Ethics In Public Office
Robert P. Watson
From 2002 to 2006, the Republican leadership in Congress allowed the ethics laws to be watered down. Republican leader Tom DeLay of Texas used the loopholes to avoid punishment for a host of blatant and arrogant abuses of power such as diverting funds from charities to his own political purposes and funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to members of his family.
If Congress gets universal health care, then so should the public. If members of Congress give themselves pay raises, then we can raise the minimum wage. If members of Congress award themselves with lucrative
retirement plans, then they had better let our Social Security alone.
So many members of Congress enjoy taking luxurious "political junkets" to exotic locations that are paid for by lobbyists and special interests. Is this the type of values we want representing us? In the real world, how often have you been approached by an attorney you don’t even know who promises to pay for you and your family to visit Thailand or Ireland? It doesn’t happen in the real world and it should not happen in politics. I see no reason why golfing with political cronies at the world’s most exclusive resorts or taking trips abroad would help me to balance the budget, reduce the cost of prescription drugs, or improve the quality of our schools.
Members of Congress also give themselves free mailing (known as the "franking" privilege), health care, big pay raises, and multiple, attractive retirement plans. Yet, they won’t extend these same benefits to individuals. For instance, we should provide families with sons and daughters serving in war zones to have free monthly mailings that are paid for by the Pentagon. One such reason is the inexcusable decision by our political leaders to not provide adequate armor on the Humvees and personnel carriers in Iraq and Afghanistan. This has resulted in thousands of deaths, injuries, and amputations. Soldiers have been forced to scavenge in Baghdad’s dumps for metal to rig as armor, while their families back stateside resorted to buying bullet-proof Kevlar vests on E-bay and mailing them (at great personal cost) to their children serving on the front lines.
We need leaders who will live by the adage that if it is good enough for Congress then it is good enough for the people. If Congress gets universal health care, then so does the public. If members of Congress give themselves pay raises, then we can raise the minimum wage. And if members of Congress award themselves with several lucrative retirement plans, then they had better let our Social Security alone.
When politicians accept millions of dollars from big corporate PACs what they compromise their independence. Every dollar in political bribes comes with strings attached in the form of political IOUs, preventing elected officials from promoting ethics and campaign finance reform or voting their conscience and the community’s best interest. It is time we begin to call big corporate contributions what they reall are...legalized bribery.
Why would anyone think that longtime politicians would suddenly promote true ethics and reform? They haven’t in the past, they are not now, and they will not in the future. It is time for voters to take control of the matter by electing a different kind of politician.
Elected office is, in my opinion, a sacred trust. Representing the public is a serious matter demanding that those in public office do so with integrity and honor. I believe politicians too often forget that they are our employees, our servants. Let us begin to look for alternatives to the same old "politics as usual" and fix this problem by getting rid of those who created the problem.
