Very few ideas coming out of Washington, D.C., win instant praise from both the left and the right. But a proposal by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to create a searchable public database on the Internet of virtually all government spending has both liberal and conservative interest groups cheering - and salivating at the prospect of digging up data to prove their respective points about federal programs.
No wonder. This could be the Holy Grail of open government. It's a terrific idea that could stir an honest nationwide debate, not only about the particulars of federal contracts and grants, but about the philosophy behind what government does.
Some of Coburn's colleagues in Congress don't think it's such a terrific idea. They fear that giving the public easy access to such details might open a Pandora's box. Good. There's nothing wrong with searching for - and shining a light on - waste, pork, double-dealing and conflicts of interest. Let the cheats fall where they may.
"Sunshine's the best thing we've got to control waste, fraud and abuse," said Coburn, whose plan is co-sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. "It's also the best thing we've got to control stupidity."
Of course, various ideologies would use the database to grind their own axes and spin their own points. Conservative watchdog groups hope to show that government spends too much and wastes much of what it spends. Liberal groups want to expose hidden relationships and use the data to prove that an activist government does good things for people. So be it. The contest of ideas should be free-wheeling and well-informed.
The across-the-board interest in Coburn's idea demonstrates that openness and accountability in government aren't liberal or conservative or Republican or Democratic concepts. They're American concepts.
