Bruce Fein Quotes

The overarching purpose of access to information legislation … is to facilitate democracy. It does so in two related ways. It helps to ensure first, that citizens have the information required to participate meaningfully in the democratic process, and secondly, that politicians and bureaucrats remain accountable to the citizenry.

The effective functioning of our constitutional democracy depends upon the participation in public life of a citizenry that is well informed

I have been instructed by cabinet and caucus members at our last secret meeting that we need more openness in government, but, like, not too much.

Democracy is based on the idea that the people rule and that the best decisions are made in public view.

Democracy requires that those who bear the consequences of decisions have enough knowledge to hold the decision-makers accountable.

In general it can be said that any political or other social system that relies on secrecy does not work efficiently.

In Ethiopia, democracy is in its infancy and it must be nurtured along by its leaders.

Democracy has always been in crisis: democracy is all about practicing the art of bearable dissatisfaction. In democratic societies, people often complain about their leaders and their institutions. The gap between the ideal democracy and the existing one cannot be bridged.

If you present good government, then elections look after themselves.

Legislating should be done in a manner that is understandable to the governed.

Dialoging is the first principle of good government.

Elections alone will never be enough to ensure good governance.

… a guarantee of public access to government information is indispensable in the long run for any democratic society.... if officials make public only what they want citizens to know, then publicity becomes a sham and accountability meaningless.

Government is the creature of the people, and that which they have created they surely have a right to examine.

Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.

In the democratic countries generally, the great body of citizens are refusing to wait until negotiations are over or policies are acted upon or even determined. They demand to know what is going on and to have an opportunity to express their opinions at all stages of diplomatic proceedings…. public opinion will be increasingly not merely the ultimate judge but an immediate and active force in negotiation.

The government being the people’s business, it necessarily follows that its operations should be at all times open to public view.

Right to Information is a small concrete step in making our polity more democratic.

Beyond providing some level of scrutiny of Kenyan MPs, we built Mzalendo to demonstrate that there is only so much bemoaning you can do about your representation.

A functioning democracy cannot stand when its people do not trust their leaders to uphold the law.

I'm ready to be insulted as being insufficiently democratic, but I want to be serious ... I am for secret, dark debates.

Good ideas are the backbone of good government.

In a democracy, citizens pass judgment on their government, and if they are kept in the dark about what their government is doing, they cannot be in a position to make well-grounded decisions.

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.

Government, in the last analysis, is organized opinion. Where there is little or no public opinion, there is likely to be bad government.