Wikicountability: New Watchdog on the Block
Throughout his campaign, and again following his inauguration, President Obama pledged that "transparency and the rule of law" would be the "touchstones of this presidency."
We can now count that among many undelivered campaign promises.
In actuality, there exists very little incentive for the president to keep himself, his administration, or his party accountable. What sounded like the right thing to say in stump speeches just isn't practical or advantageous or worth his time. And that's why it falls to the fourth estate to counter government opacity and to act as a watchdog against government abuses. But as far as holding our current administration accountable, the press seems utterly uninterested in doing its job (with a few notable exceptions, of course).
Enter Crossroads GPS, which Politico's Mike Allen describes as a "monster GOP outside group," that has today launched a new online platform, wikicountability.org, to crowd-source Obama administration data. According to the organization's press release,
Wikicountability.org, which is designed to crowd-source information gleaned from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and other public documents by organizations, individuals and journalists. The wiki site will facilitate efficient sharing of public information about the Obama Administration, as well as spotlight violations of FOIA by the Obama Administration.
The new initiative is designed to make federal departments and agencies more accountable to the public. Groups and individuals will be able to upload their own FOIA requests and responses to the website, creating a national clearinghouse for data concerning the Obama Administration.
Among the shady dealings already uncovered by Wikicountability on its first day in operation:
- The Andy Griffith ad promoting Obamacare last year cost taxpayers $3.66 million – including $404,000 in production costs – according to records obtained from HHS in an FOIA request earlier this year.
- Labor Secretary Hilda Solis met with union bosses or attended their events on more than 40 separate occasions from February 2009-January 2010.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head Elizabeth Warren made time for dinner with far-left anti-business journalists such as American Prospect’s Bob Kuttner, Mother Jones’ David Corn, and DailyKos.com’s Markos Moulitsas.
The Obama administration owes Wikicountability a debt of gratitude for helping it live up to its promise of accountability.
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Comments :
May '10
Re: Wikicountability: New Watchdog on the Block
The Andy Griffith ad reminds me of the PR campaign that taxpayers are funding in Australia to convince them of the necessity of a carbon tax. Shouldn't it be illegal for the government to fund ad campaigns on political issues? We should certainly resent paying for people to lecture us on how wrong we are.
What the heck is a touchstone, anyway? Is that something most people have? Should I get a touchstone, or is it OK just to have a surge protector? Seems like a touchstone is something people can easily do without. Like Obama and accountability.
May '10
Re: Wikicountability: New Watchdog on the Block
President Obama's pastor Rev. Jermiah Wright speaks truth about the Obama he knows: This in 2008 to Bill Moyers, after Obama threw Wright under the bus. "WRIGHT: It went down very simply. He's a politician, I'm a pastor. We speak to two different audiences. And he says what he has to say as a politician. I say what I have to say as a pastor. But they're two different worlds. I do what I do. He does what politicians do. So that what happened in Philadelphia where he had to respond to the sound bytes, he responded as a politician." Rev. Wright: Obama A Politician
This is to me is code for Obama is programed to tell the people what he needs to in order to get elected, but not necessarily what he means he'll do.
Edited on Mar 23, 2011 at 3:53pmDec '10
Re: Wikicountability: New Watchdog on the Block
That video is vomit inducing. I try not to become hysteric about this administration. Therefore I try to remain very calm as I explain to my kids that we're living under perhaps the most lawless, ideologically stealthy and masterfully Orwellian government, certainly in my lifetime and possibly in the nation's history.
My little family has an ironic compliment we pay to the leftists among us... "they mean well." Even my 9-year-old gets it.
May '10
Re: Wikicountability: New Watchdog on the Block
And this is why the Citizens United decision was berated by the White House. Anything that forces Democrats to play defense interrupts the Message-a-Matic (TM), that overworked device that keeps leftist politicians and leftist interest groups in sync & dominating the airwaves.
Crossroads conveys that President Obama is very human and far from perfect. This cannot be tolerated by Progressives, who depend so completely on the personality cult that makes Progressive politicians something other than politicians.
Dec '10
Re: Wikicountability: New Watchdog on the Block
Thanks Diane -
It's getting to the point that whenever Obama says "make no mistake" or "let me be clear" I see a big fat curve ball coming our way. Oleneo65 added an exclamation point to your argument. Now that I'm done watching the video, I need to take some asprin.