Secrecy is as secrecy does; happy birthday, Mr. Madison

Published: March 21, 2008 09:22 pm         

Secrecy is as secrecy does; happy birthday, Mr. Madison

The Back Porch

By Nerissa Young

Happy belated birthday, James Madison. Your birthday was Sunday, but this column runs on Saturdays.

What would you think of America today? You labored hard to write a Constitution for a new country and took your inspiration from the most idealistic ideals about the value of human life and liberty. When the states demanded liberties for individuals, you sat at your desk to write the Bill of Rights and then politicked for the package deal until enough states ratified the Constitution to make the declared colonies a bona fide nation.

Sometimes when I look at this free nation and see a secret, closed society, I feel as though we've let you down. We are the guardians of the liberties for which you toiled; yet we seem incapable of doing little more than whining.

But some people still care. In fact, they established Sunshine Week during the week of your birthday each year to advocate openness in U.S. government. All across the country, media are celebrating your legacy with columns, editorials, stories and ads encouraging people to pursue their right to know what their government is doing.

Disgust with the government and some fresh faces have increased voter turnout this presidential election year. People seem to be energized and expecting something different. I hope they realize they can get it only if they demand it. That was what you wanted, Mr. Madison. In fact, you built into the Constitution just such a mechanism for change through amendment.

In a survey commissioned for Sunshine Week, three of four Americans said the federal government is secretive and nine of 10 Americans said it's important to know where presidential and congressional candidates stand on open government.

The change in just two years is dramatic in the results gathered by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University. The 2006 survey showed 62 percent of Americans believed the government is somewhat or very secretive. The 2008 results showed that number spiking to 74 percent.

So what about the presidential candidates? In October, Sunshine Week officials sent a brief open government survey to the 16 Democrats and Republicans then in the race for the presidency. They were asked again to respond in December. Only Democratic candidates John Edwards and Bill Richardson responded.

But a funny thing happened on the way to gathering super delegates. Sen. Hillary Clinton sent her response just as your birthday dawned. This literal ray of sunshine is refreshing and unexpected from the woman who held her health care reform meetings in secret during her husband's first term as president and who refused to disclose her net worth earlier this year. Hmm, Mr. Madison. That smells like the horse stables at your farm in Montpelier, but you obviously advocated letting people be heard. At least she answered, albeit tardily. That's more than Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain have done.

"I believe in an open, transparent government that is accountable to the people. Excessive government secrecy harms democratic governance and can weaken our system of checks and balances by shielding officials from oversight and inviting misconduct or error. To me, openness and accountability are not platitudes — they are essential elements of our democracy."

Nice rhetoric, but I bet she stands foursquare for puppies, children, Mom and apple pie, too.

Here's what Clinton said she will do:

- Use the Internet to post budgets and performance.

- Ban Cabinet officials from lobbying once they leave the White House.

- Encourage more open meetings and public documents.

- Change the classification system to make more documents open, public records.

- Protect journalists from having to reveal sources and notes.

- Demand a presumption of openness from her appointed attorney general.

- Put financial pressure on agencies to pay from their own budgets for failing to comply with the federal Freedom of Information Act.

- Encourage all courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, to be open to electronic media.

- Disclose donations to presidential libraries and foundations. "When I am president, the Clinton Library and Clinton Foundation will prospectively disclose their donors."

Why wait, Sen. Clinton? Why not show good faith by disclosing now? Then, maybe we can believe the rest of what you say you will do.

Happy birthday, James Madison.

— Young is a Register-Herald columnist. E-mail: ynerissa@verizon.net.
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