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Vote Smart bus rolls into Lincoln

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By MICAH MERTES / Lincoln Journal Star

Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008 - 07:30:34 pm CDT

A red ’n’ blue behemoth of a bus parked at the Havelock Farmer’s Market, its passengers stopping to chat with Lincolnites about politics.

But it wasn’t politics as usual.

The people on the bus didn’t want to convince Lincolnites to vote for this or that candidate, or convert Republicans to Democrats or vice versa. Their only goal, they said, was to coat potential voters in a few layers of unbiased political savvy.

Story Photo
Ellie Isemann, age 6, takes her turn at the Project Vote Smart Expose the Candidate roulette wheel. Project Vote Smart is traveling across the country educating voters on where politicians stand on national and local issues. (Eva Barajas)

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Voter Self-Defense System

A non-profit, non-partisan organization called Project Vote Smart is on a national bus tour to "train voters how to defend themselves agains...

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For a look at all Project Vote Smart has to offer, visit www.votesmart.org.

The Project Vote Smart bus rolled through town Wednesday, in the middle of a 50,000-mile tour through hundreds of U.S. cities.

“We’ve been building our system of information about candidates for 16 years now,” said Tallie Spiller, press secretary for the tour. “And now that it’s finally complete, we decided the best way to get the information out there was to go from town to town to explain it.”

The bus, which launched in October, came packed with a mini movie theater and free wi-fi computer terminals. Volunteers showed Lincolnites how to tap into resources that gave them a “clear, unbiased” view of candidates, both state and national. The mission is to instill what Vote Smart calls  a Voter Self-Defense System.

Founded in 1990 as a one-stop shop for voters, Vote Smart is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that tracks every incumbent and candidate running for president, U.S. House and Senate, governor and state legislature in every state.

Primary data includes voting records, issue positions, special interest group’s ratings, backgrounds, contact information, campaign contributions, and speeches and public statements. It’s not new information, per se, but a gathering of a wide array of information under the same roof.

Lincolnite Joy Buettgenbach certainly appreciated the consolidation of info.

“I thought it was awesome,” she said of her Vote Smart rundown. “It really touched my heart to see something that I’ve been looking for, to get some information on who to vote for.”

Buettgenbach said she believes mainstream media (and media consumers) have gotten too caught up in the personal drama instead of the issues. She has trouble deciding what to read and what to believe when it comes to casting an informed ballot this November.

“Most of my information came from calling different political offices and asking for information to be sent out to me,” she said. “But I am done calling offices, gathering information that way. I’ve got something I can go to now.”

Lindsay Ottersberg of Lincoln swung by the Vote Smart bus to pick up some info. And the influence it had on her is pretty telling.

The 18-year-old Southeast Community College student said she originally hadn’t planned on voting at all in November, her first election as an eligible voter.

“I just wasn’t sure,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be more political, but I’ve never gotten into it. I sometimes feel like I don’t get any true information; it always seems one-sided.

“But now I think I’m going to vote. So I’ll have to go to this site more often.”

Reach Micah Mertes at 473-7395 or mmertes@journalstar.com.


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joseph wrote on July 23, 2008 12:03 pm:
" this state just votes RED that's it - nothing else matters - no thinking involved

“You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.”
GWB "

 Matt wrote on July 23, 2008 12:09 pm:
" Voting smart mean votings for Kleeb and Obama in November. "

 unbiased wrote on July 23, 2008 12:14 pm:
" Where are they going to go to get info that is unbiased. ALL the media has a massive love affair with "the messiah" Obama. It is impossible to critize him it seems, they guy really must walk on water. "

 n wrote on July 23, 2008 12:22 pm:
" some people do want to be informed of the candidates and the issues, regardless if this is a Red state or not. i think this project is important and a great asset to voters, both young and old, who want to make the most informed decision when voting in November. "

 jo wrote on July 23, 2008 12:22 pm:
" unbiased

just watch a little fox news to get your anti-obama fix. or listen to rush, hannity or 1 million other obama haters.

