Over the past two years there has been a steady drip of stories about the secretive negotiations regarding the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Members of Congress and congressional staffers have been stymied in their efforts to perform some measure of oversight while major corporations have reportedly been given unfettered access and influence over the deal. The public has been kept almost completely in the dark regarding negotiations that affect everything from food prices to our ability to innovate on the Internet. The TPP is just the most recent in a growing stable of not-so-transparent negotiations.
Continue readingToday in #OpenGov 11/6/2013
Big Picture
- Rhetoric around open data has recently turned sharply towards its potential economic effects. The author argues that transparency and open government should be about accountability, not money. (Jonathan Gray/The Guardian)
- A new book on the 2012 campaign claims that President Obama attended a super PAC fundraiser as the race ran down, despite earlier pledges to the contrary. The White House has pushed back against that claim, saying that the party in question was merely a "thank-you" bash. (POLITICO)
- The National Republican Senatorial Committee is changing its 2012 tone and will engage in Republican primaries, potentially backing more "traditional" GOP candidates over Tea Party favorites. The NRSC hopes to avoid running flawed candidates as they try to claw back the majority in the Senate. (Roll Call)
- Recent discussions about ethics in open development have potentially posed more questions than they have answered. The ideas raised here revolve around informed consent and participation. (Open Knowledge Blog)
- As part of its endless quest to understand seemingly everything about the world, Google is urging local governments to release more data. Google will likely use local data to make user results even more personalized and localized. (Government Technology)
- Big money couldn't slow down Chris Christie's landslide victory in Virginia's gubernatorial election, but it has been used to make his life more difficult in the coming months. Outside groups have spent tens of millions on legislative races in an attempt to maintain a large Democratic majority. (New York Times)
As DATA Act Markup Looms In Senate, Groups Announce Support For Introduced Version
Today, a coalition of groups and individuals concerned with open government urged the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental... View Article
Continue readingCan Crist the Democrat raise as much money as Crist the Republican?
Charlie Crist has a knack with political donors. In between campaigns, he even got a job with one of his largest political benefactors. But as the formidable fundraiser -- who raked in more than $33 million over the course of his political career -- launches his challenge to Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott this week, the question is whether he'll be able to manage an encore performance in a different role.
Elected Florida's 44th governor in 2006, Crist is running to reclaim his old job with a new resume: A one-time Republican who turned independent in 2010, he's now ...
Continue readingOpen Data Policies to Promote Transparency and Engagement
In an upcoming session at the National League of Cities Congress of Cities and Exposition in Seattle, we'll take part in exploring how open data, and open data policies, can help increase and improve civic engagement.
Continue readingTea Party challenger trounced in last minute fundraising
The GOP establishment is doubling down on its effort to beat the Tea Party in a special election today, last-minute filings on Sunlight's Real-Time FEC tracker show.
Continue readingAmerican Crossroads targeting vulnerable Senate Democrats — and passing the hat
American Crossroads, the big-spending Republican super PAC that's been relatively quiescent since posting a less-than-impressive return on investment in the last election cycle, has resurfaced with some advertisements targeting some of the Senate's most vulnerable Democrats -- and an ask for money.
The ads, which surfaced on Political Ad Hawk, Sunlight's mobile app for linking political advertisements with the sources of their funding, are nearly identical and attempt to discredit three Democrats up for reelection next year -- Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana -- over the controversial new health care law ...
Continue readingToday in #OpenGov 11/5/2013
National News
- Joe Biden, along with President Obama and plenty of other politicians, canceled some fundraisers during the shutdown. But, now that the government's up and running again it's time to party! The Vice President will appear at a high dollar fundraiser for the DCCC in Baltimore. (POLITICO)
- John Bolton, former U.N Ambassador under George W. Bush, is getting back in the foreign policy game in an unlimited way with a new super PAC. Bolton's PAC, which stems from the idea that "Americans don't care about foreign policy," will presumably support candidates that fit Bolton's right leaning neoconservative approach. (Executive Goverment)
- The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is set to mark up the DATA Act on Wednesday. The Committee will likely make some major changes that could weaken accountability standards included in the current Senate version. (Federal News Radio, Data Transparency Coalition)
- The OGP Summit last week in London provided a launching pad for a new Legislative Openness Working Group that represents a partnership between civil society, parliaments, and governments around the world. The group is anchored by the Congress of Chile and NDI. (Opening Parliament)
- Students and faculty who participate in student government at Hungarian universities receive "public service scholarships" and bonus payments for the work that they do. Details about these payments at Hungary's largest university will be available to the public for the first time thanks to a freedom of information request filed by the blog Transparent Education. (Transparency International)
- The federal government might be able to learn a few lessons from state and local governments in the wake of the recent shutdown. While the Obama Administration has embraced open data, states and municipalities have often been first movers when it comes to opening their information and taking proactive steps towards transparency. (Slate)
- An investigation, and the resulting record fine, into the practices of two California dark money groups is shedding some light onto the ways that well funded donors and groups are influencing elections across the country. The California Fair Political Practices Commission exposed some of the techniques these groups used to launder donations and hide their funding sources. (Washington Post)
Which of Your Local Candidates Support Transparency?
In anticipation of this year’s local elections, many open government advocacy groups have surveyed local candidates on open data issues and shared the results in hopes of informing and mobilizing citizens to vote for candidates that are committed to transparency. We’ve seen open data questionnaires conducted around North America this fall for a variety of motivating factors, including: To Fight Past Corruption, To Foster New Open Data Initiatives—or simply—To Maintain Current Open Data Momentum. This trend of open data surveys is indicative of a widespread interest in transparency issues this election season, and with a growing number local governments adopting administratively-sensitive open data laws, a trend we likely see more of in the future.
Below we have rounded up a mini-landscape of open data candidate questionnaires distributed this election season.
Continue readingOutside groups seek to influence vote on LGBT workplace discrimination
The Senate's Monday cloture vote on the 2013 iteration of the Senate Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is either an important political litmus test for a Republican party in search of a new, more inclusive image or a crucial referendum on American civil liberties -- depending on your viewpoint. The bill would extend federal anti-discrimination protections to workers discriminated against because of their gender or sexual orientation. While observers are skeptical of the legislation's chances in the House, outside groups have spent bucketloads on grassroots and traditional lobbying in support of the law. On the other side? Not so much.
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