Ok, so Open Gov is coming into the government in bigger and better ways — a lot of it thanks to the Obama Administration. Kudos.
Now, the bad side: lots of people are pissed at Obama. If Open Gov becomes too associated with Obama and he loses 2 years from now, Open Gov may suffer a serious setback. In fact, Open Gov could suffer as soon as the Congressional Midterms.
So what’re you going to do about it? Well, it’s time you starting thinking about Open Gov Backup Plans.
In short, we need to ensure Open Gov becomes at least partially infused in federal culture. How this will happen, I honestly don’t know…but we don’t have a lot of time.
Start thinking people.
Make the idea of OpenGov nonpartisan. I am certain there are enough members in both parties that agree with the goals of OpenGov (transparency, accountability, and effectiveness). We also need to build up a critical mass of citizens who want OpenGov no matter who is in power. So, keep pushing for OpenGov and celebrate our successes.
Been thinking about this a lot lately, Sterling…for better or worse, Open Gov is intertwined with the Obama Administration, given the Day 1 dedication to the cause. It’s very likely that the movement will be slowed down in agencies after the mid-terms as some folks feel emboldened to dig in and hold out ’til 2012 when all this newfangled citizen engagement could go away and we can get back to “normal”. I’m not typically cynical either! Eternal optimist…but it’s looking grim.
@Andrew. Right, so we need to make as much of a push as we can in the next few months and try to make our gains last while pushing on.
I think a big part about separating the Open Gov movement from the Obama administration is moving it to a local and state level. If we get it out of the federal umbrella and into state’s and smaller communities and into people’s everyday life then people will be used to it and will force whatever administration is in office to continue the trend via how we vote.
@Stephen. Great idea! It sounds like we need to start connecting with more state and local officials then. If you have a friend in state and local gov, talk to them about this. Just don’t push it — they’ll resent that.