this whole media being in love with obama is just propaganda from anti-obama media outlets & your buying it hook line and sinker. "

 cat wrote on July 23, 2008 1:35 pm:
" This is a good thing to do, the information should be how both each senater voted in the past and where they stand on todays issues.So far I've been able to get info on Macains positions but not Obamas. The press has be no help in this matter.They just give air time for who they support with no meat so poeple can be informed. The media doesn't report the news they like to create it. "

 unbiased wrote on July 23, 2008 2:13 pm:
" Jo

Funny, last time I checked Rush and the other radio hosts are not journalists. So there is Fox News and you stack that against every newspaper outside the WSJ, and every major network. Yep, that is balanced indeed. I guess the only good thing to say is that they cannot give you Obama's voting record because he never does it. Any contentious issue he votes "present" so as to not take a real stand. Great leadership there. He has been running for prez since getting into the Senate so he is clueless about how DC works. Empty suits are no better than what he have in office now. Hope and Change are both buzz words that idiots who don't know the facts eat up. Change is fine, if the change is for the better. What that man believes in isn't. Neither canadidate is worth a darn, but Obama is a total joke. "

 Nina wrote on July 23, 2008 2:19 pm:
" What? I can't vote for Obama because he's such a shaker and a mover, or I must consider McCain, who has a vile temper, foul mouth, and was cruel to his first wife? (Yep, this is a bit of satire here, though it holds a grain of truth.) Not only do I study many sources of current event and political info, from both leanings, as well as from those more or less giving fair assessments rather than propaganda, but I think it's foolish for someone to spend $50,000 miles (translates to near $25,000) to educate via a bus tour, when the info is right in front of our noses, if we care to partake of it. "

 t wrote on July 23, 2008 2:40 pm:
" so you are voting for GWB2? Who would have guessed. Maybe you should do some research on your own and research who the better of the two is, maybe you will walk away with the same thoughts but at least you can say you know both sides. I love how people think the "know" something just from emails and news channels. "

 Big Wheels A Rolling wrote on July 23, 2008 3:31 pm:
" I sure hope Flordia and in particlar Palm Beach and Valusia counties are the last stop! How do these buttefly ballots thingies work again...I know we have used them for the last 10 years but how do they work again?."I don't know who I voted for but I know it was the wrong one". "I'll do anything to get Al Gore elected" quoted election commisioneer. Or it could stop in Broward county last....ya mean we can recount the votes in a nice quite place away from those pesky news folks???
or if they don't have enough gas they could stop in St.Louis where they had a precint with over a ONE HUNDERD VOTER TURNOUT! Or I might suggest Wisconsin where with instant vote regestaration the dems were handing out cartons of cigarette's to the homeless to vote for AL...those dirty crooked republicains! Yeah vote Obama...ya can't go wrong..he takes every side of an issue and besides local dems have done ssssoooo much for Lincoln the last 15 years....tax's up jobs gone....he said with a evil laugh. Gotta go my firetruck is doubled parked. "

 jo wrote on July 23, 2008 3:44 pm:
" unbiased aka very biased

your talking points are straight out of bill o'reilly's playbook (well done). & you were talking about the "media" not "journalists" i hate to be the one to tell you but Rush & other radio talk show hosts are a part of the media believe it or not. "

 Bob wrote on July 23, 2008 3:49 pm:
" unbiased, well Lou Dobbs (CNN)had his John Sidney McCain III pom poms out in full force last night. "

 Snb wrote on July 23, 2008 3:51 pm:
" It's not like it matters who you vote for anyways, we live in Nebraska! "

 Hey jo wrote on July 23, 2008 3:54 pm:
" What do you call all 3 major network evening news anchors traveling with Obama to the Middle East? That is unbelievable bias, cheerleading, and one sided reporting. Listen to Chris Matthews drool over Obama on a daily basis. Even O'Reilly does to a point, but Obama is too scared to interview with O'Reilly because O'Reilly won't play to Obama's handlers which screen questions and provide their own. "

 hey unbiased wrote on July 23, 2008 4:16 pm:
" Please excuse the confusion, but since you called Obama the same name that Rush does, we thought you might actually be biased. An honest mistake. "

