House leaders try to squash ethics reform
Here’s how the scenario was supposed to play out:
State Rep. Tommy Smith, a Republican from Nicholls in southeast Georgia, was supposed to go to the House well Tuesday to announce introduction of a long-awaited ethics-reform bill, which includes a $100 gift limit. Smith planned to use the occasion to invite fellow legislators to come to his desk on the House floor to sign on as co-sponsors of the legislation.
Never happened.
Despite a strong lobbying effort from the Tea Party and other conservative grassroots groups in favor of the bill, not a single one of Smith’s fellow Republicans was willing to defy House Speaker David Ralston by publicly supporting the legislation.
As a result, the public signing ceremony was canceled and the legislation was introduced later in the day without fanfare and with only one solitary Republican, Smith, listed as sponsor.
Officially, only one Democrat — state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver of Decatur — is listed as a co-sponsor, but there’s a story there as well.
Apparently, more than a few House Democrats had volunteered to sign onto the bill. However, supporters understood that a long list of Democratic co-sponsors could do them more harm than good by making it easier to portray the bill as partisan legislation. So Oliver’s name is the only one listed.
And yes, that’s ridiculous in light of the strong support expressed for the bill by Tea Party groups, Georgia Right to Life, the Eagle Forum and the Christian Coalition, among others. But political attacks don’t have to be factual to be effective.
(In the nonpartisan spirit in which this legislation was crafted, I should acknowledge that it is easier for Democrats to embrace such legislation. As the party out of power, they are not generally the target of lobbyist courting and thus have less to lose by a gift limit).
In another sign of just how strongly Ralston opposes the bill, the speaker did not assign it to any of the committees of usual jurisdiction. He didn’t give it to the Ethics Committee, the Governmental Affairs Committee or either of the two judiciary committees, where the bill could at least theoretically be given a hearing on its merits.
Taking no chances whatsoever, he assigned it to the House Rules Committee, which will never hold a hearing on its merits and where such bills are kept under lock and key, never to be heard from again.
In other words, it doesn’t matter to Ralston that 72 percent of Georgians and 82 percent of Republicans have told pollsters that they support a gift limit. It doesn’t matter that legislators in every surrounding state have imposed gift limits or outright bans on themselves, often after a major scandal has shamed them into it. It doesn’t matter that an impressive bipartisan coalition of groups have joined together to champion the reform.
What matters is that our elected leaders have decided that they like accepting gifts. They believe as a result of their wonderfulness they are entitled to be showered with trips, meals, parties, golf outings, etc. And they’re pretty much defying the people of Georgia to do anything about it.
So … whatcha gonna do about it?
P.S. A list of Georgia House members is available here.
– Jay Bookman
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151 comments Add your comment
(ir)Rational
January 26th, 2012
9:59 am
lynnie gal – I’m sorry, I was under the impression that health care has been available to Americans (and non-Americans) for a long time. I didn’t realize that we didn’t have doctors offices, hospitals, clinics, and what not before Obama pushed through the health insurance bill. Man, was I missing something? How did I go to the doctor when I was younger?
JOE Cool
January 26th, 2012
10:00 am
Libertarian
January 26th, 2012
9:54 am
NO, theres a difference. He, as you say lectured them about unlimited monies being contributed from corporations.
Normal
January 26th, 2012
10:00 am
kayaker 71
January 26th, 2012
9:46 am
I can agree with that but all I said was racism CAN hide within the Immigration banner…
Doggone/GA
January 26th, 2012
10:01 am
“a lot more creative than the too simplistic obozo moniker”
Give ‘em credit where it’s due…at least no one has taken to calling him OBonzo…yet
TaxPayer
January 26th, 2012
10:02 am
Wow! Did anyone else see how Obama just completely lost it in that confrontation with Jan Brewer. She came up to him and asked him to kiss her boo-boo on her finger and he just went ballistic!
She did make it rather easy to figure out who’s version of the meeting with Obama, that Brewer lied about in her book, to believe.
mm
January 26th, 2012
10:02 am
“Sort of like Bozo getting down on his knees before the SEIU or that 28M dollar contribution to his 2008 campaign.”
Yeah, right. Geez.
Joe The Plumber too.
January 26th, 2012
10:03 am
sorry mick, I never noticed the resemblance until barry was standing on the beach in Florida talking about kicking somebodys a$$, then it hit me, he is urkle all grown up. One of my plumbers even gave me an urkle figure for Christmas, he stands guard at the shop all night and we’ve had no breakins, and in this neighborhood with the price of cooper, that is saying something. It could be the german sheppards roaming the place but I think it’s urkle.
