Transparency alone is not the ticket for Georgia legislators and ethics
Today is the first full day of action in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It puts me in the mind of the Georgia Legislature — and not because they call the tournament “March Madness.”
Two years ago, when a $100 limit on lobbyist gifts was proposed, I asked a House committee chairman to explain why he opposed it. He recounted this story:
The last time the Final Four was in Atlanta (2007), by late March he’d worked a lot of late hours away from the family. As he walked toward the exit one night, a lobbyist passing by held out a pair of tickets and suggested he take his son to a game.
As one might expect, they had a grand time. Looking back, he told me, he wouldn’t have wanted to deprive his son of that experience they had together. A $100 gift limit, you see, would have left father and son to watch the game at home or pay their own way.
Remember: This was his defense of $100-plus gifts.
Lest you think this was a one-off scenario, the online records of the agency once known as the State Ethics Commission reveal that 15 legislators avoided such NCAA deprivation.
Well, at least 15: In light of the protests from legislators who say all we need is transparency, it’s worth noting this particular chairman’s name was not listed on the website. An oversight, perhaps. I wonder if there were any other such slip-ups.
Besides the transparency line, another thing some Capitol denizens would have you believe is that sneaky, tassel-loafered lobbyists are liable to come upon an unsuspecting legislator at any moment and shove a ticket or $300 meal down his or her throat.
Ahem.
Around this time last year, I was in a social setting with a lobbyist who, within a few hours, relayed to me maybe half a dozen unsolicited requests from legislators asking about tickets to this ballgame or that concert. (It didn’t occur to me to start counting until the bulletins had become fairly regular.)
Then, on Monday, I was standing next to a Senate staffer when a powerful senator walked up. He told her he deserved “credit” for pledging to get her tickets — he didn’t say to what, or from whom — had her favorite team only advanced further in last weekend’s ACC basketball tournament at Philips Arena. Suffice it to say, I didn’t get the impression this oft-lobbied senator was going to dig into his own per diem to buy the tickets.
I chose not to name names in these instances for a variety of reasons. Chief among them is that there’s no point in making this about particular personalities. This is not a matter of a few bad apples. I’m not sure most of them would consider this practice rotten, even if citizens might think their lawmakers are spoiled.
According to my review of the ethics commission’s data, since 2008 an average of 156 legislators a year — almost two-thirds of them — have accepted tickets from lobbyists to some kind of event (not counting those related to politics or policy).
Braves games, Falcons games, Bulldogs games, Yellow Jackets games, Hawks games, Thrashers games, concerts, plays, dance performances, comedy shows, the circus, the zoo, the aquarium. There’s something to appeal to everyone.
What appeals to the lobbyists is your guess. Of 1,990 ticket-related items since 2008, a grand total of 15 of them — less than eight-tenths of 1 percent — specified a bill name or number which was discussed. These tickets cost a grand total of $350,156. No one believes the purchasers spent that kind of money just because they didn’t have time during the day to ask Mr. Chairman how the kids have been doing.
Then again, maybe that transparency failure is just as well, in light of this one: With 33 of the session’s 40 days past us, not one lobbyist report mentioning the word “ticket” is available yet on the ethics commission’s website.
The Falcons played just one home game in January, but have our legislators been deprived each of the 16 times the Hawks have played here? Did 10 home games apiece for UGA and Georgia Tech (bad as those teams were) have no appeal? Did the ACC tournament get no legislator love?
Well, the Thrashers did leave town. Maybe that explains the apparent ticketlessness.
Ethics reform efforts appear stalled for this year, but supporters vow to keep at it. One possibility is a committee to study best practices around the nation and propose legislation in 2013. Even this relatively tame measure, however, has opposition.
After all, the Final Four is back in town next spring.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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117 comments Add your comment
jd
March 15th, 2012
6:21 am
Bravo — truth! Next step — start tracking their “dates” whose dinner, wine, and whatevers are not disclosed at all!
ragnar danneskjold
March 15th, 2012
7:19 am
Issue just does not arouse me. Now legislature spending, that arouses me. Every dime, other than police functions, is a waste.
Ayn Rant
March 15th, 2012
7:33 am
Politicians are elected to the Legislature to handle the financial affairs of the state of Georgia, not to be the subjects of adulation or vilification by the public. Their cozy relationships with lobbyists and other persons of influence dispensing money for favors is a sideshow to their primary mission.
Let’s focus on their failure to manage the finances of the State rather than their corruption. Have you noticed that Georgia unemployment is higher than the national average? Have you noticed that in a time of financial crisis, the Legislature cuts jobs by reducing spending on education and infrastructure, making job-creating private investment in our state unattractive? Have you noticed their preoccupation with oppressing immigrants, managing other people’s pregnancies and marriages, and touting God’s Covenant with the Jews, instead of improving the economy of Georgia?
Let’s hear more about their abject failure to do the job they were elected to, and less about their old- boy mentality and petty corruption! I’d rather have a competent, but corrupt Legislator than an honest, but ignorant jackass.
Button Gwinnett
March 15th, 2012
7:40 am
Lawyer/Legislators legislating ethics is……………….ridiculous.
.
Every freebie should be recorded and displayed and easily accessable to the public.
No exceptions.
.
Violations?
Capital punishment.
.
Problem solved.
