Obama, de Blasio Have Turned Out to be Hypocrites When It Comes to Government Transparency

Obama double
(Examiner.com)

The New York Post is calling out progressives for their hypocritical stance on government accountability, citing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and President Obama as the most obvious culprits.

De Blasio and Obama have both criticized their predecessors for keeping the public in the dark, and have pledged to bring increased transparency. But as the Post points out, neither have kept their word.

“Last year, as a public advocate, (de Blasio) unveiled a ‘Transparency Report Card’ accusing Bloomberg-era city agencies of failing to ‘obey the law and make records public,’” according to the Post editorial. “But a new report from the Associated Press says that ‘from the first moments’ of his mayoralty, Bill de Blasio has ‘established a record of frequently conducing public business in private, with dozens of events closed to the press.’”

De Blasio has reportedly blocked media or limited media access to at least 83 events, prompting Associated Press Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll to quip during a recent speech to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press that “It’s clear that the most-used rubber stamp in his office is the one that says ‘closed to the press.’”

In total, more than 20 percent of de Blasio’s events during his first five months in office have been closed meetings, according to Breitbart News.

The Post’s op-ed also takes aim at Obama’s hypocrisy on transparency.
(more…)

 

Thanks for sharing!