Secretly Fighting Open Government

One of the most loathsome Senate rules is the one that allows a US Senator to block legislation anonymously. That's the rule Senator John Kyl (R-AZ) hid behind to stop an improvement to the Freedom of Information Act. From an AP report published in the May 31, 2007 Sacramento Bee:

Advocates of a bill promoting openness in government are fuming that a Republican senator is blocking a vote on the measure.

Dozens of journalism and advocacy groups supporting the Open Government Act say it would speed up the government's response to public requests for information under the federal Freedom of Information law.

But Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., says the Justice Department has "uncharacteristically strong" objections to the bill. In a statement Thursday, he said he will block a vote until both sides can work out the differences. [Emphasis added}

Oh, I'm sure DOJ has quite a few objections to the bill, given the current mess it finds itself in, but that certainly is no reason to stop Congress from trying to clean up that mess, especially when the bill involved has bipartisan support. And if Senator Kyl is so obsessed with the importance of keeping DOJ happy, why did he do so anonymously? Is he embarrassed by his stance? Here's what it took to 'out' him:

Kyl revealed his identity Thursday, days after the bill's backers launched an e-mail and telephone campaign, urging supporters to help in "smoking out 'Senator Secrecy.'" They pointed out the irony that an open government bill was being blocked using a rule that allowed secrecy.

Well, if he wasn't embarrassed by his stance before, he certainly should be now.

Moron.