How do you get in the "political" loop?

[Marie17]

I'm conservative. I'm also pretty new to paying more attention to politics.

But I see so many "talking" points from both sides (liberal and conservative) that pop up on this board. It does sometimes seem more liberal posts occur than do conservative posts (in regards to politics).

How do people get all these "talking points?" Do people just look all over the internet to see what the point of the day is going to be? Do you subscribe to a certain blogs or sites? Do you have to donate money to your local politician/senator to get their views? I have no earthly idea.

I have seen nicknames mentioned before that I knew nothing about and asked - I believe someone was called a freeper. I actually had to ask what that was (I'm naive). I had heard about kos only because one of our very good friends must truly support that site with lots of money - because he is always reiterating everything in it. We literally can go to that site after talking with him and see pratically the same thing he just told us. If they have a nickname I don't know what it is but I do know about the site. He is constantly telling us we need to go read it so we understand.

So how do people keep up with this - I honestly don't have time to constantly search the internet or listen to talk radio (we have Sirius so we do have lots of choices) or watch the news shows. Is there a cheat sheet?

Gosh - I'm babbling....

 

[Uncle Remus]

So how do people keep up with this - I honestly don't have time to constantly search the internet or listen to talk radio (we have Sirius so we do have lots of choices) or watch the news shows. Is there a cheat sheet?
Gosh - I'm babbling....

Yeah, we call the cheat sheet The Doctor
You got MSNBC? Turn it on.

 

[mrsltg]

I'm conservative. I'm also pretty new to paying more attention to politics.

But I see so many "talking" points from both sides (liberal and conservative) that pop up on this board. It does sometimes seem more liberal posts occur than do conservative posts (in regards to politics).

How do people get all these "talking points?" Do people just look all over the internet to see what the point of the day is going to be? Do you subscribe to a certain blogs or sites? Do you have to donate money to your local politician/senator to get their views? I have no earthly idea.

I have seen nicknames mentioned before that I knew nothing about and asked - I believe someone was called a freeper. I actually had to ask what that was (I'm naive). I had heard about kos only because one of our very good friends must truly support that site with lots of money - because he is always reiterating everything in it. We literally can go to that site after talking with him and see pratically the same thing he just told us. If they have a nickname I don't know what it is but I do know about the site. He is constantly telling us we need to go read it so we understand.

So how do people keep up with this - I honestly don't have time to constantly search the internet or listen to talk radio (we have Sirius so we do have lots of choices) or watch the news shows. Is there a cheat sheet?

Gosh - I'm babbling....

Actually, once per week the parties send out talking points to their supporters closely followed by a list of fundraisers. I get them for both parties due to the nature of my work. They are both decidedly sad. They both assume the American people are idiots and that if they say something enough people will believe them. The problem, of course, is that for the most part they are right.

Yes, you can watch CNN, Fox, MSNBC, or any of the other "news" shows but generally you'll get two people from opposing viewpoints who subscribe to the theory of, "Whoever yells loudest, longest, wins."

The best approach is to read - lots. The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and Times, The Week, National Journal, Time, etc etc etc. While there is always an editorial slant there is a lot to be learned from them because instead of having someone tell you how to think you need to formulate the opinion on your own. This has yet to occur to several of the political posters on this board - on both the left and right. If someone needs to paste link and link and cannot formulate their own sentence to state their opinion it should, imho, be ignored. You can find a link for anything and everything on the internet.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I have never seen the actual "talking points". I am conservative (VERY conservative by DIS standards) and usually form opinions by analyzing the news of the day myself. I don't listen to talk radio much, but I do try to cruise by a number of internet sites and gather headlines (Washington Post; Time; Drudge; CNN). In addition, I sometimes watch a few minutes of news on cable news channels in the evening -more if there is a compelling story. FWIW, I prefer CNN over FNC and MSNBC.

 

[Marie17]

Yeah, we call the cheat sheet The Doctor
You got MSNBC? Turn it on.

He amazes me with all the links he can post. He must have a crew of people searching these things out.

I got MSNBC but during the day - kiddies do not want "news" and at night you would have to see Keith Olberman - he's irritating to me and I've only seen him twice. He just seems a little pompous.

 

[Marie17]

Actually, once per week the parties send out talking points to their supporters closely followed by a list of fundraisers. I get them for both parties due to the nature of my work. They are both decidedly sad. They both assume the American people are idiots and that if they say something enough people will believe them. The problem, of course, is that for the most part they are right.

So there is actually a sheet. I just figured all the reps you see and hear just must get sent an email of the day - they all say the same thing (republican or liberal).

 

[Uncle Remus]

He amazes me with all the links he can post. He must have a crew of people searching these things out.

I got MSNBC but during the day - kiddies do not want "news" and at night you would have to see Keith Olberman - he's irritating to me and I've only seen him twice. He just seems a little pompous.

