Congressman Don Young, a Republican from Alaska, was slapped on the wrist last week by the House Ethics Committee for accepting $59,000 worth of gifts. They served him with what is called a “letter of reproval.”
Make pretend you were passing through Mayberry on your vacation (you had never been there before), and you were given a $1 parking ticket by Barney because you accidentally parked on the wrong side street of the street. That is sort of like a “letter of reproval.”
Except there is a difference; we have never been to Mayberry, but Rep. Young is the longest serving Republican in congress. He knows the rules. He has also been the subject of several federal investigations and ethics probes in recent years.
Writer Fredreka Shouten, in an article for USA Today (June 20, 2014) entitled: “Ethics panel admonishes Rep. Young for trips, gifts,” states:
“Young and his family used campaign funds for personal expenses, including trips to hunting lodges, the committee found. Investigators say he also violated House rules by accepting gifts from donors, ranging from pricey charter flights and a $434 pair of boots to meals and golf outings from a lobbying firm.”
He has been ordered to pay it back and his reaction has been contrite as we might expect:
“’There were a number of instances where I failed to exercise due care in complying with the House’s code of conduct, and for that, I apologize,” he said. He added that he has strengthened his office’s policies to ‘ensure that these types of oversights do not happen again.’”
Before we talk about all of this free stuff and his apologies and such, it is important to mention that it was not all taken in one year, or in one moment of bad judgment. Representative Young took advantage of such gifts between 2001 and 2013. In a perfect world we might imagine that at some point, the Congressman might have mused that what he was doing was wrong.
There is no free lunch
A very long time ago, maybe to the 1890s, a barkeep got the brilliant idea to put out a big spread at his bar at lunchtime. Then he placed a sign above the food that said “Free.” Well you can imagine the crowds that drew. There was one small catch. You had to order a beer – and the beer was “expensive.” That’s where the expression originates.
To a major corporation or lobbying association, a hunting excursion for a congress person is pretty small potatoes. It doesn’t have to be anything very overt. It could just be the lobbyist sharing a drink with the politician and sharing a view. If the politician “bites,” if the politician is swayed or simply knows who showed him or her a great time, there is a bias.
We all lose when a politician can be bought in any way. Even if you are a diehard Democrat and the congressman a lifelong Republican, our entire political process is in jeopardy when someone we pay to represent us, is compromised.
We voters need a wall between our politicians and forces attempting to sway them, and the good news is that there is already something readily available to prevent politicians from being “bought.” It is called ethics.
I was quite interested in the part of Rep. Young’s quote where he said he was strengthening his office policies to “‘ensure that these types of oversights do not happen again.’” I am not sure what he means. Is he telling us that for more than a decade these free trips and boots and such fell out of the air? Is he saying that each year one of his aides said something like this: “Boss, did you know that Santa Claus just delivered some tickets and equipment for a trip for you and the family?”
While the politician didn’t say so, maybe what he really meant was that his staff was every bit as unethical as he was. Maybe the word “ethics” has never been uttered in that office or maybe ethics was viewed as the punch line to one of the congressman’s jokes.
People Change, Ethics Don’t
I am sure that when Representative Don Young he was as clean, pure and as honest as the Alaskan snow. Something happened and perhaps it happened to his staff as well. They changed. What was once very wrong was suddenly right. They went off the track knowing full well they were slipping down a dangerous slope. Ethics training could have stopped it. Ethics; right and wrong don’t change, but I’m afraid people do and it all starts when one drifts down the unethical continuum – something I speak about regularily.
I am a strong advocate for ethics training for politicians and their staffs. The time I could spend with a congressional staff would at least serve to awaken their ethical consciences. It is a good way to start.
Maybe I would start by reminding them that free lunches aren’t free and steps taken toward unethical behavior start small when you step on that slippery slope.
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