Closed doors contradict Obama's promise of transparency

October 26, 7:53 AMMesa Independent ExaminerChristina Wijfjes-Smit

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President Obama. AP file Photo/ Steven Senne

While campaigning for President, Barack Obama made a declaration that his administration would be the most transparent. The majority believed him, when during the Presidential debate on January 31, 2008 Obama said,

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.

Today as the debate over health-care reform rages on, it does so from behind closed doors. The American people have not been invited to watch as their elected officials tackle, what is sure to be, the most important legislation to come out of Washington in a very long time. Also excluded from the “negotiations” are the Republicans; so not “all parties” have been welcome to participate. That alone is troubling, because it assures that a good percentage of Americans are not being represented in the decision making process.

An editorial from Roll Call, posted online, calls the secrecy of the proceedings “disturbing” saying:

All of a sudden, we don’t know what’s being done — or when, or by whom. …The secrecy of the proceedings, particularly given where we’ve come from in the previous few months, is disturbing — as is the lack of diversity in voices shaping the final product. There are no Republicans in the room. If any other Members of Congress have been invited to participate, we’ll never know it. …The sudden silence from the Senate seems like a slap at all the stakeholders who have invested so much in the health care debate — not to mention the taxpayers who will be asked to foot the bill for whatever reform plan does get adopted.

For many Americans, Obama’s promise, of a transparent administration was the deciding factor in their voting for him. By allowing the bill to be composed behind a closed door, without bipartisan or citizen input, Obama may very well lose credibility with those that are most important to his success; the American people.

For more on this topic:
Patients and patience in health care end game, msn.com
It’s time for a bipartisan health bill, cnn.com