@@
March 15th, 2012
7:50 am
Were I a legislator, I’d take all the gifts they offered, giving nothing in return.
That is, afterall, what government does best.
@@
March 15th, 2012
7:52 am
Oops!
Wouldn’t take long for them (lobbyists) to stop giving altogether.
ragnar danneskjold
March 15th, 2012
8:21 am
I think friend @@ has it right. If, hypothetically, a legislator could be bribed into not spending money, would I object to the bribe? No, I think not – it is the public waste that so-often arises from bribes that is a problem for me, not the bribe itself. If a legislator takes a bribe to pass a law that disproportionately restricts commerce, that is wrong, not because it arose from a bribe, but because it disproportionately restricts commerce.
carlosgvv
March 15th, 2012
8:24 am
In our society, money is THE bottom line. It tops faith, frendship, family, patriotism and morality. As long as our politicians can be legally (or illegally) bribed, they will gladly take the money. Only an entirely different political system could change this.
ByteMe
March 15th, 2012
8:30 am
I would pair an ethics bill with a pay raise. $17K per year for a minimum of 4 months of being kept away from your real job (and in some cases, your family) is too little unless your real job is street sweeper. Let’s get them up to $40K for the job and have $0 in gifts. That’ll solve the ethics problem AND open the pool to more folks to run for office.
JDW
March 15th, 2012
8:34 am
“Ethics reform efforts appear stalled for this year,”
As does everything else…can someone name one decent piece of legislation passed or a single real problem solved? Yet we continue to lag the nation in jobs, education and most anything else of import while leading in foreclosures, bank failures and a variety of “social engineering initiatives” i.e. immigration, gun ownership etc…
We have bigger problems here than a few tickets.
Strike and Replace
March 15th, 2012
8:35 am
This is an AJC Editorial Board issue. If you can’t control the agenda, then silence those that can influence it. Your heavy-handed tactics killed ethics reform. And getting in bed with anti-choice right wing nuts and tea party know-nothings really didn’t help your credibility. If you had any political savvy the Ethics Commission would have its rule making back this year. You kept that from happening. Nice work.
Road Scholar
March 15th, 2012
8:45 am
The politicians say there isn’t a graft problem. So let’s do what they did with the voter ID law ( a law that never was based on specific cases of fraud- if so- name one), if there isn’t a present problem, new ethics legislation shouldn’t be a problem or restrict people from doing there job!!!
As for raising the legislator’s pay, please explain what they have done to deserve one…let alone the present pay and benefits?
Don't Tread
March 15th, 2012
8:48 am
“Only an entirely different political system could change this.” You mean the political system they use in China and North Korea? Maybe Syria or Iran? How about Saudi Arabia? I suppose all of these systems are superior to ours.
The political system isn’t the problem – the lack of punishment is. The prospect of facing harsh punishment will deter crime.
As a side note, the alphabet media reports Blago is off to prison today, and still believes there was nothing wrong with what he did.
Finn McCool (Class Warfare = Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
March 15th, 2012
8:51 am
there’s no point in making this about particular personalities.
Ummm, yeah, there IS a point. Until you start embarrassing these people outright you won’t get one thing changed. They need to be called on the carpet to account. Otherwise, they just hide behind the “everybody’s doing it” mantra.
“Some of us…”
“A few bad apples…”
“It wasn’t just me…”
Finn McCool (Class Warfare = Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
March 15th, 2012
8:53 am
This is like expecting markets to police themselves. Expecting bankers to play fairly because….they hold important positions and such so they must be honest….”
ByteMe
March 15th, 2012
8:56 am
As for raising the legislator’s pay, please explain what they have done to deserve one…let alone the present pay and benefits?
You’ve obviously heard the phrase “you get what you pay for.” What do you think $17K salary for 4+ months of work away from home and family buys you? Competence? Caring about the people who voted you in? Or maybe graft to cover the difference?
jconservative
March 15th, 2012
8:58 am
Amen Ayn.
On another note:
From an AJC article:
“…the Pew Hispanic Center estimated there were 425,000 illegal immigrants in Georgia as of 2010, seventh-highest among the states.”
Tom da bomb
March 15th, 2012
9:03 am
I agree with each of your points, Kyle. Given the current reality of Georgia politics, however, the current occupants of the House and Senate are not going to change the law. Why should they? They suffer no punishment at the hands of the voters for this graft. The Republican majority knows good and well that they will come back next year in office and with probably more than a two-thirds controlling majority that will allow them to enable all protests from Black Democratic lawmakers. If you are never going to be punished for ethically questionable behavior, you will never change that behavior. That’s simply human nature.
carlosgvv
March 15th, 2012
9:03 am
Don’t Tread – “the prospect of facing harsh punishment will deter crime”
And you think our LAWMAKERS, the ones who are receiving all this lobbyist money, will actually make any laws that will mete out harsh punishment to themselves?
Tom da bomb
March 15th, 2012
9:04 am
Typing error. Meant to say: “. . . that will allow them to ignore all protests from Black Democratic lawmakers.” We now return to the show in progress.
