In its platform, released yesterday, the Democratic Party decrees that, “We are committed to the most open, efficient, and accountable government in history, and we believe that government is more accountable when it is transparent.” Us too.
Indeed, the platform’s broad strokes in support of a more transparent government contain little for us to quibble about. It recognizes the dangers of the Citizens United decision, and embraces lobbying reform and more robust disclosure of money in politics. (A position past Republican platforms championed as well.) There is tension, however, between the aspirations of the party platform and reality. For while the platform accurately notes that neither the president nor the national Democratic Party accept contributions from lobbyists, both accept and contributions from other influence peddlers, including big bundlers who don’t happen to fall under the Lobbying Disclosure Act regime.
