Transparency is a Beautiful Thing

Sarah seems to be watching the Glasswing Butterfly (Greta Oto) appearing to take wing from her folded hands. The tissue between the veins of its wings looks like glass. Transparent wings on a butterfly represent Sarah Palin’s transparency as a political servant.

Obama’s transparency looks a little like this:

Obama’s Transportation Sec'y Meeting Behind Closed Doors With Union Officials Who Want to ‘Fix’ the Airline Industry - Thursday, November 12, 2009

Obama, Bibi meet behind closed doors - November 10, 2009

Obama’s ‘Transparency’ Behind Closed Doors? - October 26, 2009

Obama and Democrats: Deceptive Actions Behind Closed Doors! – November 9, 2009

Obama's day: Behind closed doors – November 9, 2009

“Democracies die behind closed doors.” – January 23, 2009

End the Practice of Writing Legislation Behind Closed Doors – February 11, 2009

Obama, Reid, Pelosi burn billions behind closed doors – February 11, 2009

Obviously, we know there are times when it is legitimate for the President to have meetings behind closed doors. I fully expect our national security to be handled with kid gloves behind closed doors for example. The samples above may or may not be legitimate, but that was just one page of one search using the keywords “Obama behind closed doors.”

This is not to specifically point a finger at Obama. Who am I kidding? Of course, it is to specifically point a finger at Obama. It highlights the difference between Obama’s style of governing and Sarah Palin’s style of governing.



Gov. Palin’s open door policy - November 14, 2008

Governor Palin Takes President Obama to School – September 20, 2009

These are just two of the examples I found using the keywords “Palin’s open door policy.” From her book, “Going Rogue: An American Life” comes the best example of her stance on transparency in government.

During our first week of conferencing with the oil executives, every man – and they were all men – who entered that room knew things had changed. I made a point of saying, “We’re leaving the door open.” (Page 128, Going Rogue: An American Life, Sarah Palin, Harper-Collins Publishing)

The oil executives who marched into Governor Palin’s office that day were not expecting to hear that. They were accustomed to “the good old boys” club that had existed with other administrations. Palin fooled them. Just as she fooled many from the old school while she was Governor of Alaska.

This is the kind of transparency we as citizens of the United States have a right to expect from our elected officials, from the seemingly least important election to the most important. Most of us are not stupid. I do question the intelligence of some of the people who voted for Obama, but that’s another story. We can understand almost anything you tell us. All we ask is that you tell us the truth.

When I think of keeping things from the American people, one of the first things that comes to my mind is whether or not an alien spacecraft actually crash landed near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. It is totally irrelevant to me whether it did or not. What bothers me is that if it did, our government has hidden the facts from us.

I suppose at some point in our lives we have all played the game of “Secrets.” One child will whisper a word or a short phrase to the next child who passes it to the next and on down the line. It almost never happens that the word or phrase that comes out at the end of the line is what started at the beginning.

That is the truest example of all those behind closed doors meetings that formulated what the “Harry Reid Troupe” calls “Affordable Health Care for All Americans.” Both the end of the game and the health care bill are misrepresentations of the facts. Why was that done behind closed doors? Why wasn’t one Republican asked for input? What makes Harry Reid think he will be reelected?

We need to return a little transparency and trust to our elected officials. I take that back. We would settle for ANY transparency and trust in our elected officials. Right now, we have none of either. That’s exactly what they’ve asked us to do by holding entirely too many closed door meetings.

Come on, Ladies and Gentlemen in the American Congress. Pull a Sarah Palin.

Go Rogue with the American people. Try some transparency on us and watch us fly with the truth.