On Monday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) asked Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to help her pass S.223, the Senate campaign finance electronic filing bill. McConnell has been abetting a Republican objection to the bill by refusing to reveal information about who in his party does not approve of this no-brainer legislation. While McConnell states that Republican Senators want to offer amendments to the bill he also refuses to identify and describe these amendments. Feinstein is committed to passing this bill and McConnell has said that he supports it. McConnell must meet with Sen. Feinstein to work together to pass this bill without poison pill amendments. Feinstein's letter asks for McConnell to identify to her the amendments that Republican Senators wish to offer. If they have the kind of support that S.223 has than they could be added. If they are controversial, they should go through the regular committee process. This is very simple and fair. Read the letter:
Continue readingMay 10: Open House Project at Heritage Foundation
Update: If you can't attend watch the screencast here.
We are opening the House and changing Congress. This Thursday (May 10) at 10 a.m. the Heritage Foundation is hosting a panel discussion on The Open House Project recommendations. The panel speakers include Sunlight Program Director John Wonderlich, David All of the David All Group, Director of the Center for Media and Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation Robert Bluey, and MyDD's Matt Stoller. The event will no doubt feature some of the most interesting conversation regarding making the House open, accesible, and fit for the 21st century that you will find in Washington, D.C. If you have an interest in the future of politics and the future of Congress you should attend this event. Plus, when else are you going to see Matt Stoller at the Heritage Foundation? You can RSVP here.
Continue readingGo Public With the Objection
The Winston-Salem Journal stands up for openness while Sen. Mitch McConnell and Republican Senators, including the two North Carolina Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, continue to block S.223 from passing in a clean, amendment-free fashion. McConnell and a few Republican Senators want to amend the bill to prevent its passage. The Winston-Salem Journal write that the objecting Senator, or Senators, should go "public with his or her objections." What McConnell and his cohort need to understand is that objecting to a bill may be a Senate tradition, "But to do so anonymously is cowardly, and to do so while professing not to be the blocker is deceitful." Tell Mitch McConnell - (202) 224-2541 - to release the names of the objectors and to make any and all amendments available to the public now.
Continue reading
Give it up McConnell.
Today the Louisville Courier-Journal joins our call for Sen. Mitch McConnell to release the name of the anonymous Senator blocking the passage of S.223. McConnell needs to give the name up and let the bill pass. He has made electronic filing into a partisan issue for no reason except to continue the status quo of wasted tax dollars and hidden campaign contributions. The Courier-Journal calls McConnell out on his dismissal of transparency:
This great defender of dollar-driven politics -- Washington's self-identified champion of money as the constitutional equivalent of speech -- has always insisted the answer is not less cash in campaigns but more transparency. Trust the voters to figure out who is scratching whose back, he says, by making sure they can find out who is giving what to whom.
What's clear, once again, is that Sen. McConnell says one thing and does another. He makes not only Kentucky but the Senate itself look bad.
You can continue to help find the identity of the anonymous Senator here.
Continue readingSilence from McConnell. S.223 Still Blocked.
Yet another day has passed where Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has refused to divulge the name of the anonymous Senator blocking S.223. When will McConnell come clean? You can continue to call your Senators if they are listed below. So far, the only Senator to deny placing the objection is Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA). Are there any other Senators willing to break McConnell's wall of silence?
For the most recent update listen to Sunlight Executive Director Ellen Miller on NPR's Marketplace. We'll keep giving updates as they happen. Keep calling your Senators and let us know what they say in this comment form.
Continue readingStill Waiting…
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) is the only Senator on our list who will not respond to queries about the anonymous blocking of S.223, the Senate campaign finance electronic filing bill. Why won't Sen. Gregg answer the question or return our phone calls? If you still want to call and find out give Gregg's office a ring at (202) 224-3324 and ask if he is has ever placed a hold or made an objection to S.223. You can send your findings on this comment form. Meanwhile, we'll be waiting here for an answer to our question. Who's blocking S.223? Check out our complete page on the search for the secret Senator at this page on our website.
Continue readingGregg.
Updated to reflect Kyl's denial.
Is it 
OR 
?
Jon Kyl - (202) 224-4521 Judd Gregg - (202) 224-3324
Use this comment form to tell us what you find.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) refuses to tell his constituents if they are anonymously blocking the non-controversial electronic filing bill, S.223. Why won't Judd Gregg come clean and either admit or deny? The only assumption to be made is that Gregg is blocking the bill. It's a shame that Kyl and Gregg have to hide in his office behind staff assistants who know little of what is going on. Come out in the open and answer the question: are you blocking S.223?
Kyl or Gregg? Who is it?
We've narrowed our list down to three Senators: Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), and Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH). Our callers have been vigorously calling these offices to try and track down the Senator anonymously blocking Sen. Russ Feingold's electronic filing bill. We may be ready to cross Sen. Gregg's name off the list as we have received a few responses from callers like this one from Sunlight caller PH: "In Sen. Gregg's office, staff memember "Tim" said, to my knowledge Sen. Gregg did not place the secret hold on S. 223." Sen. Gregg is still a suspect. Sen. Vitter's office appears to have been deluged with calls over this as the press secretary's mailbox is completely full with calls about the blocked bill.[Vitter says "NO" - PB]
Sen. Kyl's office appears to be the most evasive with staffers saying things like, "it's a secret hold, so it's a secret," and, "we have no public statement to make." Another caller to Kyl's office noted that the staffer said that Sen. Feingold knows and that we should ask him. Feingold, however, denies having been told who the Senator is in this blog post. Keep the pressure on! Use this comment form to notify us of your interactions with staff and your findings.
Continue readingFinish the Job. 3 Senators Remain.
This post has been updated to reflect corrections made by the offices of Sens. Thad Cochran and Jim DeMint. - PB.
There are only 3 Senators who refuse to state if they have a hold or an objection to S. 223, the campaign finance electronic filing bill. Let’s finish the job and call their offices. There is no reason remaining for any Senator who does not have a hold or objection on this bill to continue to remain silent. Either admit or deny. The 3 Senators' contact info is below. Use this contact form to let us know what you find. If you come across any problems or statements like “There is no hold” here are some pointers to take into account:
- The office of Sen.
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)John Ensign (R-NV) [Ensign not Kyl. - PB] has repeatedly told us that the Republican policy for secret holds is to reveal the culprit after 72 hours. By my count it has been way past 72 hours since the hold went into effect. - If the Senator who placed a hold on the bill by making an objection seriously wanted to review the bill they have now had an entire week to review the bill. It only says one thing: Senators, all of whom already use the software necessary to do so, will file their campaign finance reports electronically.
Finish the job and call these remaining 3 Senators now!
Continue reading12 Senators Left! Keep Calling.
Major media outlets are reporting that the Senator in question is definitely a Republican. Since we know that the Senator is a Republican we can narrow down our search to the remaining 12 Republican Senators. Help find the anonymous Senator and call these 12 Senators today. I’ve separated them into two groups. One group contains Republican cosponsors of the bill that have not made a statement yet. It is highly unlikely that any of these Senators have blocked the bill but it is still worth getting a statement out of them. The second group is our Main Suspects list. These Senators aren’t cosponsors and have either not been contacted or refuse to divulge information. It is time to put pressure on these 10 Senators. Just in case a staffer tells you there is no hold let them know that Sen. DeMint's office confirmed that there is a hold to one our callers. Who is the anonymous Senator blocking S. 223? It’s time to find out. Use this contact form to let us know or leave your findings in the comments.
59063
