Self-Regulation

I recently wrote a blog post about a false statements in elections law in Ohio, and the problems with enforcing such laws. I have often written about the problems with self-enforcement of ethics laws. In the Wisconsin case of a state supreme court justice's misrepresentations in an election ad, the two have come together, big-time. The result is far more injurious, even crippling, to public trust in the judiciary than the original misrepresentations.

Government officials should, I think, focus more on what their actions teach Americans. In effect, each of them is teaching an ongoing civics course.

For many years, Congress have been giving us a course on how self-regulation in the ethics sphere simply doesn't work.

Former New York State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno has been indicted by a federal grand jury, but his biggest crime was not taking millions of dollars in so-called consulting fees. His biggest crime was standing in the way of any meaningful ethics reform in New York State.