JOE Cool
January 26th, 2012
10:05 am
“Wow! Did anyone else see how Obama just completely lost it in that confrontation with Jan Brewer.”
He looked like he had that “Dayum, your breath stank” face going on.
(ir)Rational
January 26th, 2012
10:06 am
Joe – Have you thought about Cane Corsos? I’ve heard they make excellent guard dogs. Then again, if you’re in a bad neighborhood, people might be just as interested in stealing them for fighting as they would be in stealing the copper…
Steve - USA (I support "None Of The Above")
January 26th, 2012
10:07 am
Focus people, Focus. Make sure you make at least 5 phone calls or emails on the Ethics Bill.
Just say:
“I am closely watching your vote on this matter……”
AmVet
January 26th, 2012
10:07 am
works both ways…point out obama is “bought and paid for” too…
I obviously concur.
OF COURSE, BHO is bought and paid for. To some extent or another, I believe that all politicians are. It is part and parcel of our system of governance.
And there was a time when it was under control. No more. Thanks to corporate personhood and legalized bribery.
As for BHO, I said so before he was even elected, that he was just another pro-war, turn a blind eye to white collar crime, status quo corporatist. What was hysterical was reading how the cons then – and now (???) – scream that he is an uber-liberal.
But that they misjudged him so absurdly is really just the second foot to fall after they deemed George a “true” conservative. (HUGE LOL!) So for those keeping count, that is two presidents in a row that the neo-cons have not even been in rifle range of assessing properly.
One caveat to the above indictment of Obama, it is likely little more that empty populist words, but that he is supposedly going after the heretofore untouchable banksters and Wall Street slime is encouraging. Thank you progressives and tough on crime OWSers and the vast percentage of Americans for pushing this issue so hard!
…and the former “speak truth to power”ers start yelling about “hate”.
Who cares? And frankly, irrelevant.
Reasoned criticism of BHO is fine by me. In fact it is more than fine by me. He deserves much of it. I have lambasted his policies, particularly the Bush continuance syndrome, regularly.
But the rabid, slobbering, irrational hatred of him and all things non-Republican that so many here puke up everyday? MUCH of which is fact free, concocted garbage not remotely connected to reality?
Or do really want to suggest that this childish animus – some of which is irrefutably racial in nature – does not exist here, by the droves?
It most certainly does. And is great entertainment, if you go for the juvenile angle…
Libertarian
January 26th, 2012
10:08 am
Of course YOU think there’s a difference. Here’s the text of his speech: “I’ve talked tonight about the deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street. But the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad — and it seems to get worse every year. Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics. So together, let’s take some steps to fix that.”
Hmm….the corrosive influence of money in politics. Not saying I don’t agree with what he said, but…sorry….he’s a hypocrite.
Redneck
January 26th, 2012
10:08 am
What is the IRS look at gifts? Does Ralston have to pay taxes on that expensive vacation he took to Europe on the dime of the Lobbyists? At what tax rate? Wondering also does the State look at that as income? Just wondering out loud…
Mick
January 26th, 2012
10:09 am
joe
Too funny! Yeah, copper is the new gold I guess. All these foreclosed homes are getting raped from people going in and ripping out every piece of copper. Hey, in a roundabout way there going to need a plumber to repair it eventually. It’s a circular firing line…
(ir)Rational
January 26th, 2012
10:11 am
Steve – Got it done. Like I said, around 8:30 the girl at he Speaker’s office was already sounding annoyed. Guess she didn’t expect to hear about how we’re all pissed and paying attention.
ByteMe
January 26th, 2012
10:12 am
Hey, Jay, how’s “Birther/Georgia” this morning? Any updates you can post? Did Kemp run away and hide once he found out that what he’s doing is not legal?
ByteMe
January 26th, 2012
10:13 am
irRational: disguise your voice, and do it again
(ir)Rational
January 26th, 2012
10:14 am
Unfortunately, my voice can’t easily be disguised. There is WAY too much of that Northwest Georgia backwoods in it. Even after living in Atlanta for 9 years.
mm
January 26th, 2012
10:16 am
So Newt wants to build a base on the moon. He could really save some tax dollars if he decided to just visit his home planet.
ByteMe
January 26th, 2012
10:17 am
Unfortunately, my voice can’t easily be disguised.
Maybe I’ll call as Kermit T. Frog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz5ZHZD5kkw
Joe The Plumber too.
