Obama in the Land of Lincoln
A couple months ago, I emailed some journalists and open records advocates in Illinois -- my native state, by the way -- to ask about Barack Obama's history with open government.
None of them knew anything on the subject. Not good, colleagues.
Then I sent a similiar email to similiar people in Arizona asking about John McCain. I received the same answers -- or non-answers.
I also emailed people who monitor open government issue at the federal level to ask about the candidates' voting history in the U.S. Senate. Yep, you guessed it. No one knew much.
Let's also note no one replied by writing: "Oh, man, you're not going to believe what this guy did/did not do to completely stifle pubic access!"
Obama, however, also has a voting history in the Illinois Senate. Here's what some of my research found.
When he was still in the Illinois General Assembly in 2003, Obama filed a bill creating a statewide roster of government employees designated as record custodians. It also would have created a $1,000 fine for any public official who acts "in bad faith" to delay processing a record request. The bill did not pass.
Also in 2003, Obama filed a bill requiring hospitals to make quarterly reports about such information as staffing and infection rates. The bill included protections for whistleblowers.
Yet still in 2003, Obama was among a unanimous Senate that voted to make it easier for someone to have their attorney fees paid if they sue because a record request was denied.
In 2004, Obama chaired a Senate committee which pushed for a bill creating a nursing workforce database. Obama’s committee introduced an amendment specifically stating the database was subject to Illinois’ record laws. The amendment and the bill passed.
— NC
Labels: Candidates
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Tribune's Bob Barr Blackout Watch Reminder: The Libertarian Party nominated Bob Barr as its presidential candidate on May 25, 2008, and 139 days later -- with less than one month before Election Day -- The Salt Lake Tribune finally informed its print edition readers of his candidacy.
See "McCain or Obama: Utahns want next leader to heal economy," October 11, 2008.
And "Early voters generating 'huge numbers' at polls," October 28, 2008.
By comparison, the Tribune notified its readers of the candidacies of Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama on an almost daily basis in 2008.
The Tribune first reported on:
*Ralph Nader's 2008 presidential candidacy as early as March 1, 2008.
*The presidential candidacy of the Constitution Party's Chuck Baldwin on July 3, 2008.
*The presidential candidacy of the Green Party's Cynthia McKinney on September 4, 2008.
In the interim, those who noted the omission of Barr's candidacy from the Tribune's national political coverage were prevented from further comment on the TribTalk forums and SLTRIB.COM comments section after their accounts were disabled and IP addresses blocked by the Tribune's web site administrators.
Almost 95 percent of all American voters -- in 45 states -- can vote for Barr on the ballot. Only Obama and McCain have access to more American ballots.
Nationwide polls show Barr receiving support from between 1 to 2 percent of voters (or about 1 in 50 American voters), and up to 11 percent support in some battleground states.
The CEO of MediaNews (which owns the Tribune), William Dean Singleton, was a significant financial supporter of Republican U.S. President George W. Bush.
www.BobBarr2008.com
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