Does the Phrase "Apparent Conflict of Interest" Mean Nothing to the GOP?
If you work in the world of finance, as I do, there's a phrase that gets drummed into your brain. "You must avoid anything that is a conflict of interest or an apparent conflict of interest." What would constitute a conflict of interest is, I think, fairly obvious. Don't accept gifts that will sway your decision on a contract. An apparent conflict of interest is one where, even if it doesn't sway your decision, it could appear to a reasonable person like it might. So you don't accept gifts over some nominal limit from potential vendors at all.
None of what we're talking about is actually illegal. Just unethical. If you accept tickets to the World Series for you and your family from a potential vendor, you won't go to jail. You won't be charged with any crime at all. You may well be fired, but that isn't a legal punishment.
So when I read about the number of judicial candidates who donated money to Republicans in decision-making capacities while they were judicial candidates, the first phrase that pops into my mind is "apparent conflict of interest." It might even be an outright conflict of interest, but at a minimum, it is an apparent one. Judgeships shouldn't be up for sale, or even look like they're up for sale. I hear that too often they are rewards for patronage of different sorts, which is despicable. The judiciary is meant to be a check on the executive and legislative branches. If they're doled out as repayment, then what kind of check do we have? It's exactly this kind of behavior that enables the executive branch (read "George W. Bush") to think they can simply take whatever powers they want, the other branches of government be damned. If you're willing to simply ignore the legislature and have the judiciary in your pocket, why worry about anyone putting a stop to your power grab?
As citizens, we need to send a clear message that this kind of behavior is unacceptable. If you live in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or New York, here are the politicians you should be wary of: Senator George Voinovich, Senator Arlen Specter, Senator Rick Santorum, and Governor George Pataki. I left Senator Mike DeWine off the list, even though he is discussed in the Salon article, because it seems he returned all the money. You can't stop someone from making a contribution. You can return it. DeWine did the right thing, at least on this issue. Santorum is up for re-election this year. I hope his opponent makes this an issue. It looks like Santorum is going to lose regardless, but this should still be made an issue.
Specter isn't up for another four years, but don't buy his BS that "it's just not possible to know everybody" who donates to his campaigns. Of course it's not, but there aren't that many judicial candidates he's nominated. It's not that hard to scan through the database of contributors on a regular basis for their names and return any contributions. Specter also trots out the "but it doesn't actually sway my decisions" tripe (that's my paraphrase, not an exact quote). Even if that's true, it's still an apparent conflict of interest. It's called "ethics", Arlen. Look it up.
Oh, there's one more Republican politician who accepted contributions from judicial candidates - George W. Bush himself. It starts at the top.