Dick Durbin's One-Sided Legislation
Talking only to liberals about a national broadband strategy
By Bluey Posted in Congress — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Matt Stoller and Chris Bowers have some great ideas for their Open Left website. Designed to serve as the destination for left-wing ideology, it already seems to be off to a good start just a few weeks after launching. The fact that a U.S. senator decided to use the site as a way to solicit feedback about legislation is significant.
Over at the Open House Project blog, Paul Blumenthal hails Sen. Dick Durbin's foray into the blogosphere as a "very interesting experiment" that could redefine the way legislation is written. "In building support for the legislation you, as a legislator or executive, would be creating more stakeholders in the process that can help push the legislation and push back against opposition," Blumenthal writes.
Pardon me if I'm not jumping for joy. While I think it's admirable that Durbin wants to involve the netroots, I think it's incredibly short-sighted to have a one-sided conversation with just liberals. It's the exact opposite approach used for the Open House Project; in that case, both Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R.-Ohio) endorsed the proposal.
If Durbin is serious about enacting a national broadband strategy, I would hope that he seeks input from all Americans, not just liberals. I wonder if he will be posting on RedState? Or if he plans to reach out to a non-ideological website? I certainly hope he does. Because while his experiment may be breaking new ground, his bill will go nowhere fast without a more comprehensive approach.
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Dick Durbin's One-Sided Legislation 2 Comments (0 topical, 2 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Any updates on this big celeb "transparency" campaign to speak of? I recognize its not due for another year, however I have yet to see any evidence that transparency is taken seriously on either side of the aisle. Anyone know anything?
I would hope that if Durbin did decide to engage at Redstate, we would afford him some degree of respect and stick to the issue at hand. The problem comes in when some nimrod decides to start beating on him about something completely unrelated, and my guess is that is why we'll never see him here.
(Don't get me wrong - I can't stand The Dickster. I lived in IL when he got elected, and it disgusted me. But I think Bluey has a good point about him posting on RS, and I think we should welcome it/him if, by some miracle, it would happen)
...when they see me they'll say, "There goes Loren Wallace,
the greatest thing to ever climb into a race car."