A Voice in the Wilderness In Defense of "Mere Conservatism"

Let C-SPAN In, Congress

On the campaign trail in 2008 then Senator Barack Obama promised that he would usher in a new and more transparent government and administration.  So far the results are mixed...if "mixed" meant "an unmitigated failure."  Senator Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised the same things when they took charge of congress in 2006.

Fast-forward to 2009 (and now 2010) and we are on the verge of passing the most massive piece of legislation (health care "reform") in our nation's history and all of the important debates and discussions have taken place behind closed doors (and among Democrats only).

The head of C-SPAN has implored Congress to open up the last leg of health care reform negotiations to the public, as top Democrats lay plans to hash out the final product among themselves.

The story on FoxNews.com continues:

Congressional leaders, however, reportedly are expected to bypass the traditional conference committee process, in which lawmakers from both parties and chambers meet to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. Instead, The Associated Press reports that top Democrats at the House, Senate and White House will figure out the final product in three-way talks before sending it back to both chambers for a final vote.

This format would seem ideal for closed-door meetings, which congressional Democrats have used many times to figure out sensitive provisions in the health care bill -- though President Obama pledged during the campaign to open up health care talks to C-SPAN's cameras.

"That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are," Obama said at a debate against Hillary Clinton in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, 2008.

The response from the White House?

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said he hadn't seen the letter.

Phew.  The problem here is apparently that the administration has yet to read the letter that C-SPAN's CEO wrote to key Democrat leaders imploring them to open the health care debates up to public eyes.  I'm sure things will be cleared up when President Obama is reminded of his campaign promise.

If you aren't enraged by this entire process to bring health care under the control of the federal government, you are a progressive liberal.  Everyone else needs to call their congressional representatives and give them an ear-full.