I received an e-mail from an acquaintance which contained some very misleading information about the presidential candidate I support. It’s convenient to claim “Candidate X supported the controversial Left-handed Widget Initiative” without explaining the nuances and prevailing attitudes at the time to add perspective. Is there a non-partisan website which analyzes the accuracy of both party’s claims and puts them into proper context?
If there is, you’ll have a better chance of finding the Holy Grail.
People are generally blind to their own bias, so any sites that are reccommended to you are likely to reflect the political slant of the person offering the reccommendation. It’s like the whole “liberal media/conservative media” debate. Folks who are conservative by nature decry the liberal slant the mainstream media demonstrates on a daily basis. Folks who are liberal roll their eyes and snort derisively about how the media is obviously controlled by conservatives and no liberal voice can be heard. At this point a vicious argument usually starts that wanders far from any coherent point and degenerates into partisan name-calling.
It all boils down to the theory that nobody notices their own stink. This is a theory that I believe in wholeheartedly, especially in matters of politics.
I’m afraid you’re probably out of luck. Your best strategy is to do hundreds of hours of research on your own, because you’re the only one you can trust not to have an agenda in the information you present to yourself…
I get the sense that both Spinsanity and Talking Points Memo do a pretty good job vetting the accuracy of claims from all sides with equal vigor.
FactCheck.org is pretty good as well; to my untrained eye, they do a pretty good job of explaining the nuances & context of both sides’ political claims.
It’s not so much that I’m trying to get the facts for myself, but I feel the other side is throwing more dirt than the side I support. I’m delusional enough to believe that a non-partisan analysis will reaffirm my suspicions and persuade others. From a more rational stand point, I’d rather backup my beliefs with documented facts rather than hysterical conjecture and innuendo.
Maybe I’m just too cynical after watching the last few years’ worth of political antics from politicians and their supporters. I’ve reached the point where I no longer give a damn - nor do I trust any analyst further than he/she can throw me.
That being said, I briefly glanced at the three links Gadarene and MikeS provided. Spinsanity.com seems fairly balanced, taking apart the crap from both parties fairly equally. Maybe they can help me find that Grail, too. 