Good government groups and the media have been very supportive of the proposal:
-
The New York Times
editorialized: "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an accomplished conduit for
secret donors, is crying foul about the proposed executive order. But clearly
the measure is needed to combat pay-to-play campaign abuses. . . Now is not the time for him to flinch
before noisy threats from the chamber and other deep-pocketed players."
-
The
New Republic wrote: "The key now is for the White House and the regulatory
agencies to ignore the threats from Congress and elsewhere, and move ahead with
their efforts. After all, the sentiments of the 92 percent of the public that
favors transparency, and the eight justices on the Supreme Court that have
endorsed it, should outweigh the objections of the reborn anti-disclosure
cabal."
- And, the MetroWest Daily News pointed to Republican hypocrisy and common sense writing: "Not long ago, Republicans argued that campaign contributions shouldn't be limited but, instead, should be publicly disclosed, leaving it up to voters to decide if a candidate had been unduly influenced. Now they not only demand that special interests be allowed to make unlimited contributions to get their favorite candidates elected, but they also want those contributions to be kept secret. . . People who sell goods and services to the government shouldn't be able to influence government decisions through secret donations of large piles of cash to elect favored politicians."
Both unions and business would be subject to the law if they seek federal government contracts. Federal agencies spent about $535 billion in fiscal 2010 on government contracts. In fact more than 138,000 corporations would fall under the order including many Fortune 500 companies, military contractors, unions and others who do business with the federal government.
President Obama has it in his power to bring significant transparency to federal elections. Congressional opposition is irrelevant to the signing of executive orders and the enforcement of existing laws. People have the right to know who is funding campaign activities so voters know their business before the government. People also have the right to know whether corporations are being favored for government contracts because of their political donations. And, campaign disclosure laws need to be enforced to be effective. Transparency is essential to reducing the corruption of politics. It is time for the Obama administration to act.
Kevin Zeese is director of ItsOurEconomy.US and spokesperson for Campaign Accountability Watch.
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