Jefferson
March 15th, 2012
9:29 am
A bribe is a bribe is a bribe. If you suppose unethical/cheatin’ politician, you are one of them.
clyde
March 15th, 2012
9:30 am
A lobbyist is akin to a salesman in the private sector.A few greased palms does wonders toward getting a particular product touted by the salesman to be used by the targeted company.Been there,seen that.I’ve seen people lose jobs when they’re caught too.That shystering was not tolerated where I worked nor should it be tolerated in government.If you can’t be served by ethical people you won’t be served well.Present situation is case in point.
Don't Tread
March 15th, 2012
9:42 am
Carlos, 9:03: Yes, but only if they face the prospect of harsh punishment (e.g. “pass ethics legislation or lose your job”). At some point, the voters will say “enough is enough” and demand that ethics laws get passed – which is what this particular blog is about.
clyde
March 15th, 2012
9:51 am
The second Illinois Governor in a row reports to prison today to start a 14 year sentence for corruption.
The last three Speakers of the House for the State of Massachusetts are convicted felons due to corruption charges.
The list goes on.
Inside Out
March 15th, 2012
10:01 am
I am calling foul on Kyle for refusing to name the lawmakers associated with these claims…If they will not step upand pass an ethics bill, then the next best thing is to put them on public Blast for dipping into the pockets of lobbyist……Wonder if the same type of descretion would have been shown had the Dems been the ones with teh keys to the kingdom???????
Fred ™
March 15th, 2012
10:01 am
These crooks are the Republicans you know, love, and elected. Led by none of than the Grand High Poobah of Thieves Nathan Steal. The man who resigned from Congress before he could be formally charged in the Congress for his corruption.
So what’s your point there lil Kyle? You have what you want and voted for, crooks.
carlosgvv
March 15th, 2012
10:03 am
Don’t tread – “at some point the voters will say “enough is “enough”
Unfortunately, we’ve been saying that for many years now, to both parties. Result? NOTHING.
Socialism, anyone?
sheepdawg
March 15th, 2012
10:08 am
Great artical Kyle, keep the heat on them, and give us their names
Don't Tread
March 15th, 2012
10:08 am
“Socialism, anyone?”….No thanks, I’ll keep my freedom.
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
10:08 am
With respect, ragnar: I think you discount the connection between ethics and limited government. If you are buddy-buddy with the rent seekers — and let’s face it, getting to be pals with the legislators is the object of these excursions for lobbyists — you are more likely to give them the rents they seek. There’s no way in which that leads to limited, fiscally responsible government.
Inside Out @ 10:01: I knew someone would make that kind of claim. Let me just ask you this: If I were really trying to protect the Republicans, why would I even write about this issue? Wouldn’t I be better, if that were my aim, to pooh-pooh all this activity or try to explain it away?
Fred ™
March 15th, 2012
10:14 am
clyde
March 15th, 2012
9:51 am
The second Illinois Governor in a row reports to prison today to start a 14 year sentence for corruption.
The last three Speakers of the House for the State of Massachusetts are convicted felons due to corruption charges.
The list goes on.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Not in Georgia. Here you die hard republicans elect them to higher and higher offices.
Don't Tread
March 15th, 2012
10:17 am
“Wouldn’t I be better, if that were my aim, to pooh-pooh all this activity or try to explain it away?”
Or do like the alphabet media does – if something’s going on that’s damaging to your party’s image, don’t write about it at all.
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
10:23 am
Don’t Tread @ 10:17: Exactly.
From The AJC: Wingfield And Bookman — Peach Pundit
March 15th, 2012
10:26 am
[...] up, Kyle Wingfield paints the legislature with a deservedly broad brush for their refusal to consider any form of gift ban. I chose not to name names in these instances for a variety of reasons. Chief among them is that [...]
DannyX
March 15th, 2012
10:27 am
This goes to show how little power the Tea Party has. Ethics reform was a big issue for the Tea Party this year and they were totally ignored. The good ol’ boys ruled the state when the Democrats dominated state government and the good ol’ boys dominate now with Republican dominated leadership. If the Tea Party is powerless in Georgia, a place where you would think they would be strong, how in the world are they going to be able to maintain any power on the national level?
Not only should Kyle be naming names he should be calling for their replacements. Kyle should be encouraging Republicans to target certain leaders who refuse to advance ethics reform legislation. Right now Kyle is giving state legislators a gift in refusing to confront them directly.
zeke
March 15th, 2012
10:28 am
good for you Kyle; it would be better to pay them a little more if necessary than to allow the lobbyists to get their hooks into them. of course, that will not stop all the ways lobbyists get to them….ie campaign contributions, business deals down the line etc. what was your take on the greg smith opinion in yesterday’s times?
carlosgvv
March 15th, 2012
10:34 am
Don’t tread – 10:08
And the rich will just keep getting richer and you will keep getting crumbs from the table while clinging to your delusions of “freedom”.
Road Scholar
March 15th, 2012
10:37 am
The following is from an editorial by the Northside Neighbor (actually Dunwoody Neighbor) , a conservative newspaper by Dick Williams:
http://dunwoody-neighbor.com/stories/State-representative-defends-current-lobby-laws,181934?content_source=&category_id=7&search_filter=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=&sub_type=&town_id=&page=
“He recounted the ultimate fate of previous House Speaker Glenn Richardson. Rumors had been swirling around his relationship with a female lobbyist. Richardson had maintained his innocence until his former wife went public. Immediately, Wilkinson said petitions were circulated in the House with enough signatures to force the speaker’s resignation. He resigned before they could be presented to him.”