January 26th, 2012
10:18 am
Mick, it’s crazy, One of my guys was at a Wendys with the lunch crowd and had 6 sticks taken in about 5 minutes of parking. Yeah we’ve done alot of total repipes the last year or so of stripped homes and the two homes a partner and I just picked up at the Cobb County auction last month need all new piping as well as wiring. All a person can hope for is to get them repaired and someone living in them before they are hit again.
Irational, I have never heard of that breed but we paid a fortune for these two with training, but they have been trained not to eat anything but what they are given for dinner a certain location so we don’t have to fear poisoning, at least thats what we payed for, it hasn’t been tested yet.
AmVet
January 26th, 2012
10:19 am
What will be truly surprising to me is if this new found outrage by the right wing, about our corporate owned government/plutocracy, lasts even one day after a Republican is back in the West Wing.
I would wager the mortgage, it won’t…
barking frog
January 26th, 2012
10:21 am
Operation Tennessee Waltz ended in 2005 with the indictment
of seven state lawmakers, two ‘bagmen’ two county commissioners
and a former county administrator. Tennessee wrote ethics reform
law in 2006. Solution is simple.
(ir)Rational
January 26th, 2012
10:23 am
Joe – Canes are an Italian Mastiff. So think Hooch from Turner and Hooch (well, technically he was a French Mastiff but they’re similar).
Joe Hussein Mama
January 26th, 2012
10:24 am
K71 — “Great picture of Jan Brewer with her finger in the middle of Bozo’s chest, lecturing him on border security. Even invited him to tour the border with her and what does he do?….. walk away in mid-sentence.”
If a Governor spoke to me like that, I’d do exactly the same thing.
Joe The Plumber too.
January 26th, 2012
10:26 am
(ir)Rational; I just looked up a picture…wow, that dog would make my sheppards say …..damn, gotta go….lol
Quotemeister
January 26th, 2012
10:26 am
“How dare you…” Jan Brewer
“You know, some Neatsfoot oil would do wonders for your complexion.” Barack Obama
Welcome to the Occupation
January 26th, 2012
10:29 am
Jay: “In other words, it doesn’t matter to Ralston that 72 percent of Georgians and 82 percent of Republicans have told pollsters that they support a gift limit.”
Why would it matter? What, do you think we live in a democracy or something?
(ir)Rational
January 26th, 2012
10:30 am
Joe – When it comes to safety/protecting myself or my property, I tend to err on the side of “well, you can’t have TOO much, can you?” Plus, big dogs like that, even friendly, are a great deterrent against people doing things you don’t want them to do. We had a big Rottweiler/Black Lab mix when I was in middle and high school. Our house never got rolled because he greeted everybody at their car. Oddly, no one wanted to get out when he was thumping his tail against their door either. Friendly dog though.
SOUTHERN ATL
January 26th, 2012
10:30 am
Jay, thanks for the info. I am glad that the AJC does not give up on issues that effect the working class!
stands for decibels
January 26th, 2012
10:32 am
All a person can hope for is to get them repaired and someone living in them before they are hit again.
Semi-related, but one thing I will eagerly fault Obama for is fcrewing the pooch with the HAMP program. I’m actually amazed that conservatives don’t dump on him for that, given that it’s actually, you know, a legitimate knock at the guy’s record.
ByteMe
January 26th, 2012
10:34 am
If a Governor spoke to me like that, I’d do exactly the same thing.
I would have had the Secret Service pick her up and whisk her away without her feet ever touching the ground until she was outside the airport.
Of course, then the wingnuts would have made up fake poutrage about that as well.
AmVet
January 26th, 2012
10:35 am
It would seem that the southwest version of Georgia – Arizona – has two kinds of women politicians.
The beloved, extremely cool, reasonable, intelligent, fiscal conservative, moderate Democrat and fighter extraordinaire, Ms. Giffords.
And then there is the radical reactionary Ms. Brewer.
Alas, the differences are both stark and typical.
ByteMe
January 26th, 2012
10:38 am
“You know, some Neatsfoot oil would do wonders for your complexion.” Barack Obama
Linseed oil. Works really well on old cracked baseball gloves.
USinUK
January 26th, 2012
10:41 am
“If a Governor spoke to me like that, I’d do exactly the same thing.”
that’s how you handle people with an over-inflated sense of self-importance.
Joe The Plumber too.
