Quote of the day: We're not surprised that Rep.-elect Kirsten Gillibrand is taking a radical step toward airing out the workings of government

Is this a great picture, or what? We couldn't resist reprinting this photo, first seen on DWT in October when Howie wrote a post titled "Kirsten Gillibrand: NY-20 Making the Move Towards a Serious Congressional Representative." He wrote then: "Kirsten is ready for real leadership, and will be on the team that is tasked with cleaning up the horrendous mess made by Bush and rubber-stamp nitwits like [Rep. John] Sweeney."

As we all know, Kirsten indeed went on to unseat the "rubber-stamp nitwit" Sweeney in November. And so far, she gives every evidence of taking her congressional responsibilities, well, seriously. Now, it appears, she's even leading a revolution:

"It is a quiet touch of revolution. The level of transparency pledged by [Rep.-elect Kirsten] Gillibrand, Democrat of New York--down to naming lobbyists and fund-raisers among those she might meet with--is simply unheard of in Congress. The secrecy that cloaks the dealings of lawmakers and deep-pocket special interests underpinned the corruption issue that Ms. Gillibrand invoked as voters turned Republicans from majority rule last month.
--from an editorial in today's New York Times

The New York Times
December 14, 2006
Editorial

Congress and the Benefits of Sunshine

At first, the innovation sounds simple enough: Representative-elect Kirsten Gillibrand has decided to post details of her work calendar on the Internet at the end of each day so constituents can tell what she is actually doing for their money.

In fact, it is a quiet touch of revolution. The level of transparency pledged by Ms. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York--down to naming lobbyists and fund-raisers among those she might meet with--is simply unheard of in Congress. The secrecy that cloaks the dealings of lawmakers and deep-pocket special interests underpinned the corruption issue that Ms. Gillibrand invoked as voters turned Republicans from majority rule last month.

For all the worthy proposals for ethics reform being hashed out by the incoming Congress, a heavy dose of Internet transparency should not be overlooked in the effort to repair lawmakers' tattered credibility. The technology is already there, along with the public's appetite for more disclosure about the byways of power in Congress.

The Web is increasingly wielded by both campaign donors and bloggers clicking and tapping as wannabe muckrakers. Politicians would be wise to catch up. Local citizens were enlisted to track pork-barrel abuses in the last campaign by a new watchdog organization, the Sunlight Foundation, which enlisted Ms. Gillibrand's disclosure pledge. It aims to have voters use the Internet as an engine of political information.

Much more than disclosure is needed to cure the Capitol's ills--particularly some sort of independent agency to prod Congress to fully investigate corruption allegations. But prompt, searchable postings of basic data--from lobbyists' itineraries and expenses to incumbents' donor ties and legislative labors--should be part of any corruption cure. In the information age, this amounts to a modest proposal for a Congress truly intent on reform.

If you're wondering where Representative-elect Gillibrand is getting these wild ideas, check out the Sunlight Foundation's website, where a short list of three proposals "achievable in the short term" is set out:

We have a long list of ideas we'd like to see Congress pursue along these lines: proposals like publishing their official calendar would be at the top of that list, so too would be applying FOIA to Congress. But we are realistic in what we think can be achieved at this point in time and so we have identified three specific priorities for the incoming Congress. They would all create meaningful change, and we believe they are achievable in the short term.