Wilkinson defends the system as working. But for years there where rumors that Richardson was corrupt and having an affair. Where were the members of his party from the time of the rumors until the time his wife made the revelations? In “bed” with Richardson? Ethical? Yeah, right! You only have ethics when you are caught?
AmVet
March 15th, 2012
10:40 am
Kudos, Kyle.
In a state where it is seemingly rare, you have the moral courage to put ethical governance before party pandering.
I find it unconscionable that these men, supposed our elected “leaders”, are still allowed to get away with this malfeasance. That they do it so unapologetically is truly sad.
Georgia is but one of three states in the entire republic that doesn’t restrict the amount of bribe money form lobbyists, etc.
Disgraceful…
Don't Tread
March 15th, 2012
10:40 am
Oh…I get it…freedom is just a “delusion” if other people have more money than me.
Freedom has many other aspects besides the bank account balance.
Jefferson
March 15th, 2012
10:45 am
The GA speaker is the fox over the hen house.
Bernie
March 15th, 2012
10:46 am
Georgia legislators and ETHICS are diameterically opposed to each other. its like the mixing of GAS and oil. The sun and moon, right and wrong, up & down, doing whats right as opposed to doing the heavy lifting of the party. Treating the women of Georgia with respect and honor versus delegating her to a second class citizen through legislative caveats.The current group are avowed PROBERS with further intentions of expanding PROBING legislation for everyone excluding them. Now, why would they possibly want to change now?
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
10:47 am
Road: Just for the record, Dick Williams’ paper is the Dunwoody Crier, which is not one of the Neighbor papers, and the columnist you quoted is Dick Yarbrough.
Just saying..
March 15th, 2012
10:49 am
Again, which Party is in charge at the Capitol? Ah, yes, the sole Party of Integrity, the Party of Fundamental Values, the Party of TRUTH (you’re welcome, Linda), the Party of Responsibility, the Party of God,….ad nauseam.
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
10:49 am
Thanks, AmVet, but nothing is going to change just because I (or Jay) write a few columns. Citizens and voters have to do something based on what we write, or else it’s all for naught.
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
10:52 am
To Just saying and anyone else who wants to make this about partisan politics: These practices predate the GOP majority; it’s just that, before, the reporting was non-existent and then only limited. And Republicans are not the only ones taking the goodies.
That’s not to defend the GOP. But there’s a reason Jay and I, and Common Cause and the tea party, took this on as a joint effort. Because it isn’t, or shouldn’t be, a partisan issue.
ragnar danneskjold
March 15th, 2012
10:53 am
Dear Kyle @ 10:08, agree with the fact of connection, but I think “ethics” legislation has cause/effects backwards. It is the mindset that “legislation is good or useful” that leads to the bribes, not the other way around. Ethics legislation masks the problem, does not affect a cure.
ByteMe
March 15th, 2012
10:53 am
But there’s a reason Jay and I, and Common Cause and the tea party, took this on as a joint effort. Because it isn’t, or shouldn’t be, a partisan issue.
Some people don’t grasp the whole “frenemies” thing so well.
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
10:55 am
Strike and Replace @ 8:35: If legislators only fail to restore the commission’s rule-making authority because of a few columns and editorials in the newspaper, I can only question their true commitment to changing that policy. If we ruffled some feathers down there, all the more reason to pass something and be able to talk about an ethics-reform success.
In short: I ain’t buying it.
Will
March 15th, 2012
10:57 am
Kyle:
If you think the disregard of the will of the people is curious this year, wait until republicans have a super majority in the General Assembly. At that point, one political party will control every elected Constiutional office in Georgia, the State Supreme Court and will have a minority party that will have been reduced (due to redistricting by the republican majority) to numbers that no longer have meaning.
What’s that you say? Democrats had this type of power for generations? Of course they did and they abused that power as republicans will do. So what’s your point, that republicans can be as abusive of majority status as democrats were? That they deserve to be because democrats were?
Unfortunately, republican politicians are probably right – they have been blocking meaningful ethics legislation for years (as did democrat politicians when they were in the majority) and have kept being re-elected for years.
Since it is unlikely that democrats will be able to defeat incumbent republicans after the redrawn districts push more and more democrat voters into districts that are already safely democrat, the only hope for good government in the General Assembly is for good government republican candidates to run against bad government republican incumbents in the primary. Again, this is the only hope but, in reality, “good government” is not an issue that will carry many challengers to victory. If it becomes an election year issue, republicans will simply tag republican challengers to the marxist, godless pro-abortion, pro-Obama democrat politicians” who support such and thing and scare unsuspecting voters back into the fold. So what about the democrats, aren’t they supporting “good government” ethics? Sure, but only because they know it will not happen and they will not be in the majority. They can get some milage out of their support knowing they will still be keeping their “goodies” from lobbyist.
And the band plays on………..
Finn McCool (Class Warfare = Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
March 15th, 2012
10:58 am
Off topic. Taibbi hit’s the nail on the head:
we see headlines this morning like this item from Forbes.com: “Greg Smith Quits, Should Clients Fire Goldman Sachs?”
