Politics

This week may prove critical to the future of the National Labor Relations Board and the protection of workers’ fundamental rights. On Tuesday the NLRB announced that it would ask the Supreme Court to review the D.C. Circuit Court’s January 2013 Noel Canning decision, which ruled unconstitutional President Obama’s recess appointments to the Board in January 2012. And on Wednesday, the president met with Senate Democrats to discuss how to tackle ongoing Republican obstruction of his nominees to federal agencies, the courts and others.

As we mark the ninth annual National Sunshine Week, it’s important to remember that transparency in government is more than just a worthwhile goal — it is a necessary condition for a free and open society. “Sunlight,” as the saying goes, “is the best disinfectant.” In our country, that sunlight comes from “We the People,” who provide the ultimate check on the powers of the government. It is incumbent upon policymakers to make sure the windows stay open so that light can pour in.

Remember President Obama’s call to action on making governments open and transparent? OpenTheGovernment.org, which has coordinated United States participation in the Open Government Partnership the president touted, just released its evaluation report.
 
In his 2010 speech to the United Nations, the president said, “We know that countries are more likely to prosper when governments are accountable to their people. … In all parts of the world, we see the promise of innovation to make government more open and accountable. And now we must build on that progress. When we gather back here next year, we should bring specific commitments to promote transparency; to fight corruption; to energize civic engagement; to leverage new technologies that strengthen the foundations of freedom in our own countries while living up to the ideals that can light the world.” A year later, the president launched the Open Government Partnership, a global initiative to advance participating governments’ accountability to their people.

President Obama won re-election in what turned out to be a walk. But instead of it clearing the path for progress on his agenda, the path got muddied. The president initially reacted by reverting to campaign war footing, but recently shifted gears and went on a charm offensive when his popularity plummeted. Oh, the tale of woe that is the Obama White House. Has ever a president seemed so lost so fast in a second term?

Last month, former Democratic congressional candidate Dr. David Gill, his campaign committee, and my organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), sued the IRS for misinterpreting the Tax Code and creating a loophole that allows some tax-exempt organizations to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on political activity while keeping their donors secret.
 
According to federal law, groups seeking tax exempt status under section 501(c)(4) must be “operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare.”  The IRS, however, issued a regulation undermining this clear language by requiring such groups only to be “primarily engaged” in promoting social welfare. This has allowed some groups to conclude up to 49 percent of their overall activities may be political. The lawsuit simply asks the court to require the IRS to interpret and apply the law the way Congress wrote it.

After decades of struggle, American women earned constitutional protection of the right to vote in 1920 with the passage of the 19th amendment. Today we face a new challenge: equal representation in government. Without action, gender parity in government may be another century away.

With men holding 82 percent of U.S. House seats, the United States ranks 92nd, behind 91 other nations, in the percentage of women in its national legislature. Democrats have only a single woman governor, while the four Republican women governors all partly owe their success to backing from Sarah Palin when they won contested primaries in 2010. Women hold fewer than a quarter of state legislative seats, barely higher than their share two decades ago, and are mayors in just 12 of our 100 largest cities.

In the wake of the 2012 elections, one thing is abundantly clear – average American voters are sick and tired of bickering and gridlock in our political system. They are fed up with political brinksmanship and partisan agendas. They want leadership from a new age of statesmen and women, and they want progress and problem solving – the kind that has made our nation’s greatest achievements possible. And most importantly, they want it now. 
Voters are registering as independents in record numbers. These citizens are expressing their disdain with the current political dialogue by leaving the ranks of the Democratic and Republican parties, or foregoing them altogether. They are rejecting the lock-step mentality of partisan organizations in favor of forming their own opinions and making informed decisions.

Last month, just as financial institutions finished sending out the alphanumeric soup of IRS forms to Americans to file their tax returns, a group known as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued the taxman. Ordinarily, this type of action would be a cause to rejoice. But in this case, CREW was not acting on behalf of the taxpayers, but rather to grind a failed politician’s axe with the IRS’ regulation of 501(c)(4) organizations. On this issue, the IRS is like the broken clock that’s right twice a day. CREW, on the other hand, seems always to be futilely occupying the other 86,398 seconds.

In recent years, Virginia’s General Assembly has not distinguished itself as a serious or effective bipartisan legislature. In fact, the venerable reputation of the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere has devolved into something of a joke.

The sometimes stunning antics of the Republican-dominated General Assembly and Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell have provided plenty of comedic fodder for Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, and their late night counterparts.

As March marks the international celebration of Women’s History Month, this is an opportune time to reflect on how far we have come with women’s rights, and remember the work needed to proceed. While we in the United States celebrate our achievements, other women around the world are making history with their own accomplishments.