Best Political Blogs

Whether you're a casual voter who just wants to know more about the candidates or are hardcore political junkie who can't get enough news and commentary, here's a guide to some of the best political blogs and website out there.

Non-Partisan Blogs/Sites

1. FiveThirtyEight: The best political statistical analysis website out there, hands down. Run by genius statistician Nate Silver (who also somehow finds time to write for Baseball Prospectus and appears on Baseball Tonight), 538 cuts through an avalanche of polling data and economic statistics to tell you what is really happening in the economy and in the political world. 538 focused almost entirely on polling during the election, but has now branched out into other topics, analyzing things like voting patterns among racial groups, possible partisan bias in auto dealership closings, and early polling for the 2010 and House Races. A fantastic website that is a must read for any political follower.
2. Politico: Founded by a number of ex-print journalists, Politico is an entirely DC focused political newspaper that is a must read for anyone involved in high-level electoral politics. Mike Allen's daily playbook post is one of the first things many operatives read every morning. A non-partisan operation, Politico focuses on politics more than policy, so look elsewhere if you want in-depth analysis of what will happen if a bill passes (as opposed to how the bill might pass or who might prevent things from going down).
3. The Fix: Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza's political blog. Cillizza writes mostly about national politics, focusing on Senate, Congressional, and presidential elections. One of his best features is the weekly Friday Column known as "the Line" where he'll break down questions like "what are the ten most likely congressional incumbents to lose in the fall." Unlike many mainstream political bloggers who tend to take themselves a little too seriously, Cillizza has a decent sense of humor, plus he runs prediction contests that award prizes (usually a t-shirt) to the reader who best guesses the results.

Partisan Blogs: Democrats.

1. Daily Kos. The granddaddy of all progressive blogs, Daily Kos (run by blogger Markos Moulitsas) gets 15-25 million monthly hits and has a great network of contributors and bloggers, not to mention an extremely active reader base that loves to comment on political stories. The reader started diaries can get a little nasty at times (especially recently as Clinton and Obama supporters go back and forth at each other), but if you're interested talking to like-minded liberals who are pissed off about George Bush and want to take back control of Washington, this is the place for you.
2. Moveon.org: This best blog for grassroots progressive political activism. Moveon has raised millions of dollars for democratic candidates and liberal causes since it was founded in the late 90s as a call for the Republicans in Congress (and the nation in general) to "move on" after the Clinton-Lewinsky scandals. At times the site gets itself embroiled in controversy, most notably last summer when it ran a full page ad in the New York Times asking "General Petraeus or General Betray Us." A great website if you're looking to volunteer for candidates, donate money, or actively support progressive candidates and issues.
3. Talking Points Memo: A liberal blog devoted to investigative journalism and reporting political news with a somewhat liberal bent. Talking Points actually reports and investigates original news stories (unlike most partisan blogs) and was the first media organization to break the news of the US Justice Department Scandal involving the firing of Assistant US Attorneys for political reasons. The website actually won the 2008 Polk Award for legal reporting for its work in bringing the scandal to the public. Great website.

Conservative Blogs:

1. Little Green Footballs: A blog run by Charles Johnson, a web designer from California who writes about a variety of issues but who focuses on a conservative take on foreign policy, the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Very heavily trafficked, this site gets 100,000+ hits a day and has thousands of active members posting comments on articles and commentary.
2. Redstate: A blog similar in format and style to DailyKos, it has a large community of active users who posts stories on the main page and discussion diaries that can quickly ignite into flame fests. Notable Republican politicians (including former congressman Tom Delay) regularly post on RedState.

Happy reading!