Obama to McCain: No Thanks on Reform Task ForceIn a sign that many Democrats continue to view ethics as a potent political issue in the midterm elections, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Thursday rejected an effort by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to form a bipartisan task force to develop compromise reform legislation."I know you have expressed an interest in creating a task force to further study and discuss these matters but
I and others in the Democratic Caucus believe the more effective and timely course is to allow the committees of jurisdiction to roll up their sleeves and get to work on writing ethics and lobbying reform legislation that a majority of the Senate can support," Obama wrote in a Feb. 2 letter to McCain.
Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said that
since the goal of the reform effort is to make government more transparent, the idea of a working group or task force conducting business behind closed doors was not appealing to his boss. "You don't need a commission," Gibbs said. "What you need most of all is a commitment from the leadership to bring this issue to the floor as quickly as possible."
-snip-
Democrats have made no secret of their belief that congressional Republicans' alleged "culture of corruption" is one of the key elements of their strategy to make major gains at the ballot box in November. Signing onto legislation with McCain -- a beloved figure among independents and even many Democrats -- would jeopardize the party's ability to draw bright distinctions in the midterm election campaign. http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/02/democrats_tell_.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