It is hard to keep up with all the politics.
I read huffingtonpost 1st thing in the am
and quite a few others as the day goes on.
Course, I have no kids and beginning to
believe I have no life.
Now that the elections are over, I feel like
I can breathe again, literally.
If you're really thinkin' you want to be more
involved with politics, do so with a grain of
salt: you're gonna change others beliefs
very little and the biggest change might
be in yourself, turn you into a real live
cynic which is not good for your kids.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I have never seen the actual "talking points". I am conservative (VERY conservative by DIS standards) and usually form opinions by analyzing the news of the day myself. I don't listen to talk radio much, but I do try to cruise by a number of internet sites and gather headlines (Washington Post; Time; Drudge; CNN). In addition, I sometimes watch a few minutes of news on cable news channels in the evening -more if there is a compelling story. FWIW, I prefer CNN over FNC and MSNBC.

Me too...except for the conservative part...

I do, however, get daily emails from the DNC, Move On, Wes Clark, and Hillary Clinton, as I have financially supported their campaigns from time to time, $500 bucks, here and there...never get a chance to read through every email, but do notice "talking points" in many of them.

 

[salmoneous]

First of all, I think you are seeing a lot more liberal posts than conservative posts lately because things are going good for liberals at the moment. When the pendulum swings back and things are going good for conservatives, the ratio will change.

There are lots of "cheat sheets" out there. If you really are interested, pick one that fits bests with your interests.

Now, I don't like either of these websites - they are much more about "sensational" or "gotcha" stories than in reporting facts:

For a liberal slant (who knows, maybe someday you will see the light): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

For a conservative slant: www.drudgereport.com

As I said, I'm not a fan of either, but both will not only give you a cheat sheet to today's stories, but links to scores of other sites and cheat sheets. Poke around and see if there are any you like.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Another good source is the BBC and PBS often shows BBC new once a day..Often the US new forgets the rest of the world and the BBC is a good place to get world news..So much of what goes on in this country is related to world news. The US really does a poor job of international news,really poor

 

[bsnyder]

I get most of my news from the internet - none from television or radio. You can read all the "big" newspapers online for free (except the Wall Street Journal, which is subscription). I also subscribe to Roll Call which is almost exclusively political news and analysis.

I read most of the major blogs - left and right. The great thing about most good blogs is that they often provide links to the original sourcing for a story. You can check for yourself whether the underlying facts are credible, whether a quote is in context or whether a statistical analysis is accurate.

My favorite sites, in no particular order:

www.realclearpolitics.com
www.nationalreview.com
www.talkingpointsmemo.com
www.washingtonmonthly.com
www.powerlineblog.com
www.instapundit.com

Most sites are interactive now - they allow comments from the readers, and Daily Kos and the Free Republic are probably the most popular in this regard. I don't have the time or inclination to wade through all the garbage though...

 

[JudicialTyranny]

I have seen nicknames mentioned before that I knew nothing about and asked - I believe someone was called a freeper.

A "freeper" is one who frequents FreeRepublic.com, a conservative news/discussion site. Check it out, become a member (it's free). That's where I usually go first to see different takes on current events, and you'll see posts of news items you may not see through the normal news sites. You can comment on them or just read and explore - it's a hoot.

Another post pointed out Drudge as a "conservative" site - I wouldn't. It's a good place to go to get news (especially the links to various columnists), but I generally use it for convenience rather than bookmarking all of those sites. Drudge posts links to news items he finds interesting (or more likely titilating). They may appear "conservative" to those who only get their news from NBCABCCBSCNNMSNBCNPR (all the same, with their liberal slant).

 

[salmoneous]

Drudge posts links to news items he finds interesting (or more likely titilating).

I didn't mean to suggest Drudge as a conservative site in the way, say www.wnd.com is a conservative site. Both he and Huffington hit many stories of the day - but he has a conservative slant and Huffington a liberal one.

PS - I would advise caution when going into the comments section of any of the true political sites (www.dailykos.com www.littlegreenfootballs.com etc.) Things get pretty nasty and heated.

 

[Marie17]

I am not planning to go ape over all the information you could possibly get because I would not have a life and would more than likely get depressed. I'm not trying to change anyone else's politics but feel like I should know what is happening.

But I just thought it would be a little neat to see what the "issues of the day" would be. Just a quick snippet of the slant of the day (per se) and just look into that.

I guess the better question would be - do they provide the "answer to yesterdays question?" I mean you hear somethings come out as a race horse only to never hear of it later until it meets that party's perspective or "score". Do they have a wrap-up site?

I know about the kos - our ears are very versed in what it says in weekly terms (our friend literally quotes everything from it) and have noticed they can be quite crude. I have looked at some blogs but realistically who has the time to look at so many. I have looked at freerepublic after I found out about it (freepers) but I believe it looks very plain in its format - I mean couldn't it look more stylish?

I will try to visit the sites posted above when I get time but what I was really looking for was - how does a plain ole mom who really only has about an hour or so to "read" a day find out the main things? If you look all over you can easily spend 2-4 hours of reading.

 

[Cool-Beans]

What I have gathered from the DIS...

The evil, self-righteous, racist Republicans listen to Rush Limbaugh and watch Fox News.

The evil, elitist, morally bankrupt Democrats read The Nation and watch CNN.

Then they all gather to repeat what they've heard, discount the other's sources, post links and call each other names.

Loads of fun!