We the People?

I usually avoid commenting on the day's political bickering but this subject seems to be more far-reaching. Currently the healthcare bills passed by the Senate and the House back in December are in reconciliation. The Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the House and other congressional leaders get together and determine how they are going to combine the two health bills. Once they've combined the two to their heart's content they send the bill to the House and then the Senate for a vote. Once it passes in both chambers the bill goes to the president to be signed. So in the bill's current stage no votes are taken and no amendments are given but the end result of the bill is in great flux. Given this fact, who should have access to the proceedings?

While on the campaign trail candidate Obama promised to "broadcast heathcare negotiations on CSPAN so the American people can see what the choices are." Well, clearly he isn't doing that. That is at least one campaign promise down the drain. Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't a partisan criticism, Republican politicians do it all the time too. Unfortunately, it is something we've all just come to expect. But the situation does beg the question, how transparent should government be?

Showing the healthcare negotiations on CPAN would definitely slow the process down as lobbyists and other organizations try to work their influence. Keeping the negotiations behind closed doors allows Reid and Pelosi the opportunity to do their work without interruption. But doesn't overhauling 1/5 of our nation's economy at least merit showing the public what is going on? The taxpayers are going to pay for it, shouldn't they be allowed to at least know what they're going to be paying for as the bill develops?

Now this brings me to the bigger issue. How responsive should our representatives be to the people they represent? Should a congressman always vote as he believes his constituents would want? Should a president broadcast more of the meetings and other negotiations that form our laws? I recognize there needs to be a balance, but I believe in more transparency and not less. Our nation has developed to a point where we have career politicians who really don't have much of an idea what is going on in main street America. We seem to be represented by an elite class of individuals who don't represent but rather dictate. Now I recognize that it isn't completely every politicians fault. Our election finance laws and other regulations have created the beast over the years. I am afraid though that when the framers of the Constitution changed the wording of the preamble from "we the undersigned representatives" to "we the people" they actually understood where the power lies. In the hands of the people. Today, I'm afraid those in government have forgotten that.