Darkness before Sunlight

I was pointed to the Sunlight Foundation yesterday to learn that a Senator has placed one of those double secret holds on a piece of legislation. The legislation is simple, and cures an outdated ill of the Senate's current FEC reporting process. WaPo explains:

Instead of filing forms electronically, as candidates for president do, senators print their reports and deliver them to the clerk's office. The staff scans them into a computer so they can be electronically transmitted to the Federal Election Commission. The FEC then prints the forms again and hires workers to type the data into a database so it can finally be made public online.

You would think the party of small efficient government would embrace this upgrade in procedure. However, that is not what is happening:

(B)efore Feingold's bill could move forward, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) rose and announced, "Mr. President, on behalf of a Republican senator, I object."

Steven Weissman, a Campaign finance reform advocate, paints a pretty clear picture:

"Secrecy is being used to reinforce secrecy."

Ahhhh . . . the New GOP, what's good for the goose, shouldn't apply to the gander!

Flash