ethics

The Power of Incumbency: Charlie Rangel Edition

by Ryan Young on November 17, 2010

in Politics as Usual

Over at the AmSpec blog, I look at the just-wrapped House ethics trial against Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY). Worth noting: while that Damoclean sword was hanging over Rangel’s head, 80 percent of his district’s voters though him worthy of another term.

Nothing against Rangel; he has his problems, but he’s good on some issues, such as wanting to end the Cuban embargo. But the ease with which even ethically challenged incumbents get re-elected is a sign that our democracy is not healthy.

Image credit: pamhule’s flickr photostream.

LibertyWeek 82: Lessons from Chile

by Richard Morrison on March 1, 2010

in CEI Projects, Podcast

Richard Morrison, Jeremy Lott and Brooke Oberwetter unite to bring you Episode 82 of the LibertyWeek podcast. We cover lessons from Chile, heathcare legislation on life support, a perfect storm for the IPCC, underage iPod assemblers and Charlie Rangel’s fairy godmother.

Poll: Used Car Salesmen More Ethical than Congress

by Ryan Young on December 9, 2009 · 2 comments

in Odds & Ends, Politics as Usual, Zeitgeist

According to a new poll, “Congressmen were rated as having a “low/very low” ethical standards by 55 percent of 1,017 adults across the nation.”

The same poll found that 45% of 1,017 adults across the nation had either never heard of Congress, or are big believers in grade inflation.

The shocking part is that used car salesmen only out-performed Congress by four points.

LibertyWeek 38: Pirate Warriors on Deck

by Richard Morrison on April 13, 2009

in CEI Projects, Podcast

Your hosts Richard Morrison and Cord Blomquist are joined by special guest co-host Jeremy Lott for a very swashbuckling Episode 38 of LibertyWeek. We start with the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips from Somali pirates by the U.S. Navy and Special Forces, look into the murky finances of AIG CEO Edward Liddy in Scandal Watch, and figure out what ISPs are up to in Technology News. We also get an update on how West Virginia is about to become even more Wild and Wonderful, and finally we answer the call for wealthy, multilingual volunteers in Olympic News.

Some Interests Are More Special Than Others

by Richard Morrison on February 20, 2009

in Politics as Usual, Zeitgeist

The current administration long ago decided to elevate the executive branch of government to a new level of purity by not allowing former lobbyists to hold senior appointed positions. We wouldn’t want anyone who had ever been affiliated with a for-profit company or DC pressure group to be holding the levers of power in Washington, right?

Of course not. Unless, that is, someone decides that the person in question is really a great guy and we should make an exception for him (or her). As it turns out, there are a lot of exceptions in Washington these days. Our old friend Tim Carney elaborates:

Washington lobbyist Christine Varney is poised to take her third pass through the revolving door of lobbying and government with her nomination by President Barack Obama to be his administration’s top antitrust enforcer.

Also, on Thursday, Obama nominated Derek Douglas, a former lobbyist for the O’Melveny & Myers law firm and Center for American Progress, as special assistant on urban affairs.

As with most of the at least 14 former lobbyists nominated or hired by Obama, Varney and Douglas appear to be not covered by his executive order restricting the official activities of former lobbyists.

So apparently it’s not a categorical imperative to keep former lobbyists out of the administration. Which begs the question, why have the rule in the first place?