McConnell's secret

Publication: The Courier-Journal

Editorial
July 4, 2007

It's our nation's birthday -- the anniversary of our freedoms. It's also the 40-year anniversary of the landmark federal Freedom of Information Act going into effect.

Sadly, Sen. Mitch McConnell celebrated early by maneuvering to block your access to information that would make you a better-informed citizen and a better-prepared voter. He's doing what he can to squelch a bill, S. 223, that would mandate the electronic filing of campaign finance reports.

He claims nobody is blocking this bill, and he claims not to oppose it. What's needed, he says, is a debate about a couple of simple little amendments.

But the truth, as reported last week by the Sunlight Foundation's Paul Blumenthal, is that Senate Republicans, led by Mr. McConnell, "tried their hand at a parliamentary trick to add poison pill amendments to S. 223."

This open government advocacy group asks, "What's Sen. Mitch McConnell hiding?"

The answer? "He is hiding his and other senators' campaign finance information by blocking legislation that would require electronic reporting." The irony in this situation, says Sunlight Foundation, "is that there is a secret objection to legislation that would generate more transparency for senators."

Want to do something about it? Then join the holiday fun. There's a bounty hunt.

Mr. McConnell has a price on his head, or, more specifically, on his mouth.

The Sunlight Foundation urges, "Be the first to ask Sen. McConnell what he's hiding. Make a video -- either answering the question or refusing to answer the question. Show up at his office in Kentucky or in D.C., catch him as he's boarding a plane to or from Louisville, try to flag him at an event. Capture him on video telling you who is behind the block on S. 223. The first person who does this gets a reward (which has been raised from $500 to $1,000)." Top video entries will be posted on YouTube and on the whatsmcconnellhiding.com Web site.

Our senior senator presumably was jubilant over last week's shameful U.S. Supreme Court decision, gutting the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, which he thoroughly despises. He's always said what's needed is not laws like that, which he charges restrict political speech, but rather full and swift disclosure of who is giving what to whom.

If so, then why is he playing games to thwart a legislative effort aimed at exactly that?