This always had to be the endgame for reforming Wall Street. It was never going to happen by having the government sweep through and impose a wave of draconian new regulations, although a more vigorous enforcement of existing laws might have helped. Nor could the Occupy protests or even a monster wave of civil lawsuits hope to really change the screw-your-clients, screw-everybody, grab-what-you-can culture of the modern financial services industry.
Real change was always going to have to come from within Wall Street itself, and the surest way for that to happen is for the managers of pension funds and union retirement funds and other institutional investors to see that the Goldmans of the world aren’t just arrogant sleazebags, they’re also not terribly good at managing your money.
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/a-goldman-executives-brave-departure-20120314#ixzz1pCIlu7W3
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
10:59 am
ragnar: I agree it’s not “the” cure. But I think it can only improve matters.
And, to reiterate what I’ve written in the past about this topic: I would not favor a complete ban, which would invite the action to go underground. But there is no reason lobbyists can’t operate under a $100 limit. All that would change is the sense of entitlement certain legislators feel.
Don't Tread
March 15th, 2012
11:02 am
“Should Clients Fire Goldman Sachs?” Did that today, actually (not as a direct result of that article – it was already in the works at that point). Buh-bye.
DannyX
March 15th, 2012
11:02 am
“These practices predate the GOP majority; it’s just that, before, the reporting was non-existent and then only limited. And Republicans are not the only ones taking the goodies.”
Very true. Republicans did make serious ethics reform a major part of their campaign that helped them gain power. Democrats were just as bad. Whatever you, Jay, Common Cause, and the Tea Party have done has obviously not done any good. Until a few politicians lose their jobs nothing will happen.
What is plan B now that its obvious plan A was a total failure?
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
11:02 am
All you people on the “a bribe is a bribe is a bribe” bandwagon need to just do one of two things:
Stop electing people who could have their vote swayed by a $100 gift, or
Run for office yourself and quit complaining.
Your poutrage is wasted on those of us who have.
Penny Pincher
March 15th, 2012
11:05 am
“In our society, money is THE bottom line. It tops faith, frendship, family, patriotism and morality.”
Thank be to GOD that this is not the case for all people.
AmVet
March 15th, 2012
11:05 am
Thanks, AmVet, but nothing is going to change just because I (or Jay) write a few columns. Citizens and voters have to do something based on what we write, or else it’s all for naught.
Hear, hear!
The antidote to the ivory tower disease is for we the people to raise a ruckus.
Freedom is participation in power. ~Cicero
Finn McCool (Class Warfare = Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
March 15th, 2012
11:07 am
I agree it’s not about political party. If we put the framework in place to limit such actions it will curb the bad behavior no matter who or which party is in power.
Finn McCool (Class Warfare = Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
March 15th, 2012
11:08 am
What is plan B…
Get somebody on film or tape.
ByteMe
March 15th, 2012
11:09 am
Run for office yourself and quit complaining.
Can’t afford the pay cut.
And neither could most competent people. That’s part of the problem with cutting off the graft without giving them a raise.
ByteMe
March 15th, 2012
11:09 am
Get somebody on film or tape.
Yeah, like there’s a lobbyist willing to lose their job over this.
Forbud
March 15th, 2012
11:09 am
Simple fix: No entertainment, no gifts, no lobbyist allowed to craft any bill. Our representatives are elected to legislate what is best for the majority of the population of our state. If a special interest has input, let them submit their cause in written form that can be accessible to the public. Decisions can them be made on the merits of the legislation with out prejudice.
Penny Pincher
March 15th, 2012
11:12 am
“These crooks are the Republicans you know, love, and elected.”
If you believe this is only a Republican issue, you are a fool.
Just saying..
March 15th, 2012
11:14 am
Kyle-
Thanks for helping make my point. It’s NOT just the Republicans. I’m perfectly willing to say Democrats got there first. The Republicans were late to the party, fine. But they ARE at the party now.
It’s the Republican hypocrisy about it that drives me crazy. Many, too many, of the posters on your board (you could name them without pausing) believe that if we can only elect enough Republicans, honesty and good tidings will return to America.
You’re right, this is not a partisan issue. But it is an issue that INCLUDES Republicans. And we’ll not address the problem until more Republican zealots are able to accept that uncomfortable fact.
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
11:16 am
DannyX: And, to be fair, they did make some strong reforms in the way of transparency. I just don’t think that’s enough, for reasons I explained in the OP.
Plan B? I think the next step is up to others. I keep hearing about primary challenges, but I have yet to hear any names (of challengers or incumbents to be challenged).
AmVet
March 15th, 2012
11:17 am
BTW, ByteMe, I like your suggestion about raising legislator’s salaries. It is a reasonable alternative to the system of legalized graft that we have now…
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
11:19 am
Tiberius: I’m less concerned about quid pro quo — which is already illegal — than I am the relationships that build up over time and make it hard for some people to say no. And I think that’s a very human tendency — trust me, journalists have to check ourselves on this front, too — that won’t necessarily be solved by the personality of the individual holding the office.
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
11:20 am
ByteMe @ 11:09 and earlier: You make a good point about a pay increase possibly being part of the answer. Of course, in making that calculation you have to take account of the per diem, too.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
11:28 am
Kyle, the problem with the whole “relationship” thing could be solved by either:
A. Term limits, or
B. Getting back to my first point about electing better people. In this case, you have both the GOP and Democrat legislators thinking that government action is a solution to everything. Our much ballyhooed so-called Republican legislators up here representing Forsyth County (one of the most GOP-friendly counties in America) all go around loud and proud about what legislation they create each and every session. Not a one of them say a thing about what they stopped, or heaven forbid, what they removed off the books.
