In the Alaska Constitution Article II Section 12, the direction to formulate legislative rules of procedure for effective lawmaking is amplified by this command: “The Legislature shall regulate lobbying.” If regulating lobbying was not part of effective legislative procedure, this provision would have been placed elsewhere in the Constitution for use. Furthermore, even the public instinctively understands that unregulated lobbying sabotages representative government.
Therefore, you’d think that this constitutional command would have prompted some legislative rules for lawmakers about regulating lobbying. But the published text of Alaska State Legislative Rules proves that all legislatures since statehood have sidestepped doing so.
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What could really be done about corruption, and lobbyists having more influence than citizens? Using constitutional authority, our legislature could pass a rule (a law is unnecessary) using Theodore Roosevelt’s successful practices toward improper special interest power (see his first State of the Union Address). It could read: “Any verbal, electronic, visual or written communication to any legislator from any group or individual must promptly be made public record with rare, supervised exceptions.”
This remedy has been available to know and use for decades. Why are politicians so unconscious of honesty and transparency that they won’t use our political heritage or the simple power of learning from the past?
Stuart Thompson
Wasilla
Comments
10 comment(s)Thats what I thought wrote on Jan 6, 2009 3:24 PM:
To the real uneducated observer wrote on Jan 5, 2009 6:03 PM:
ya just dont get it wrote on Jan 5, 2009 3:37 PM:
You can type 'BIPARTISAN' in big ole cap letters as many times as you want but it doesn't make it the truth any more than typing 'BLUE CHEESE' makes it what the moon is made of! I guess you don't read too much! The legislative body that did thier little witch hunt was headed by a self-proclaimed anti-Palin Democrat former rival, he promised a verdict before the investigation was over (give me a break!), and the ONLY group with the authority to investigate was the Personnel Board! But now I suppose you'll change the subject again? "
To the real uneducated Observer wrote on Jan 5, 2009 3:01 PM:
to Uneducated Observer wrote on Jan 4, 2009 9:43 PM:
to to an Uneducated Observer wrote on Jan 4, 2009 10:38 AM:
to an uneducated Observer wrote on Jan 3, 2009 11:34 AM:
An Observer wrote on Jan 2, 2009 9:59 PM:
Patriot wrote on Dec 30, 2008 3:58 PM:
Shame on you for using the words honest and politician in the same sentence. "
Ben C wrote on Dec 30, 2008 9:42 AM: