It’s time to dig up some data on the words US legislators use every day. Capitol Words, created by The Sunlight Foundation, is like a Google Trends for analyzing what Congressmen say. It allows anyone to quickly search and compare words and/or phrases by state, political party and legislator.
For example, you can keep tabs on who uses the phrase ‘Blah, blah, blah‘ more than anyone else, or compare terms like ‘obamacare‘ and ‘health care reform.’ In other words, this is an amazingly easy tool for anyone interested in looking deeper into politics.
Capitol Words allows “concerned or simply curious citizen[s] to learn what their members of Congress are saying.” In a time of constantly flowing information and distractions, a fast, informative way to keep tabs on legislators is imperative for a healthy democracy.
The Sunlight Foundation explains:
Capitol Words gives an at-a-glance view of the issues that dominate Congress and also enables researchers to view full transcripts of the record by bill number or specific date. Every legislator that served in the past 15 Congresses has a profile page where you can view his or her favorite words and phrases.
Washington is a city driven by what politicians say. It’s something that special interests fight to influence and spin doctors carefully craft day-in and day-out.
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