If you have a legislator willing to create laws, you have a ready target for lobbyists to help craft laws that favor their clients.
Cause and effect.
ByteMe
March 15th, 2012
11:28 am
Of course, in making that calculation you have to take account of the per diem, too.
I had to go back to this article by Aaron to see what you meant:
http://www.ajc.com/news/government-waste/per-diems-a-costly-460180.html
So, yes, I agree and think they need to re-look at the per-diem system that some of them use to enrich themselves. I think $173/day for all legislators outside 60 miles from downtown is reasonable for hotel and food. $60 for anyone within that radius + mileage. No mileage for any trips other than to the capitol (do teachers get reimbursed for art supplies for their classes? Nope.).
Bernie
March 15th, 2012
11:30 am
“But there’s a reason Jay and I, and Common Cause and the tea party, took this on as a joint effort”
– Kyle
Kyle, In the interest of transparency and true journalistic objectivity what other joint ventures that You
and Jay as well as the AJC have taken on behalf of the citizens of Georgia? can you provide an explanation as to what was the ground work for such an adventure with a clearly undeniably racist political organization such as the TEA PARTY? The pure idiocy of such a admission, astounds me as well as many of the current readers. How can one possibly believe that either YOU or Jay could possibly write these daily editorial stories and remain truly objective.
You both should resign ASAP! and register as a politcal lobby. If the managment of the AJC endorses
such an arrangement, they should consider shutting down because true journalism no longer exists in that operation. Can you provide us with names of managing AJC representatives who endorsed such an unusal adventure?
If this were the NEW YORK TIMES, you both would be found in the at the local unemployment office right now!
A truly amazing Revelation! TRULY!
ByteMe
March 15th, 2012
11:31 am
Someone hand Bernie a paperbag. He’s hyperventilating.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
11:34 am
“an adventure with a clearly undeniably racist political organization such as the TEA PARTY”
Not intended to be a factual statement.
And Bernie, get your meds adjusted.
Please.
Just saying..
March 15th, 2012
11:38 am
Bernie-
I take your point, but I don’t see that Kyle and Jay signed a contract in sulphur. In a word, corruption is the issue. Opposed to it is the right position.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
11:44 am
And Bernie, if the Tea party was as supposedly racist as you believe, do you think someone as out there in left field as Bookman would work with them on an issue?
But since you obviously believe in things that aren’t real, how about answering the following questions?
1. Bigfoot – real or not?
2. World Trade Centers – airplanes or planted explosives?
3. Trump’s hair – comb-over or just a really bad stylist?
Don't Tread
March 15th, 2012
11:48 am
“clearly undeniably racist political organization such as the TEA PARTY”
Yeah, because demanding the government quit wasting our money is overwhelmingly racist.
carlosgvv
March 15th, 2012
11:49 am
Don’t tread – 10:40
Big Business will keep on cheating and scaming, politicians will keep on stealing and lying, and you will cling to your illusions of freedom. The rich and powerful are counting on you and others like you to keep the blinders on.
Bernie
March 15th, 2012
11:50 am
Tiberius, why not inquire with Georgia Congressman John Lewis and allow him to explain his inetractioon with Tea Party members. I can assure there was no TEA!
Don't Tread
March 15th, 2012
11:51 am
Trump’s hair functions as an emergency roof flap that deploys automatically to keep him on the ground in case of bad wind gusts
Bernie
March 15th, 2012
11:55 am
This is like joining forces with the KKK to complain about how Bleach companies have changed an ingredient in their product that no longer makes their sheets and hoods as white.
Just saying..
March 15th, 2012
11:55 am
“Trump’s hair functions as an emergency roof flap that deploys automatically to keep him on the ground in case of bad wind gusts ”
And many gusts occur quite close by…
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
11:58 am
“Tiberius, why not inquire with Georgia Congressman John Lewis and allow him to explain his inetractioon with Tea Party members.”
Bernie, you DO realize that the whole John Lewis issue has never been proven, despite multitudes of video cameras along his entire walking route, don’t you? And yes, I do believe that someone as polarizing as John Lewis would lie about something to get sympathy for his out-of-the-mainstream positions or himself. He’s become a tragic, worthless shell whose best days are far behind him and should step down.
But it makes a sane person wonder . . .
Jefferson
March 15th, 2012
12:02 pm
In order to solve people problems, you have to change people or their behavior. Maslow’s hiarchey of needs will kick in with carbon units at some point.
Jefferson
March 15th, 2012
12:04 pm
T-I bet you phrase that differntly to different people.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
12:04 pm
Don’t Tread @ 11:51 –
Hillbilly D
March 15th, 2012
12:05 pm
A $100 gift limit, you see, would have left father and son to watch the game at home or pay their own way.
Pay their own way? What a novel idea.
At that point, one political party will control every elected Constiutional office in Georgia, the State Supreme Court and will have a minority party that will have been reduced (due to redistricting by the republican majority) to numbers that no longer have meaning.
