New York City – The nonpartisan, nonprofit Public Agenda, which two weeks ago called on the McCain and Obama campaigns to focus on the big issues as it released its online “Voter’s Survival Kit,” is today calling on citizens to do their part and make sure they are up to speed on the big issues before the debates.
“Government accountability is a two way street, and it’s time for all Americans to start walking the walk and making sure they really understand the big issues,” said Public Agenda Vice President Michael Hamill Remaley. “As long as we let them, most politicians will try to get by with slogans and easy answers to America’s big challenges. We can only force them to be honest about the real trade-offs of their policy positions if we understand the issues ourselves.”
The Voter’s Survival Kit issue guides are designed to help typical voters sort through the campaign rhetoric and make up their own minds about which candidates have the best ideas. The issue guides highlight fundamental facts voters need to know and explains more about the choices the country faces in down-to-earth, easily understandable terms, on the following topics:
- The Economy
- Iraq and Beyond
- Climate Change
- Health Care
- Immigration
- Taxes, Spending and Debt
Each issue guide includes a brief overview of the topic, an evenhanded review of possible solutions and the pros and cons of each approach, both on an interactive web platform and in a downloadable PDF format. The Voter’s Survival Kit also includes online discussion, links to candidate positions on issues and other sites with extensive information on issues, blogging opportunities, links to voting information sites, “Smash the Political Spin” and “Election Countdown” widgets and more.
Public Agenda has presented citizen issue guides focused on key election topics in every Presidential campaign season since 1996. The 2004 election guides were downloaded by hundreds of thousands of users. With 2.6 million visitors last year, PublicAgenda.org is the site journalists, policymakers, educators and average citizens who want nonpartisan, balanced information with thorough discussion of the pros and cons go for help to clarify the issues.
PUBLIC AGENDA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to nonpartisan public policy research and civic engagement. Founded in 1975 by former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and Daniel Yankelovich, the social scientist and author, Public Agenda is known for its influential public opinion surveys and balanced citizen education materials. Its mission is to inject the public’s voice into crucial policy debates. Public Agenda seeks to inform leaders about the public’s views and to engage citizens in discussing complex policy issues. It is also known for its destination web site, www.PublicAgenda.org, which has been twice nominated (in 2005 and 2007) for a Webby Award for best political site.
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