January 26th, 2012
10:43 am
Linseed oil. Works really well on old cracked baseball gloves…….so thats what me-shell wears huh? That would explain the shine under the camera lights, thanks byteme.
Joe Hussein Mama
January 26th, 2012
10:48 am
ByteMe — “I would have had the Secret Service pick her up and whisk her away without her feet ever touching the ground until she was outside the airport.”
“Of course, then the wingnuts would have made up fake poutrage about that as well.”
I’d have walked away from her *despite* the fact that I’m not the President. If you’re not my mom or if your name doesn’t appear on my paychecks, you don’t speak to me like that.
If you *are* my mom, I’m going to tell you to lower your voice and stop talking to me like that or I’ll walk away.
And if you *are* the person who signs my paychecks and you don’t have a damn good reason for speaking to me that way in public, then you won’t have me as an employee any longer after that display of unprofessionalism.
It’s a simple policy. Praise and reward in public, berate and punish in private. It works well in the military and it works just fine elsewhere, too. The fact that Brewer chose to act like that in public speaks a *lot* worse of her than walking away speaks ill of the President. IMO, walking away was the only responsible and decorous option he had.
Adam
January 26th, 2012
11:07 am
Libertarian: Not saying I don’t agree with what he said, but…sorry….he’s a hypocrite.
Myth #2
Adam
January 26th, 2012
11:09 am
ByteMe: I would have had the Secret Service pick her up and whisk her away without her feet ever touching the ground until she was outside the airport.
If Obama had responded in any way other than the way he did the entire news media would be all over it. You know, the “liberal media” that is always “protecting” him.
Ivan Cohen
January 26th, 2012
11:16 am
Apparently some elected officials are for sale, henceforth the gifts from lobbyists. Whether it’s the State Capitol or the Nation’s Capitol. Governor George Wallace said it best “not a dimes’ worth of difference between the two of them”. Laws on the books are worthless without enforcement. When agencies which are supposed to do the enforcing get castrated due to lack of funding. Everybody comes out a loser.
Ed
January 26th, 2012
11:37 am
For anyone interested, the bill is HB798 and it can be found here: http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20112012/HB/798
Ed
January 26th, 2012
11:39 am
the note attached to the “First Readers” page says: “substantially revise.” I’ll bet.
Georgia Legislative Action | The Evil Eyebrow
January 26th, 2012
12:39 pm
[...] I was hoping to tell you about HB 798 and its fanfare, however I’ll just let Jay Bookman do it for me. [...]
David Green
January 26th, 2012
7:53 pm
The problem is that while ralston, deal and the rest are moral perverts {defined as those who pervert morality to justify their own immorality} they were elected by those who claim {FALSELY} to be god fearing christians. Hence our govt. is as morally corrupt and perverted as those who put them into power.
franklin
January 27th, 2012
9:35 am
Support ethics reform please. Legislative report card going out on Golden Isles legislators coming out in March and more to follow.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003230877193
Morning Reads for Friday, January 27, 2012 — Peach Pundit
January 27th, 2012
10:46 am
[...] Bookman attributes the lack of co-signers for ethics reform to pressure from leadership. Kyle Wingfield believes ethics reform will enhance public [...]
truth
January 27th, 2012
12:11 pm
Why am I not surprised at Ralston’s actions? I applaud Tommy Smith for making an attempt.
My Representative says, “We already have enough ethics.”
By the numbers: Why ethics reform makes sense in Georgia | Kyle Wingfield
January 27th, 2012
6:01 pm
[...] House leaders try to squash ethics reform [...]
Morning Reads for Friday, January 27, 2012
January 27th, 2012
7:06 pm
[...] Bookman attributes the lack of co-signers for ethics reform to pressure from leadership. Kyle Wingfield believes ethics reform will enhance public [...]
veritas
January 28th, 2012
10:36 am
Mr. Bookman. Do you have any facts to support your fictional soliloquy? It is laughable how you claim to know why there weren’t any more democratic sponsors and let them off the hook. Do you have any proof that Ralston kept republicans from signing it? Have anyone told you that, even off the record? Maybe the whole thing is just a bad idea. Do what few readers you have the courtesy of citing your sources. And, when did you start caring about the Tea Party agenda? Your selfish motives are transparent. Conservatives beware of this trojan horse.
Show the Speaker whose boss |
February 1st, 2012
11:00 pm
[...] and co-sign the bill. The logic just doesn’t make any sense because the AJC recently found that 82% of Republican citizens said that they support a lobbyist gift limit. William Perry, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, confessed, “Essentially there’s [...]