THE OTHER DAY, I mentioned behind the scenes efforts to kill the lobbyist bundling reporting bill. Those seem to have failed, and the bill has passed the House by a wide margin. It could be stronger, but it’s at least a step forward. And note this observation:

By the way, that lopsided final vote to pass it also reflects a Washington phenomenon. As Fred Wertheimer told me in my update to that original post, “Floor votes are our friend.” If this had been a secret ballot, most people I talk to think it would have lost. But once it became clear it was going to pass, no one wanted to be publicly on record as defending the discredited status quo. There was a bipartisan stampede to be on the side of open government.

I do think that all the attention on these matters has helped. As I said in my earlier post, there’s a lot they don’t want the public to know. But they don’t want the public to know that . . . . (Via Kevin Drum).

UPDATE: Something for PorkBusters to aspire to? This success is nice, but I don’t think it’s quite in that league.