Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper Defends Comment to Time on Transparency's Drawbacks

Comments Gov. John Hickenlooper made last week to Time magazine about the difficulties of legislating in the modern era of constant media attention are being used against him by Republicans.

 
Hickenlooper on Friday told a Time reporter during the National Governors Association meeting in Milwaukee that well-intentioned initiatives for government transparency have made government and lawmakers less effective.
 
"We elect these people to make these difficult decisions, but now they are in the full light of video every time they make a decision," Hickenlooper said. "We elected these people, let them go back into a room like they always did."
 
On Wednesday, he expanded on what he told Time, saying he wasn't talking about state or local government. He said his comments were about Congress and the reasons for gridlock, suggesting that open government has opened the doors for special-interest groups and lobbyists to influence lawmaking.
 
"At no point did I suggest that we should embrace back rooms," he said, adding that he was telling the reporter about the ideas proffered by columnist Fareed Zakaria.