The media have been invaded by apologists for President Obama. In every way, Obama is protected. Even when he espouses traditional positions favored by those who want their government to work behind closed doors. Apparently, many liberals believe that having Obama in the White House and keeping Republicans out improves traditional liberal values and positions.

Since Obama has failed miserably from a liberal standpoint, using "kill lists" and taking other steps more reminiscent of at a minimum conservative (some would say fascist) positions, apparently the hope is that Obama's next term will be different. The hidden and unspoken (to most of us at least) promise is that Obama will change suddenly in his second term, fulfilling the promises he so freely provided before he was first elected.

I am a liberal. I have no qualms about this term, nor do I hide behind "progressive" because O'Reilly and many others have done their best to make this word anti-American.

But I cannot see anything I know of as liberal surviving during a second Obama term. Indeed, Obama has uniformly refused to govern in a way that would ensure that open government takes place, a position critical to everything liberal. Obama continues to assert that government must be secret. Obama and his fellow administrators have prosecuted "leaks" more than any other administration. And they have stiff-armed and stonewalled inquiries. They preclude finding the truth.

Doing so was against views previously held by Obama, the alleged "liberal" or "socialist" in the White House. No more.

Before the last election, Senator Richard Lugar was one of Obama's mentors. Lugar was as conservative as they come. No US Senator had a higher conservative rating by some of the rating institutions that pride themselves in ensuring that conservatives stay in power. A very few, including myself, believed that Obama was in fact very conservative himself.

So far, where really important issues to lawyers and the rule of law are concerned, Obama has in fact been very conservative. To at least some of us who are still "liberal."

Nowhere have the twin failures of liberal open government policies and pre-election promises been less liberal than in the Obama Administration's failure to produce information and documentation when his Administration is under investigation.

Perhaps many of you missed the decades of open government sought by liberals who advocated the various freedom of information, sunshine in government and other laws designed to force government to tell us what is happening behind closed doors, to require government to give us information it consistently kept from us. In many of these situations, US administrations not only did not give us the information, but they instead lied to us.

In times past, it was liberals who insisted on honesty and disclosure from our government. And conservatives who opposed these acts.

The most front and center arguments currently ongoing among those who previously claimed to be liberal and those who claim to be conservative are seen in the actions of Representative Darrell Issa as Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in connection with both a review of the use of the Freedom of Information Act and the still-ongoing Fast and Furious investigation.

Most Democrats argue that this is all "political." Of course it is. But on whose part? And for what purpose?

It seems that principles like open government, trial before death, and other merely silly and outdated concepts are no longer important to Democrats, especially those who adhere to the new Democratic Party. Democrats are now uninterested in the truth or open government. They are instead interested in protecting Holder and Obama.

How did this ever come to pass? When Cheney avoided identifying people providing information to our Executive about oil, who were possibly all members of the oil industry, the Supreme Court told us that this was protected. And we liberals gasped and disparaged that ruling.

Now, suddenly, when Obama wants to use the same arguments in the Fast and Furious investigation, extending them to any executive action of any form with or without him when the issue is "deliberative government," these same "liberal" Democrats advocate hiding the information and documents.

Representative Darrell Issa, who has led the Fast and Furious investigation, has also deplored the Administration's failure to live up to the Freedom of Information Act.

The Committee investigation revealed the vast chasm between President Obama’s promises of openness and accountability and the day-to-day management of Executive Branch agencies by those whom the president appointed to positions of administrative responsibility. The actions exposed in this report highlight not only the Administration’s failures to properly comply with FOIA statutes, but they disclose a concerted effort by DHS political staff to actively thwart a congressional investigation, hide abusive and embarrassing official behavior, and avoid both the shame of public scrutiny and potential criminal prosecution.

The latest effort is the claim that any action involving discussions within the US Government is privileged from disclosure by "executive privilege."

Let's hope that we can be told why the dangers of "witch hunting" far exceed the public's right to know. I would personally like to understand whether Democrats are actually liberals any more, or if they have changed places and faces with Republicans, who are now the liberal party.

But by far the most important issue at this point is whether, as Obama asserts, any documents in government can be withheld based on the claim of "deliberative process" concepts, or if the doctrine is more limited.

And if we are truly liberal, let's hope that we end up with a decision on this issue. From the US Supreme Court. Saying that everything must be produced except for a very narrow exception. In the interest of truth. In the interest of freedom. In the interest in owning our own government, including the US Department of Justice.

If decided according to the way liberals should want, we will find that very little protects the US government from seeing the light of day.

The Obama Administration's position is as conservative as you want. Indeed, it is fascist. Your government will let you know what we want you to know. Especially when it comes to the way we govern. That, according to Obama, is confidential.

Come on, Republicans. Show us how liberal you can be instead of caving with some promise of future cooperation. Get it all. Insist on it all.

Anything else would be too conservative.