Then things will be back to the way they were for nearly a century. Don’t take that to think I mean that’s a good thing, though.
Bernie
March 15th, 2012
12:06 pm
Tiberus, My Friend, I have no reason in the world to doubt Mr.Lewis’s veracity of such a claim at ALL! This is not a MAN who is known for making such outrageous and false claims in regards to such an ACT! PERIOD! There are millions of Americans who stand behind that fact!
I suppose that beating Mr. Lewis received on that Bridge in Alabama did not happen either?
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
12:06 pm
“I bet you phrase that differntly to different people.”
You bet I phrase WHAT differently to different people?
You should know, Jefferson, that I treat everyone equally.
I have disdain for everybody!
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
12:08 pm
Bernie, you need to separate what John Lewis once did, and what he has become.
The former was a courageous young man.
The latter is a pathetic left-wing hack out of touch with reality and striving to regain his long since past relevance to society.
Bernie
March 15th, 2012
12:16 pm
Tiberius, oh great one, please explain to all of us here exactly what contributions you have made besides making daily unintelligent rants of igorance that far exceeds even those of the once Governor Lester Maddox.
You my friend are akin to an empty wagon on a rocky road making a lot of noise and saying nothing.
You are not worthy enough to carry the Congressman’s dirty laundry to the cleaners.
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
12:17 pm
Bernie @ 11:30: Jay and I agreed to write columns about ethics during this session, which we both acknowledged a couple of months ago. In addition to that, Common Cause and the tea party (along with the League of Women Voters and some other groups) also teamed up to promote ethics reform. Those are two different “joint efforts,” and I didn’t intend my earlier comment to suggest otherwise.
Bernie
March 15th, 2012
12:17 pm
Kyle, The silence is DEAFENING…..
ByteMe
March 15th, 2012
12:22 pm
Kyle, Jay mentioned earlier that other newspapers in georgia were also involved. Care to explain that to Bernie and others as well?
Kyle Wingfield
March 15th, 2012
12:29 pm
ByteMe @ 12:22: I assume he was referring to the fact that other newspapers have taken up the cause of ethics reform by writing about it.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
12:30 pm
“You are not worthy enough to carry the Congressman’s dirty laundry to the cleaners.”
You’re right.
I’m better than that.
yuzeyurbrane
March 15th, 2012
12:32 pm
Something must be wrong Kyle, I agree completely with you.
Bernie
March 15th, 2012
12:33 pm
Kyle, forgive me for saying this, But there is a huge difference between agreeing to write about a specific subject matter and joining forces with a “joint effort” with a politcal organization, no matter which one. could you possibly shed some light as to what was entailed in those joint efforts. How can your readers be assured of pure journalistic objectivity in such an arrangement? I have often questioned that stance in many of writings and now I am even more apprehensive about your ability as a journalist and reporter to believe anything you write is remotely objective.
You and Jay have ventured deeply into the twilight zone here in the South on this and many issues like this. A zone where the lines are so blurred where one can easily be confused where objectivity and influence dance to very dirty music.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
12:38 pm
Bernie, get this through your head. Please.
Kyle and Jay are OPINION columnists, NOT journalists.
They are paid to have a particular slant on their stances on issues.
Your poutrage is getting pathetic.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
March 15th, 2012
12:39 pm
Oh, and Bernie? If you don’t like it, you can just leave. No one is stopping you.
Georgia, The " New Mississippi "
March 15th, 2012
12:58 pm
The nation is asking what the smell is that keeps coming from the Georgia legislature. They usually read / hear about it and laugh. But the pro-rich wealth-redistribution techniques in Georgia are being noticed by all except the Johnny Reb GOP that has lost their moral compass.
Jefferson
March 15th, 2012
1:01 pm
Jail time for bribe takers, all colors, all parties, all orientations, men & women, cops and preachers too.
Linda
March 15th, 2012
1:11 pm
How unfair!
Georgia lawmakers get unlimited bribes including lavish meals, Super Bowl tickets, even a $17,000 7-day trip to Europe to look at trains.
The Democrats & Obama thought they could bribe women for $9 per month, not ALL women, just YOUNG women who did not want children. The Democrats are not only discriminatory, but CHEAP. How insulting!
td
March 15th, 2012
1:22 pm
Kyle,
I applaud you effort but I think you are going down a path already traveled in many states by both political parties and is not a solution to the problem. According to your own statements long term relationship building is the real problem and not a few tickets, dinners or even trips. By doing away with all the gifts, dinner and travel all that is being accomplished is that the citizens (and paper) are not going to be able to track those relationships and who is attempting to build relationships with the politicians.
Unless, you are advocating some real radical reform, such as a person can only lobby for x number of years without being out of the business for x number of years, then the only answer is even more transparency. I think we should know every time and for the length of time any lobbyist speaks to a politician and about what was discussed (sort of like all conversations on the public record). Make this required information be available within x number of days or hours of said conversation and available for all the public to see. This type of legislation is better and addresses your biggest concern and those little gifts mean nothing. As a matter of fact, I do not believe there should be any limitations on gifts, dinners or trips. This would allow the voters to see exactly how much their elected people are in the game for themselves or for the people that elected them.