 Young Voter wrote on July 23, 2008 4:22 pm:
" As a current college student and a self identified political geek, the easiest way for me to get an "unbiased" opinion is to read or watch both slants of news and come to your own conclusion. While I identify as a liberal, I watch Fox News just for the mere fact that Bill O'Reilly makes me laugh before he offends me deeply but on occasion some of his points are well thought out even though I disagree with him. Also I watch Wolf Blitzer's "Situation Room" because he feeds my addiction for political commentary for two hours straight however some of his "liberal" guests I don't agree with 100% And if I'm still unclear about a candidate or a policy, I do some research on the interent by going on to candidate's websites and I find out the information that I seek. If all of that doesn't work out for me, I go to C-SPAN because C-SPAN is the truly and only ultimate source of information that is unbiased because they cover all views of the political spectrum in an unadulterated and unfiltered way. Another tool for a voter who wishes to get information "straight from the source" is finding out exactly how an incumbent voted while in office. The Unicameral has that option online and so does Congress too.

While I'll never say that the "truth" is out there because one person's truth is another man's lie. Facts from reliable sources of information are undeniable and indisputable. A wise voter would do well seek out the facts and not focus on so much about the truth. "

 MarkyMark wrote on July 23, 2008 4:23 pm:
" Perhaps if Nebraskans knew that Bush Jr. bankrupted 3 oil companies in the 3 ceo gigs he had in the '80s. Correction, only 2 bankruptcies in his 3 ceo jobs. The third oil company was bailed out of bankruptcy by the House of Saud and the bin Laden families. These are things no one paid attention to. "

 jo wrote on July 23, 2008 4:55 pm:
" " What do you call all 3 major network evening news anchors traveling with Obama to the Middle East?
Answer:
News

What do you call the O'reilly Factor?
Answer:
Comedy - Entertainment "

 Love my Poli-tricks wrote on July 24, 2008 7:49 am:
" Look it comes out to this: 40% of voters will vote Republican no matter what. 40% will vote Democrat no matter what. Its this tiny little band of "swing voters" that decides our elections. These are people who don't know what to think about who! They'll listen to Bill O'Reilly and vote likewise. Then they'll hear or see OBamma talk about "hope and change" and they'll want to vote that way. These people on this bus are doing a great favor if they can reach the swing voters. College campuses are a good place to start. "

 Hey Jo wrote on July 24, 2008 8:28 am:
" News? Right. I must've missed it when they went over there with McCain one of the several times McCain went over there. Atleast you didn't call O'Reilly "O'Lielly" like the far left does. "

 Re Young Voter wrote on July 24, 2008 9:35 am:
" I'm impressed with Young Voter's comments. I hope most Americans will look into facts, and I hope other young voters will follow suit. Most younger voters I talk to are voting for Obama, and when I ask why, they struggle to provide reasoning other than "change". Obama is a good salesman. "

 Unbiased wrote on July 24, 2008 9:58 am:
" The bus and the media is hardly unbiased. For those who cry about Rush, Hannity, etc...they are NOT journalist, nor pretend to be...they do not present news under the guise of being unbiased. Now, consider every other news outlet, especially the linchpin - AP...who is pathetically biased to the left. As far as Fox goes...i challenge any liberal to point out a single story that is biased...asking Bill Clinton a 'tough' question is not bias! "

 jo wrote on July 24, 2008 12:27 pm:
" McCain making a big deal out of Obama not going to the mideast is exactly why the media is making a big deal about it. the media has been the rights scapegoat for years yet right wing billionaires own the media. i think it's just a handy excuse to blame the media every time your team screws up.

i'm more influenced by the price of gas and being utterly dependent on foreign fuel than anything the media has to offer on either side.

the truth is we get hit with all kinds of crappy information & agenda ridden "truths" it's up to us to decipher for ourselves who is better for our future not the media. "

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