With a name like Boehner there is a certain toolishness to the new House GOP Majority (I hope soon Minority!) Leader. Tainted with his ties to K Street, yet tanned from his frequent shuttles to Florida courtesy of various Big Mules, the guy is admittedly known to give great party. The Captain has yet to be invited! Drop by Newsweek’s latest from Holly Bailey and Eleanor Clift titled Reform, Washington Style. Surely not the boldest statement from the ReThugs that they have seen the evil of their ways.
I do like two things the Ohio Congressman is reported to suggest. As I understand it, he urges the following: Stop the budgetary earmarking at the eleventh hour plus have full disclosure of the ways lobbyists, engaged to a point in activities protected by the First Amendment, gain influence. It is not the lobbying that should be the focus but rather the way our representatives focus on interests that are seldom that of the branchheads back home.
Efforts like Open Secrets from the Center for Responsive Politics are useful yet having things even more open seem wise. I still think having some mechanism for elections being publicly funded might be a good start, especially given how expensive, plus sound bite and horserace oriented, a campaign is in our current system.
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