Ethics reform is rarely, if ever, an issue voters put at the top of their list of “things that must be done.”
It should be. And that’s why, despite the opinions of others whom I respect, I believe Ken Cuccinelli’s call for a special legislative session to address ethics reform is not only the right call, it’s the only call.
In an op-ed on Bearing Drift, Cuccinelli sketched the broad outlines of the kind of ethics reform he would like to see. We can quibble over the details, but his instincts are right on target. So, too, is his assessment of the opposition to his special session idea:
I did not expect my colleagues in Richmond to jump for joy when I called on the governor to call a special session. Likewise, I predicted Terry McAuliffe, now the subject of two federal investigations, would dismiss my proposal as a gimmick-which he promptly did. But now is the time for people to come forward and be part of the solution. If my opponent doesn’t want to be part of it, that’s his prerogative.
To say that the reception has been lukewarm is being charitable. Governor McDonnell does not want a special session. Lieutenant Governor Bolling doesn’t either. House Republican leaders, and most rank-and-file members, prefer to take up the idea during January’s regular session.
And Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe did, indeed, call the idea “a gimmick.”
So it would seem a special session to clean up Richmond’s ethical swamp is going nowhere.
Perhaps. But the politics of the issue scream – loudly – that the best thing the state’s Republican leadership could do is follow Cuccinelli’s lead and get the special session underway. Democrats – following McAuliffe’s lead – have put themselves in an untenable position.
Regrettably, too many Republicans have joined them.
Republicans adopting this approach are missing the politics of reform — and that the one who has the most to lose isn’t their seat mate (or themselves), but Terry McAuliffe.
A special session held before the election will, necessarily, draw additional attention to Terry McAuliffe. In the past few days, McAuliffe has endured a series of bad stories about his former car company, GreenTech. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating possible fraud in the company’s marketing. McAuliffe says he has no knowledge of the investigation, having left the company in December of 2012. But the SEC isn’t asking hard questions about what happened to GreenTech after he left.
They want to find out if the company violated securities law while he was in charge.
McAuliffe can’t afford to have this investigation, on top of the lingering questions about his other past business deals, put under a special session microscope. Hence, he dismisses it as a “gimmick.”
The only gimmick is allowing a system everyone knows is rotten to survive through the next session. Worse, the idea may not come up in the next session at all. John McGlennon of William & Mary noted:
“I think the biggest obstacle to systematic ethics reform is basically our legislative calendar,” he said. “The legislative session itself is so compressed that it’s difficult for legislators to focus on major structural reform during the session, and it’s easy for those who are not interested in reform to bury proposals.
“I actually think it’s more likely we will get some kind of study commission to review our ethics laws and to propose reforms. So that would push off action to at least the next legislative session (in 2015).”
And as Del. Bob Marshall said in the same article: “I bet some (legislators) are just hoping to sink past this.”
He may be right. If so, that tells me the corruption is deeper than we realize. And all the more reason to tackle the problem now.
There is one more thing about all this that bears mentioning. Throughout his political career, Ken Cuccinelli has broken with his own party over matters of principle. This has earned him cold stares and colder shoulders within the elected ranks. But it has also endeared him to the people who matter far more — voters. Cuccinelli’s supporters have been pining for the Ken they knew, loved and voted for in the past to show up on the campaign trail. Here he is, taking the bold stand no one else wants to take because it’s both right, and politically smart.
Cuccinelli has given the GOP an opportunity. They can do what is right for the commonwealth at the same time they do what is right for their own political future. If they seize it, they can claim the reformist mantle heading into the November elections. If they fail to do so, they are greater fools than I imagined.
Support Ken Cuccinelli — call the special session.
And Sign the Petition
We’re serious about the special session and Ken needs to know he’s got public support. Go here and sign the petition to Stand With Ken.
