Posted by
Dr. Ray Usell on Thursday, November 20, 2008 4:40:17 PM
Here is an ethics proposal that could curb Congressional corruption. You will recognize this ethic as a form of "say what you mean, and mean what you say".
Ethics Rule: Never vote for legislation unless you fully support each and every provision. A vote for a piece of legislation means you are telling your constituents you believe each and every provision of the legislation is in their best interests.
Example: A piece of legislation contains a major purpose and many provisions supporting it (e.g., fund the troops). It also contains 20 earmarks inserted to benefit specific special interests unrelated to supporting the troops. You must vote against the entire bill if you do not fully support any one of the earmarks or funding the troops.
Effects: If all or even many in Congress followed the above ethic, legislation would tend to be less lengthy and complex. Much legislation now is hundreds of pages long and contains many dozens of earmarks unrelated to the main purpose of the legislation. What happens now to get more Congressional votes, earmarks are added to legislation. Under the proposed ethic, to get more votes, objectionable provisions would have to be removed from the legislation.
Besides reducing length and complexity, this ethic increases accountability. Now politicians can always say, for example, "I didn't agree with this, that, or the other earmark, but I voted for the legislation to fund the troops." Under the proposed ethic, politicians would have to defend every earmark and special interest provision they voted for. Voters could then decide for themselves how to assess their Senators and Representatives.
Opposition: Members of Congress will hate this ethic. They are used to "buying" each other's votes by agreeing to earmarks which in turn "buy" constituent's votes. They will say, we could never get any legislation passed if we couldn't negotiate deals. But these deals get Senators and Representatives to vote for provisions they don't really believe in. That is total corruption of the Legislative process.
Please propose this ethic to your Senators and Representatives. Then, never ever vote for a Senator or Representative that has not agreed to the ethic, "Legislate what you mean, and mean what you Legislate".