THE RESULTS ARE IN:

BLOGOSPHERE BELIEVES ELVIS WILL BE SIGHTED BEFORE CONGRESS ACTS ON ETHICS REFORM

July 21, 2006

Contact: Gabriela Schneider 202-742-1520 ext 236

WASHINGTON, DC – The Sunlight Foundation (www.sunlightfoundation.com) released the results of a blogosphere-wide poll today, which showed readers of internet blogs hold little hope that Congress will pass real ethics reform. With results from 10, 227 readers of 42 sites, well over 95 percent of respondents said they believe Congress is not doing enough to clean itself up, and 93 percent believed there will be a real sighting of Elvis Presley before Congress will pass real ethics reforms. The full results of the poll can be found here. The poll was first placed on the web on July 10, when coding was made available to all blogs that allowed them to post the poll and have their results aggregate into a single poll result, on Sunlight’s homepage. Some of the most active blogs on the internet, including Instapundit, Talking Points Memo, and Huffington Post took part in the poll. “These poll results provide a unique glimpse into what readers of blogs are thinking about Congress,” said Sunlight Executive Director, Ellen Miller. “We found that the overwhelming majority of them have little confidence in their public officials to clean up their act. Blog readers tend to be pretty well informed and politically engaged, so the results of this poll – while not scientific – may and should serve as a wake up call to Members of Congress, because of the broad participation by blogs and their readers.” Whether Congress listens to the voices of the people it represents remains to be seen. Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, recently reported on ethics reform that the Senate majority was moving towards “scrapping controversial language added by the House that curbs 527 political groups. But House negotiators so far have balked at this approach, throwing into doubt prospects for resolving the standoff before the August recess.” Founded in January, 2006, the mission of the Sunlight Foundation is to strengthen the relationship between lawmakers and their constituents. Sunlight puts information and tools in citizens’ hands so they can learn more about what Congress and their elected representatives are doing. Our ultimate goal of full transparency by Congress, its Members and staff will help reduce corruption, ensure greater accountability, and foster public trust in this vital institution of democracy. ###