In Georgia, time to halt unlimited gifts from lobbyists
NOTE: A few weeks ago, my conservative colleague Kyle Wingfield and I were discussing the need to strengthen Georgia’s ethics laws, which put no limit on the value of gifts from lobbyists to legislators and make it difficult to hold state officials to modern standards of conduct.
We agreed that it’s an issue in which ideology should play no role and that offers common ground across the political spectrum. So we decided to adopt passage of a tougher ethics law as a joint project for this legislative session. We kick off that effort this week with columns in the Sunday AJC. (Kyle’s has been posted on his blog here.) As my column below explains, the key to success is voters getting involved and demanding to be heard.
———————
According to an AJC poll released a week ago, 72 percent of registered voters in Georgia believe there ought to be a legal limit on the value of gifts that lobbyists can give those whom we elect to represent us in the General Assembly.
Many state legislators don’t buy that claim. House Speaker David Ralston and others argue that they’ve seen no evidence of such support, and believe the public is satisfied with a system that allows lobbyists to shower politicians with gifts of unlimited value as long as those gifts are reported.
Who’s right?
For now, Ralston and his colleagues are right. Poll numbers are merely that — mute numbers on a page. Politicians respond to poll numbers only to the degree that they believe voters will act on them. If voters expect to be heard, they first have to speak.
In the speaker’s case, he accepted a $17,000 European vacation for himself and his family– all paid for by lobbyists — and aside from some bad publicity he has paid no political price for it. So if voters care, he’s been shown no evidence of that.
That has to change.
This year, the nonpartisan good-government groups Common Cause and the League of Women Voters have joined forces with the Tea Party movement and Georgia Watch to push a package of ethics reforms in Georgia that would include a $100 limit on the value of gifts to state elected officials. The goals also include restoring the authority and independence of the agency once known as the state Ethics Commission, which has been gutted by state officials unhappy with anybody looking over their shoulder.
Every one of our neighboring states — Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida — has adopted either outright bans on lobbyist gifts or limits that are much more strict than the proposed limit of $100 in Georgia. In other words, this is not some radical scheme; if adopted, we would still have the most generous gift limit in the region.
Bucking considerable pressure from their colleagues, legislators in both the House and Senate have agreed to champion a reform package. State Rep. Tommy Smith, a Republican from a rural district in southeast Georgia, said Thursday that he wants to help “make Georgia a state where the people out there who elect us have more influence than these lobbyists that walk the floor everyday.”
“We didn’t have a revolution so the special interests could run the government,” Smith said. “We had a revolution so people could run the government.”
Smith is chairman of the State Planning and Community Affairs Committee in the House, a post that Ralston can strip from him should he choose to do so. But Smith is nonetheless willing to take risk because he believes it’s important that legislators have “a wholesome and a correct fear of the people who sent us here.”
Right now, that fear does not exist. As one small measure of the problem, lobbyists spent more than $35,000 last year just taking state officials on golf outings. If you think that kind of behavior poses a problem, you need to say so.
Otherwise, your silence is interpreted as your permission.
– Jay Bookman
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© 2012 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
183 comments Add your comment
Look before I leap...
January 13th, 2012
7:13 am
It’s gonna take more than a poll and some articles on the AJC blog.
Politicians don’t easily give up largesse that benefits them personally.
Voters are going to need to write or email their reps consistently to demand limits and bans.
The reason the legislators feel that “reporting” is sufficient is because they are aware that the information is difficult to obtain, interpret and track, and that voters are in general fairly lazy. It only becomes an issue during election cycles and easily gets drowned out in the rhetoric surrounding the issue du jour.
In other words, the politicians are taking us for suckers.
Cloudodust
January 13th, 2012
7:17 am
In all seriousness, our local politicians are far superior in unethical behavior. Problem is only the local voter is aware of their lying, cheating, stealing ways. Some accept it as status quo, others try to get the word out. Pssst : Get the word out
nelsonh
January 13th, 2012
7:24 am
What I would do if I were a big politician would be everytime a lobbyist gave me a very nice present or a trip to some exotic place, I would take a constituent along. Who it would be would be by a lottery number. It would be sharing the wealth. Lobbyists will always be there.
The Governor{Deal} has an enormous project coming to Georgia, however it is a secret. I say it is a new deep water port for Savannah and Donald Trump to show how to get Casinos running and River Boat gambling. Georgia is on the move. And a new futuristic airport right in the geographical center of the state.
