Burns Says, "Turn The Cameras Off"

Outbound Montana Senator Conrad Burns suggested in his farewell speech on December 7, 2006 that they should "turn off that eye" that covers Senate floor action. He says that the Senate is best in executive session, when the camera is off, and that the level of debate and deliberation in the Senate is not as good as it used to be.

I am wondering why our public representatives would be afraid or hesitant or unwilling to engage in public debate. We pay these folks' salaries. There is plenty of time for them to cut deals and have arguments behind doors. But bills and amendments thereto should be debated out in the open so that the constituents can assess whose position is the most appropriate for the country or that voter's district. It is also true that even if the cameras went off, any debate not in executive session would still be printed in the Congressional Record, so it's not like none of the debate would be recorded.

The cameras in the Senate and the House are a public service, and allow me to be more informed about our leaders and the issues facing our country. What I would suggest instead is that the Senate step up and actually engage debates and not worry about who is watching. Burns, an Abramoff crony, is probably worried that the wrong special interest is going to get hold of a tape where he says what he actually believes, and that he would turn someone off and lose a campaign contribution.

Plus, you know, the public is still allowed to come in and view debate in-person on the floor, and the press is always there taking notes. So I don't see what Burns's point is. These Senators, especially the cadre characterized by the outbound likes of Frist and Burns, need to worry more about passing basic spending bills than making sweet farewells and suggestions that the public be cut off from its deliberative body's debates.