Official Politics

For elected officials, there is a line between official duties and political activity. But there is one area that is greyer than others in that distinction: party activity.

Party activity is focused on political positioning, message coordination, and advancing a party's agenda by winning votes. Much of these activities can be more efficiently achieved through the web. Further still, the best means to reach the narrow target band is by establishing an intranet. The Senate Republican Conference appears to have fully embraced intranet technology and associate applications, impressing Nielsen and generating buzz through innovative incorporation of mobile technology. Deep in content and features, the Conference site is a standard bearer for online party activity in the Congress.

Intranets are tricky, though. Politically sensitive information involving legislative strategy and policy positions is not information that either party would desire to be available for public consumption, yet it is crucial for effective party activity. Intranets are thus an ideal tool to reach a limited and relatively secure and known audience. However, the taxpayers foot the bill for the official expenses of this activity. Is there an obligation for to maintain public access to all party building activities conducted at the taxpayer's expense?