Normal
January 13th, 2012
7:27 am
It seems to me that our “Representatives” have no shame or problem with being seen as a corporation’s whore.
Aquagirl
January 13th, 2012
7:29 am
Solyndra! Obummer! Any random distraction so I don’t have to face a Republican Speaker’s $17,000 junket!
Let’s face it, 72 % of voters thought we should have Sunday sales and look at the incredible weaseling which followed. If you think a legislature that can kill anything in a smoke-filled room will stop taking graft, think again. H3ll, Chip Rodgers lifted a couple million from a bank and the cons didn’t bat an eyelash.
Our voters are lazy. They’ll chuck out an e-mail but never VOTE differently. As long as that’s true, I’m not marching off on any crusades, Jay. Wasted energy.
arnold
January 13th, 2012
7:30 am
No gifts. Nothing from a lobbyist.
Look before I leap...
January 13th, 2012
7:31 am
@nelsonh
I agree, lobbyists will always be there and they do serve an important function in terms of bringing issues and opportunities to the attention of the legislators that can and do benefit the citizens of Georgia. However, bribery should not be part of the process. Ethics reform can help to minimize the effect of the legislator getting his pockets lined and ego stroked at the expense of the electorate.
Granny Godzilla
January 13th, 2012
7:35 am
Jay
How can we help?
Jay
January 13th, 2012
7:37 am
Call and email, Granny G. Call and email.
Jay
January 13th, 2012
7:39 am
I see Aquagirl surrendered before putting up a fight.
Look before I leap...
January 13th, 2012
7:39 am
@Aquagirl:
I agree that voters are lazy and they are incredibly partisan. The Dems will vote for the (D) and the Repubs will vote for the (R). The issue only has consequences during the primary season, never in the general.
That said, I think that Kyle’s and Jay’s push is to take the meat out of the sandwich that Ralston is selling. That the polls say one thing while the voters are remaining mute. When the polls are backed up by the communications the legislators are getting from their constituents, they tend to take more notice.
Look before I leap...
January 13th, 2012
7:40 am
@Jay
Kyle published links to the legislators supporting the initiative on his post. You might wanna do the same.
Jack
January 13th, 2012
7:40 am
Call & mail has always been an option.
USinUK
January 13th, 2012
7:44 am
Jay and Kyle fighting on the same side of an issue … what WILL the nutter-butters find to whine about???
AmVet - “A lot of so-called conservatives don’t know what the word means." ~Barry Goldwater
January 13th, 2012
7:45 am
Every one of our neighboring states — Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida — has adopted either outright bans on lobbyist gifts or limits that are much more strict than the proposed limit of $100 in Georgia.
Why are Georgia’s elected representatives consistently some of the most intransigent, backwards and corrupt in this entire country?
Because the people who elect them are perfectly fine with this debacle of a government we have here.
To wit, who exactly was ranked as one of the 15 most corrupt members of the entire US Congress before he won the election for governor handily?
And to Jay’s point, I concur.
Freedom is participation in power. ~ Cicero
Finn McCool
January 13th, 2012
7:45 am
Trying to fix the old boy network in Georgia? Ok, it’s worth a try.
ragnar danneskjold
January 13th, 2012
7:46 am
I believe in full disclosure, but otherwise oppose additional moralism in the code. If the voters don’t care, nobody else should. I oppose the joint effort of Messrs. Bookman and Wingfield as a waste of time. Better we limit the session to a single 48 hour period, to keep them from passing anything.
stands for decibels
January 13th, 2012
7:46 am
Call and email.
Ok, will do.
Thanks, Jay, and I’ll go over to Kyle’s place and thank him, too.
TaxPayer
January 13th, 2012
7:46 am
Didn’t Ralston ride into town on a wave of anti-”politicians behaving badly” sentiment and promise to make things right. The most effective complaint I have against people such as Ralston is to hold them to their talk by comparing their words to their actions and thus far, Ralston strikes out. I am against the current system that allows politicians to receive anything of significant monetary value and I am most certainly against the efforts taken by some of our politicians here in Georgia to shield themselves from public scrutiny via their dismantling of the Ethics Commission. I also think this is a most appropriate matter for groups such as the League of Women Voters and the Tea Party to take on since they can more readily wield that show of force through numbers. I’ll certainly show my support by sending out e-mails and I hope others do the same and if appropriate change does not come then my vote will reflect my disappointment in our elected ones.
