By Daniel Pearson
One of the most entertaining sites on the Internet has to be opensecrets.org.
It's not entertaining in the same way as The Onion's irreverent humor, and doesn't require a Shockwave download for effects-laden viewing.
Opensecrets simply posts detailed information about who is donating how much to individual politicians. And with all of the talk in recent months about campaign finance reform, the site sheds light onto the one facet of politics about which most Americans are in the dark.
Go to the Web site and the first items you see are links to the money behind the candidates in this year's presidential election. Wondering what millionaires and special interest groups are contributing to Gov. George W. Bush's campaign? It's all there, from MBNA American Bank's $213,000 contribution to the $159,999 check written by Ernst & Young.
How about Al Gore? Well, Ernst & Young is also his top contributor, at $127,125. But probably the most entertaining entry in the presidential campaign portion of the site is the $4,900 NASA donated to Pat Buchanan.
That's not the most interesting part of the site, however.
Click back to the Opensecrets home page and look at the section that discloses contributions to the congressional races in all 50 states.
The information shows that as of March 31, Hilary Rodham Clinton had raised $12,803,254 and spent only $6,168,680. It also reveals 81.3 percent of the money she raised came from individual donors.
Clinton's rival, Rick Lazio, had raised only $2,069,945 by the end of March -- 60 percent of which came from individual donors. He no doubt will show more contributions when the information is updated.
But the site gets into further detail. It lets you plug in your zip code so you can see who from your neighborhood is contributing to which candidates. Opensecrets also provides numbers on total contributions from your zip code, including the top givers and the amounts.
That's still not all. Ever wonder if the House vote to establish permanent trade with China had anything to do with campaign financing? Are you curious how much Microsoft is spending to lobby the government and keep its company intact? Curious as to which health plans and health professionals are contributing money to Congress? Log on to Opensecrets' news home page and find out.
The site also allows supporters to sign up for its weekly "Money in Politics Alert."
Opensecrets is managed by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research group based in Washington D.C. The CRP is funded by grants from foundations and donations from individual contributors. The group aims to create "a more educated voter, an involved citizenry, and a more responsive government."
True, it's not a site most people would spend a Saturday afternoon browsing, especially considering the nation's low voter turnout in recent elections. But it is a convenient resource for information that was too time-consuming for the average person to get his or her hands on before.
This information also has the potential to galvanize a variety of groups and individuals concerned about the influence big money has in our election process. But first, people have to spread the word about opensecrets.org.
Daniel Pearson can be contacted at:
danielpearson@mindspring.com