JMHO
td
March 15th, 2012
1:27 pm
Linda
March 15th, 2012
1:11 pm
As long as the gifts, dinners and trips are transparent then it is a issue between the politician and the people that put them into office. If the voters do not have a problem then so be it.
carlosgvv
March 15th, 2012
1:33 pm
It’s a lot of fun to rant and rave here about how crooked our Georgia politicians are. Unfortunately, when voting time comes around, the words of Paul Simon become all too true:
laugh about it
shout about it
when you’ve got to choose
any way you look at it
you lose
Linda
March 15th, 2012
1:44 pm
td@1:27, My comment was satirical.
What’s worse than politicians are career politicians, career politicians who were lawyers & lobbyists.
td
March 15th, 2012
1:48 pm
Linda
March 15th, 2012
1:44 pm
I will give you a big Amen to the lawyers and lobbyist comment. I can not for the life of me conceive how any voter would vote for a lawyer to become a legislator.
Jefferson
March 15th, 2012
2:08 pm
No No No, disclosure is not enough — it should not be allowed.
Linda
March 15th, 2012
2:11 pm
td@1:48, Well, I guess one person needs to be able to read the mumbo jumbo in the 3000-page bills–after they are passed–so we can “see” what is in them.
What we need in legislatures are more business people who are allergic to red ink & rich business people who can afford to buy their own tickets. (Romney comes to mind.)
Dusty
March 15th, 2012
2:34 pm
Nobody has brought up what I consider a problem. That is: why do we allow lobbyists to have offices in the state capitol? We are not running a trade show there. Get rid of them.
If a respresentative cannot find the information needed on a subject without the help of non government persons, that representative is not smart enough to represent anybody.
No gifts of any kind is very explicit. Let them abide by the rules.
Punishment for the theft? Let’s make it simple. Violators must sit on the steps of the capitol every Friday and listen to a preacher giving an all day sermon on THOU SHALT NOT STEAL! TV camerias, photographers and the public may come and take pictures of those who steal. Kyle, Bookman and the Inquirer may write all they want about it. The public will soon tell their legislators where to go!
We need action, not fiddle faddle.
From The AJC: Wingfield And Bookman
March 15th, 2012
2:44 pm
[...] up, Kyle Wingfield paints the legislature with a deservedly broad brush for their refusal to consider any form of gift ban. I chose not to name names in these instances for a variety of reasons. Chief among them is that [...]
td
March 15th, 2012
4:17 pm
Test
Linda
March 15th, 2012
4:47 pm
This is how the game is played.
Peter Schweizer wrote a book, “Throw Them All Out.” He crosschecked Obama’s ‘08 campaign finance records with his green energy stuff. It shows that:
• 71 percent of Energy Department grants and loans went to Obama’s political cronies. 71 percent!
• Collectively, they raised about $457,834 for Obama’s campaign.
• And they were in turn approved for grants or loans of nearly $11.346 billion.
• That means they got $24,783 in taxpayer dollars for every $1 they gave to Obama’s campaign.
Yes, that is BILLIONS!
http://blog.american.com/
killerj
March 15th, 2012
6:28 pm
Dam,is that where my politician was last night while another 100 homes were foreclosed?…Oh by the way,what was the score?
captguitarman
March 15th, 2012
7:05 pm
Good article. Very telling. Kind of makes you yearn for the the days of King Roy and the Dems who held iron-fisted rule in the Gold Dome. The politics are a little different, but the Georgia legislative entitlement culture is there to stay until things change, and they will again because under this loosey goosey system, another big scandal will pop up sooner or later, just like with Don’t Take Another Step or I’ll Shoot Glen Richardson and is AGL lobbyist girl friend. And you thought only Occupy Wallstreet, public employees, and welfare queens cared about their entitlements?! After Don’t Come A Step Closer went down in flames, the Dome got away with a lot of lip service and this half-assed system now in place that maintains their entitlements. But the voters are watching, and they don’t see much integrity or honesty. Just like collecting money under one premise, for a stated and important need, and then spending it under another, and without even blushing about it. They don’t even comprehend the blatant dishonesty in that. No, you don’t just take it for something else, you go to the voters and tell them you need more money for education or whatever that something else is. But, like one of them said, he’s been shifting designated funds around for years and has always gotten re-elected. And no out cry over eithics big enough to move them an inch. In the end, it’s the voters’ fault. Georgians have the government they deserve. Maybe that’s why the state and city that were once the capital of the New South, with so much promise, are now following along behind the parade, cleaning up after the elephants who now hold iron-fisted rule under the Gold Dome – for now, anyway.
Just saying..
March 15th, 2012
8:22 pm
Linda @ 4:47
“This is how the game is played.
Peter Schweizer wrote a book, “Throw Them All Out.” He crosschecked Obama’s ‘08 campaign finance records with his green energy stuff. It shows that:
• 71 percent of Energy Department grants and loans went to Obama’s political cronies. 71 percent!
• Collectively, they raised about $457,834 for Obama’s campaign.
• And they were in turn approved for grants or loans of nearly $11.346 billion.
• That means they got $24,783 in taxpayer dollars for every $1 they gave to Obama’s campaign.
Yes, that is BILLIONS!”
Bronze plaque right here please. Linda has discovered politics.
Voter
March 19th, 2012
9:31 pm
Ethics Reform in Georgia……HA! HA! $$$$ wins in the end.