Thanks to Jay and Kyle for the joint effort.
TaxPayer
January 13th, 2012
7:48 am
I thought Ragnar claimed to be a native of Florida.
Look before I leap...
January 13th, 2012
7:48 am
@AmVet
To wit, who exactly was ranked as one of the 15 most corrupt members of the entire US Congress before he won the election for governor handily?
My guess it is the same guy whose $1M+ real estate and business debt magically disappeared upon assuming residency in the Governor’s Mansion.
ragnar danneskjold
January 13th, 2012
7:49 am
Friend Aquagirl will be horrified that she and I fully agree.
ragnar danneskjold
January 13th, 2012
7:51 am
Dear Taxpayer @ 7:48, no, native of Tennessee. Lived in Florida for the past couple of years, but I’m here again. Trying to stay one step ahead of the police.
AmVet - “A lot of so-called conservatives don’t know what the word means." ~Barry Goldwater
January 13th, 2012
7:54 am
Rags is the PERFECT example of why this government stinks.
Sadly, there must be many of him around.
He hides behind his sophistry cloaked as “moralism” (?), but the fact is obvious, the man simply does not care a whit about ethical governance. Or that these representatives answer to us, the sovereign people, and not the special interests with the huge amounts of dirty money.
It is to me, unfathomable.
USinUK
January 13th, 2012
7:55 am
“Trying to stay one step ahead of the police.”
the fashion police?
which part of Tennessee?
Jerome Horwitz
January 13th, 2012
7:57 am
We have the best state government monied interests can buy.
Finn McCool
January 13th, 2012
7:58 am
James O’Keefe violates election law to prove liberals violate election law
salon.com
Aquagirl
January 13th, 2012
8:01 am
I see Aquagirl surrendered before putting up a fight.
I pick my battles, Jay. I think it’s meaningless as long as we have dimwit voters and a political system dependent on money and extreme partisanship.
Seriously, Nathan Deal was elected despite his ethics. Chip Rodgers is held up as a leader by fellow Republicans. The Teanuts pimp for Tom Graves. Mr CEO of Dekalb is out of office because he chose to run for Senate. People don’t care about ethics in their own lives, you think they care about their elected homeboy?
Passing ethics legislation will make you feel better, but as long as open crooks are re-elected, it’s meaningless. Legislators will find loopholes and the system will continue as always.
Fly-on-the-Wall
January 13th, 2012
8:02 am
Ragnar,
Limiting the session to 48 hours will on encourage more corruption and give us less time to find it. I think we need a FULL TIME legislative body so we can keep better tabs on what they’re doing PLUS stronger ethics rules. It still amazes me that people here in the South will look for a candidate that ‘looks’ to be the most Christian but allow that same person to rob us blind and then think nothing of it. Go figure.
Adam
January 13th, 2012
8:02 am
You and Kyle agreeing on something must piss some people off
Aquagirl
January 13th, 2012
8:03 am
Friend Aquagirl will be horrified that she and I fully agree.
AHHHHGGGHHHHHHGGGGGGG
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 13th, 2012
8:05 am
It seems that in the corporate world at places like Walmart, accepting even a small gift can get you terminated. I hate to say it but this is definitely a time when our legislature should be following NO Gift policies. There are ALWAYS strings attached or “favors” being purchased. Legislators should never prostitute their duties…oh look, a unicorn
Fly-on-the-Wall
January 13th, 2012
8:06 am
AmVet,
Amen brother. Seems too many people have the attitude of ‘they did and maybe I’ll get a chance to do that as well.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 13th, 2012
8:06 am
Doctor needed in Aquagirl’s room ASAP!
TaxPayer
January 13th, 2012
8:08 am
Aquagirl does provide a sound rebuttal, Jay. Quite the pragmatic voice and difficult to counter given our “dimwits’ ” choice of governor and for their election of people such as Rogers and Graves.
Jay
January 13th, 2012
8:09 am
You get the government you’re willing to tolerate, Taxpayer.
Paul
January 13th, 2012
8:10 am
The best to you, Kyle and all others leading on this issue.
Mick
January 13th, 2012
8:10 am
Florida actually did something right?
TaxPayer
January 13th, 2012
8:11 am
You get the government you’re willing to tolerate, Taxpayer.
