Thursday, October 12, 2006

Camera Shy?

So it looks like Darcy Burner isn’t so hot for free speech or transparency in government after all.

Contrast this with how Mike McGavick handled the camera stalker from the Democratic Party. I wonder where Darcy’s outrage was back then?

It has to be really irritating to be under that kind of constant scrutiny – I don’t blame her for not loving it. I think it’s a lame and rude tactic, frankly. But she chose to thrust herself in the public sphere for our consideration – no one twisted her arm. And voters have the right to access and parse her public statements, irrespective of her desire to tightly control the “message” and the means by which it's distributed.

And she should have stayed in law school a little longer. Her argument that RCW 9.73.030(1)(b) prevents a citizen from recording a public political event is absurd. But even if she had some remote legal standing, if her ideas are strong enough, she should welcome any forum that will give them time. McGavick’s not afraid. What is Darcy afraid of?

This is just one more indication that she’s not ready for prime time. This reeks of petulance and elitism, without even a whiff of commitment to open and transparent access to government officials. How sad to see two days after her strong words in the debate about needing a free and open marketplace of ideas.

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