The Internet provides a quick link to a number of political information resources for people who want to either get involved with a political project, or who simply want to know about the candidates running for office. The list that follows covers the political spectrum, and most sites identified provide links to relevant topics of interest.

www.pirg.org is the State Public Interest Research Group website. It is a national non-profit, non-partisan network of state-based, member-supported public interest watchdogs. By going to this site, the viewer can link up with national public interest research groups as well as a host of other political interest connections.

www.vote-smart.org is a terrific site for the novice politico. This national, non-partisan, non-profit organization was founded by a distinguished group of politicians and a few third-party leaders in 1990 to track the performance of over 13,000 political leaders: President, Congress, governors and state legislators. There is information on issues, positions and voting records, campaign finances and even evaluations by special interest groups. The home page is clean and simple, and it even has an icon for finding out your own government representatives by typing in your zip code.

www.freespeech.org/cpc is the home page for the Colorado Progressive Coalition, a statewide network of groups and individuals working to build bridges between diverse communities to advance a proactive agenda of civil rights and economic justice. In terms of becoming locally involved, this site tracks legislation in the Colorado state government. In addition, several dozen member organizations are listed and many, like Coloradans for Medical Rights and Students for Justice, can be immediately connected to with a click of the mouse.

www.2020vision.org is the web vehicle for Environmental and Peace Actions. This is a good site if you want to be informed about recent relevant legal actions. If you want to get involved, it makes it easy. It gives you the names and addresses (including email) of the people in government to whom you can voice your opinion.

www.womensagenda.org is a statewide network that champions social justice, political power and economic security for all women in Colorado. It has a clean home page with access to Key Issues and a Calendar of Events. In addition, you can "join the Electronic Activist Network," an effort to organize and mobilize women for positive social change using email-to-fax technology "to make sure your voice is heard at the 1999 Colorado legislature. With a few simple key strokes you can make a real impact on issues affecting women, families and communities in Colorado."

www.cc.org is a web site representing over 2 million members of the Christian Coalition who "believe it’s time for people of faith to have a voice in the conversation we call democracy." Founded in 1989 by Pat Robertson, it is the largest, grassroots political movement of Christian activists. From this site, you can reach state chapters as well.

http://wlo.org/ccwatch is an interesting site provided by Women Leaders On Line to review the actions of the Christian Coalition and its impact on politics and specifically on the Republican Party itself.

http://dir.yahoo.com/government is for the surfer who wants depth and breadth. This site lists several connecting links, from civic participation on local, state and national levels, to web directories for the world. The site is pretty fascinating for history and political buffs, as it is a comprehensive database link to world wide governing institutions and political parties, parliaments and even political movements not held in favor by most countries.

If you are a member of organizations such as Business and Professional Women, Sierra Club, National Rifle Association, etc., you probably receive review literature about their preferred candidates during campaign periods. Of course, being in contact with the state headquarters for the Republican Party, 303-893-1776, the Democratic party, 303-830-8989, and the Libertarian party, 303-837-9393 or 800-211-5214, is an excellent way of staying informed about candidates. Also try the Democratic Socialists of America, if you’re so inclined: 303-443-8252, or the Colorado Progressive Coalition, 303-866-0908.