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Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Law - Ongoing scandals in our sister states of Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio, and a powerful column from the Washington Times

Some stories about the ongoing scandals in our sister states of Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio.

"Note-taker settles dispute, repays $12,567" is the headline to this story today in the Chicago Sun-Times. Some quotes:

SPRINGFIELD -- It was a sweet gig while it lasted. Connie Peters was paid more than $2,000 a month by the state simply to watch meetings of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and report back to the governor.

But after former Gov. George Ryan abolished her position in 2002, the longtime Republican operative continued getting government paychecks for nearly six months, cashing them to the tune of $12,567.

Now, to settle a lawsuit filed against her earlier this year by Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Peters has agreed to return that compensation for a job that no longer existed and perhaps shouldn't have existed in the first place.

"Eight employees join city hiring lawsuit" reports the Sun-Times:
Eight current and former city employees claimed Tuesday there was no way to get a promotion at City Hall without clout, and that sometimes meant a good word from John Daley, the mayor's brother. * * *

The employees described being passed over for promotions and lucrative overtime by less qualified, less experienced employees with clout from their associations with: John Daley's 11th Ward Regular Democratic Organization; Ald. Edward Burke's 14th Ward organization and the Daley-created Hispanic Democratic Organization run by the mayor's former political enforcer Victor Reyes.

"Fletcher's shell game: Another day, another hypocrisy in Frankfort" is the headline to this editorial in the Louisville Courier Journal that concludes:
[U]nless the Governor acts forcefully to restore his credibility, the stark gap between his promises of reform and his spoils-system practices will continue to haunt him and his party throughout the upcoming General Assembly.

Unfortunately, he shows no sign of being prepared to take such action.

Instead, his high-powered lawyers will be arguing today in the Court of Appeals that his blanket pardon in the JOBTROT scandal has the legal effect of handcuffing and gagging the special grand jury from doing anything more, short of indicting him.

Legally, they are likening his cover up of spoils-system grime to some of the great acts of presidential statesmanship, including George Washington's pardon of participants in the Whiskey Rebellion.

But whatever the similarity in legal principles, the case only emphasizes the shameful difference in motive and justification for Gov. Fletcher's assertion of such awesome executive power.

Even a court victory will not forestall legislative hearings or stanch the political bleeding. The Governor who rose by the sword of reform is now -- day by day and hypocrisy by hypocrisy -- dying by it.

"Big names piling up in Ohio Republican scandal" is the headline to this story originally published in the Washington Post. It begins:
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The scandal began as a curiosity. Tom Noe, a gregarious businessman and Republican Party leader in northwest Ohio, had been entrusted with $50 million in state money to invest in rare coins, with the idea of winning fat returns for the workers' compensation fund.

It seemed an oddity at most but, like a loose thread on a jacket, the more investigators pulled it, the more the garment unraveled, revealing members of Ohio's Republican establishment who had been wined, dined and enriched by Noe.

Republican Gov. Bob Taft, heir to the state's most famous political name, pleaded no contest in August to accepting secret freebies from Noe and others and was fined $4,000. Members of his staff admitted borrowing money from Noe or using his Florida Keys vacation home. Millions in state funds are missing from Noe's accounts.

From the Toledo Blade:
Gov. Bob Taft's approval ratings have hit single digits. But Ohio Republicans shouldn't hit the panic button, a new statewide poll suggests.

A Zogby International online survey, conducted a week after the Nov. 8 election and released yesterday, shows just 6.5 percent of Ohio voters view the embattled GOP governor very or somewhat favorably. Barely 3 percent rate his job performance as "good" or "excellent."

"I'm not aware of anyone who's ever sunk lower," pollster John Zogby said. * * *

Ohio's results show voters, despite their anger with Mr. Taft, divided evenly over which political party they trust to run state government, with 38 percent choosing Democrats and 37 percent Republicans.

Finally, from the Washington Times, a column by Bruce Bartlett. Some quotes:
One of the most important political developments in America is the creeping corruption of the Republican Party. Increasingly, there is little meaningful difference between Republicans in Congress and the Democrats they replaced a little more than 10 years ago. Unless they clean up their act fast, Republicans will suffer major losses in next year's congressional elections.

There is no question Democrats became deeply corrupt in the 40 years after 1954 when they controlled the House of Representatives continuously. * * *

One abuse that particularly bothers me is routinely holding open votes far beyond the normal time so Republican leaders can twist arms to force principled conservatives to back big spending measures. The worst was the three-hour vote in 2003 that gave us the Medicare drug monstrosity. Just a few weeks ago it was done again when the leadership held a 5-minute vote open 45 minutes to bludgeon through an energy bill.

Although few Republicans will speak on the record about such abuses for fear of retaliation, it is a growing topic of private conversations. Earlier this year, The Washington Post quoted one leadership aide lamenting, "It took Democrats 40 years to get as arrogant as we have become in 10." * * *

I believe the root of the current Republican scandal wave is that the party's governing element in Washington has completely forgotten why they were elected in the first place. Grass-roots Republicans support the party because it is the party of small government. Those who like big government, who always want Washington to do more, vote Democratic.

When Republicans begin aping the Democrats by proposing endless pork barrel projects and lavish new drug benefits for the elderly, not even pretending any budget deficit concerns, rank-and-file Republicans wonder why they should remain in a party that has little meaningful difference from the Democrats. I predict many will stay home Election Day next year.

When Republicans no longer stand for any sort of principle, it becomes a simple matter to use power just to reward your friends or those with connections. Things like the Abramoff scandal are the logical consequences. A renewed commitment to principle is the best antidote.

In the words of conservative New York Post columnist John Podhoretz: "As is often the case when reformers take the reins of power, they've become mirror images of those they replaced. They've grown especially interested in rewarding their friends, punishing their enemies and using government power for their own narrow partisan ends."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 30, 2005 08:01 AM
Posted to General Law Related