I’m very intolerant, Jay! Have you not noticed!
USinUK
January 13th, 2012
8:11 am
I’m with Jay – if you don’t stand up and make a stink, then you have no one but yourself to blame when they stick with the status quo
Look before I leap...
January 13th, 2012
8:17 am
My rebuttal to Aquagirl consists of two words:
“Tea Party”
USinUK
January 13th, 2012
8:17 am
btw – since we’ve talked about the Newtron’s attack on the Mittsiah about Bain, I thought I’d post the WaPo analysis: “Newt Gingrich, meet Michael Moore!”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/four-pinocchios-for-king-of-bain/2012/01/12/gIQADX8WuP_blog.html?hpid=z1
4 pinocchios … but, then, anyone who knows New to expect low standards for honesty
Mary Elizabeth
January 13th, 2012
8:19 am
“We didn’t have a revolution so the special interests could run the government,”(Rep. Tommy) Smith said. “We had a revolution so people could run the government.”
————————————————————————-
BRAVO to REP. TOMMY SMITH for his commitment to the same values and ideals that inspired our Founding Fathers to form our “more perfect union” and for his courage in sticking with this commitment, in spite of the fact that he could lose the Chairmanship of the State Planning and Community Affairs Committee in doing so. (I do not believe, however, that Speaker Ralston would make such a move that would be so contrary to the best interests of Georgians.)
When politicians are allowed to accept money and bribes from lobbyists, a more threatening outcome than valuing materialism is created. They, and we, will have created a culture in Georgia whereby politicians believe that they have the right blatantly to pursue their own self-interests instead of working for the interests of their constituents. Condoning a “culture of self-interest” by our state legislators only reinforces the “Age of Greed” that has been on the American landscape for far too many decades.
Rep. Smith, you make me proud of my south Georgia roots. What you are doing is exactly what my father, an outstanding city manager in my south Georgia hometown, would have encouraged you to do. I thank you not only for myself but for my deceased father.
I will post these remarks, also, on Kyle Wingfield’s blog, and I will call all of the legislators on both Jay Bookman’s list as well as Kyle Wingfield’s list. I wish to thank these two ethical journalists not only for these articles today, but also for posting names and phone numbers of legislators who have the power to stop the era of self-seving politicians in Georgia.
The next step is to work to ensure that the money that politicians, state and national, can accept for their election campaigns is very limited, perhaps even limited to government funds. We must recreate the America envisioned by our visionary Founding Fathers. This nation must remain, as Lincoln so passionately expressed, “of, by, and for” the people, themselves.
Aquagirl
January 13th, 2012
8:19 am
….Let’s not forget the illegal PAC contributor/insurance magnate hosting John Oxendine for a hunting trip. The only reason we heard about it is Oxendine’s stepson did a Cheney on another hunter. Again, Oxendine un-elected himself after 4 terms.
As long as voters re-elect crooks to office, you can pass all the laws you want. The only thing you will accomplish is making some poor but honest shmuck from Peanutburg, GA skip lunch. Whoop-de-friggin’-do.
Aquagirl
January 13th, 2012
8:21 am
My rebuttal to Aquagirl consists of two words: “Tea Party”
Watch the language, bub.
Adam
January 13th, 2012
8:22 am
TaxPayer: I do not think you are “very” intolerant. Just intolerant. The ones who can’t help themselves from hurling insults as soon as they are challenged on ANYTHING are the “very” intolerant ones.
Jay
January 13th, 2012
8:22 am
You refute your own argument, Aquagirl. Oxendine was the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for governor, with much more name recognition and money than anyone else.
And he finished what, third or fourth? Because his history caught up with him.
USinUK
January 13th, 2012
8:24 am
wow … I didn’t realize this happened 30 years ago yesterday
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/air-florida-crash-reflections-on-a-tragic-day-in-dc/2012/01/12/gIQAANhytP_video.html?hpid=z5
I remember that so well … and, during the 8 years I lived in DC, I couldn’t cross over the 14th street bridge and look down on the Potomac (especially in the winter) without thinking of those poor people
Brad Steel
January 13th, 2012
8:24 am
Other than legislators, how could anyone (well, really anyone who does not need to purchase influence) be against this?
Votes against this should be political suicide.
Jay
January 13th, 2012
8:26 am
You are correct, Brad.
That is why they will fight like hell to make sure no vote ever takes place.