Politics

Party Rules

By John Wonderlich

It's been widely reported that the House Republicans have recently posted their conference rules online for the first time.

While this isn't an earth shattering revelation, it's also a praiseworthy shift from the secrecy that surrounds the House party committees.  There's no good reason to hide the rules that govern Republican or Democratic Members' behavior, and House Republicans are right to recognize this by posting their rules online.  The House Democratic Caucus should follow suit.

I intended to praise the Senate Republicans for having posted their Conference Rules online, as they have since at least 2008.  Unfortunately, it looks like they're no longer posted.  An oversight, or a step backward?

Similar to House Democrats, I don't think Senate Democrats have ever posted their rules online.

(In case this is confusing, the chamber-wide Rules of the House and Senate are each posted online.  The party organizations of each chamber have separate, additional rules that govern leadership elections, chairmanship, and additional rules of conduct.)

Full post as published by Sunlight Foundation on December 20, 2010 (boomark / email).