ethics

Not that long ago, it looked as if former ambassador and Bush/Cheney BFF Tom Foley was going to make ethics reform a central feature of his "sequel" campaign for governor of Connecticut. He introduced (failed) legislation, released an onslaught of ads saying as much, and presented his case to the media. Of course, that was before all the allegations of his unethical campaigning started to pour out.

A Denver police captain was arrested on domestic violence charges. The department tried to cover it up, but the Blue Wall cracked. Internal Affairs is now involved and it looks like the scandal goes to the very highest levels.

Ex-President Jimmy Carter's grandson, Jason Carter, has had an unexpected surge in Georgia's gubernatorial race. With his Republican counterpart, Governor Nathan Deal, mired in an ethics scandal, Carter's chances are looking better than ever in the conservative deep south state.

A U.S. House candidate in Montana is benefiting from a political action committee he created, leading at least one opponent and some experts to question the legality of the peculiar arrangement. Ryan Zinke, a former Navy SEAL who is seeking the Republican nomination for Montana's lone congressional seat, created the Special Operations for America (SOFA) super PAC to back Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. The committee now backs candidates who support the military — and their first candidate is Zinke, a 52-year-old former state senator.

New Jersey Democrats will pool their resources by merging separate legislative investigations into allegations that Gov. Chris Christie's aides blocked traffic lanes near the George Washington Bridge to create backups in a nearby town to punish the Democratic mayor.

If the intent is to prove that Democrats can also have dumb ideas, why then Mobile area Rep. Joseph Mitchell has outdone himself with 2 pre-filed bills. One would set up "pivileged communications" for legislators and the other could possibly help legislators thwart ethics & criminal investigations.  I'm seeing a pattern here...

The filibuster was never intended by the Founding Fathers, but today it's used indiscriminately, causing gridlock and uncertainty. A rules change alleviate some of the more nefarious consequences of the no-talk filibuster, or Fili-Bluster.

Governor "Ultrasound" McDonnell is on wrong side of a probe. It is Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's turn in the hot seat as the investigation into possible misdeeds widens.

Does Jim Ragsdale care about the truth?
The Star Tribune took a while to introduce it's readers to the new Minnesota Senate Minority Leader David Hann who was elected by his caucus last Friday. The delay couldn't have been because of any research. Jim Ragsdale wrote the article and fails to note Hann's conflict of interest and ethical lapses.

The scandal plagued Republican State Senator from Eden Prairie, David Hann, was elected by his fellow Senate Republicans to lead their Caucus as Minority Leader.  No surprise there!  Beginning in January 2011, when the Senate Republicans took over, it has been scandal after scandal after scandal by these Republican scoundrels.