Republicans, the party of "government in the sunshine" and fiscal discipline

As I was reading this article in today's NY Times entitled "A Push for Openness in Government: on Right and Left", I almost fell off my chair. The article is about an effort to put a searchable database of government spending on the internet that would, for example, allow a surfer to look up how much the government was paying Halliburton. The idea is to keep government contracting honest.

My jaw dropped open as I began to see that the author of the piece was trying to convey the idea that this whole idea of openness in government was a Republican idea, and he appeared almost surprised that a few Democrats were joining in the effort as well.

But for its references to the internet, you would have thought the whole thing came from a different time and place (or an alternate universe) in which the free-spending Democrats controlled an ever more secretive government and the Republicans were the good guys trying to shine the light of day on the self-serving Democratic politicians who were lining their own pockets and and those of their friends with government money.

WASHINGTON, July 2 — Exasperated by his party's failure to cut government spending, Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, is seeking cyberhelp.

Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, supports a public database of federal spending. Mr. Coburn wants to create a public database, searchable over the Internet, that would list most government contracts and grants — exposing hundreds of billions in annual spending to instant desktop view.

Type in "Halliburton," the military contractor, or "Sierra Club," the environmental group, for example, and a search engine would show all the federal money they receive. A search for the terms "Alaska" and "bridges" would expose a certain $315 million span to Gravina Island (population 50) that critics call the "Bridge to Nowhere."

While advocating for openness, Mr. Coburn is also placing a philosophical bet that the more the public learns about federal spending, the less it will want.

"Sunshine's the best thing we've got to control waste, fraud and abuse," he said. "It's also the best thing we've got to control stupidity. It'll be a force for the government we need."

But Mr. Coburn's plan, hailed by conservatives, is also sponsored by a Democrat

Hellllooooo. Just who is it that controls the White House? Just who is it that controls the Congress? Just who is it that controls the Senate? Just which party is it that is running the most secretive US government of all time? Just which party is it that has overseen the largest growth in the deficit ever?

Furthermore, as we read a bit further, we learn that the bill creating this data base that passed the House would not include contracts to big business in the data base -- only grants to charities and foundations would be included. So, the largest single arena of waste and mismanagement would be excluded from this oversight.

The House unanimously passed a version of the proposal in late June, though in a form that had drawn outside criticism. The House bill creates a database that would omit contracts, which typically go to businesses, but would include about $300 billion in grants, which usually go to nonprofit groups.

Does the article mention which party controls the House of Representatives? No.

And, what's the excuse for excluding contracts to business?

"Contracts are awarded in a much more competitive environment," said Representative Thomas M. Davis III, a Virginia Republican who was a sponsor of the bill. That makes them more self-policing, he said. Mr. Davis, whose district includes many government contractors, said grants "are more susceptible to abuse."

Yeah, sure. I buy that. Self-policing. Just like Enron was self-policing.

As we move on in the article, we find that the real intended purpose of the legislation is to shrink government spending by making people aware of the magnitude of it -- starve the beast until it's small enough to drown in a bathtub. I guess that's why Jason deParle (the reporter writing the article) seems to assume that Democrats would naturally be against "openness in government."

On the right, support for the plan reflects an old concern about spending and a new faith in the power of blogs. Supporters picture a citizen army of e-watchdogs, greatly increasing the influence of antispending groups in Washington.

"Now that you've got the Internet, you'll have tens of thousands of watchdogs," said Bridgett G. Wagner of the Heritage Foundation, who is leading a coalition of conservative groups that support the Coburn bill. "That's what people see in it."

...A number of blogs popular among conservatives have praised Mr. Coburn's bill. Instapundit, among the most popular, has pushed it. Seeker Blog called it "the best news I've heard out of D.C. this year." Captain's Quarters demanded "Give us the Pork Database," and Porkopolis hailed the measure with the slogan, "Show Me the Money."

Come off it, Jason. Openness in government is not the exclusive property of the right wing. Hell, they have created the most tightly closed government in the history of the country. Get back to the real universe we actually live in. The one where the Democrats are supporters of openness and freedom of information and Rethuglicans shut the door in their faces. Just which party is it that is calling for the NY Times to be tried for treason?