancient Greece - for the men fallen in the first year of battle of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles asserted that “Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with the institutions of others. We do not copy our neighbors, but are an example to them.” Pericles believed Athenian democracy to just be intrinsically better than any other political system. ... Read Full Story

If you missed it, be sure to check out commentary from Dick Morris and Public Agenda.  This morning, Sophia Nelson has once again released her commentary using the VoterWatch media player.  While she didn’t see the debate as a knock-out, she posits a win for McCain.  Agree?  Disagree?  Watch her commentary and be sure to leave comments.  Click below to see it: Also, the Ralph Nader for President team infuses some much-needed relief from the two-party ... Read Full Story

By Billy Hallowell, VoterWatch Staff Earlier today, we released Dick Morris’ commentary on this week’s presidential debate.  Now, we’re excited to release the second round of perspective from one of America’s most trusted research and civic engagement organizations—Public Agenda. Public Agenda can always be relied on to present a fair and balanced look at the issues, which is why VoterWatch is honored to have the organization on board for our Presidentia... Read Full Story

For each of the debates, Dick Morris has been providing commentary using the VoterWatch media player.  Today, we’re happy to report the official release of his thoughts and perspectives on Tuesday’s debate.  With the town hall setting in mind, Morris offers some intriguing commentary on both McCain and Obama.  As always, Morris’ perspective is more than interesting.  Be sure to visit DickMorris.com and click below to view his commentary: Read Full Story

While the highly-anticipated second presidential debate will occur tonight, VoterWatch still has commentary to share with you from last week’s vice-presidential debate.  Yesterday, VoteGopher completed commentary using the VoterWatch media player.  Click below to see information and fact checks on: the environment, climate change, gay rights, Pakistan and Iran.  Stay tuned over the next few days for more debate commentary and be sure to check out the VoterWatch media play... Read Full Story