Published 9-28-08
in Longmont Times-Call

DEMOCRATS IGNORE
OWN ETHICS LAPSES

When the Democrats took over the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised ethical purity. Well, Tom Delay (R-Texas) was sacked when he was indicted (not convicted) on charges of violating campaign finance laws, but still sitting is William Jefferson (D-Louisiana), who is under indictment on charges of racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire-fraud, obstruction of justice and money-laundering. He is the chap whose freezer yielded a cool $90,000 in cash.

And now, according to The New York Times, Charles Rangel (D-New York), chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee which writes the income tax code, “has earned rental income from a villa he has owned in the Dominican Republic since 1988, but never reported it on his federal or state tax returns.” The Times headline read, “Rangel Failed to Report $75,000 in Income.” Pelosi says the Democratic controlled House Ethics Committee “will look into it”--much like they’re looking into Jefferson’s activities, no doubt.

Closer to home, Democratic 4th Congressional District candidate Betsy Markey is having big trouble explaining her involvement in a company that depends heavily on contracts with federal agencies, while at the same time she was serving as an aide to U.S. Senator Ken Salazar. The Denver Post reported, “Markey’s signed financial disclosures list the Maryland-based Syscom among her assets and say she held a director’s position between Jan. 1, 2006 and May 15, 2008. For part of that time she also served as Salazar’s regional director.” The headline over the Rocky Mountain News report read: “Public filings contradict Markey’s words.” To which her campaign staff replied, in effect, that if anything is wrong, it was just an “oversight.” But that’s precisely the excuse Rangel’s high-profile lawyer Lanny Davis is already using.

It makes no sense to me to add another “insider” to Washington. I’m voting for Marilyn Musgrave.
P.

MY FELLOW CITIZENS
BEWARE OF REFERENDUM O

They can’t take that away from us, but they’re trying.

In this context, the “they” refers mostly to public officials whose ox has been gored via the initiative process (as in TABOR), and the “that” identifies our right to petition our state government for whatever reason we see fit, as guaranteed by the First Amendment, securing the winning result in the state Constitution to keep the politicians at bay. Occasionally, the judiciary steps in afterwards and decides what’s “fit,” but mostly keeps its hands off.

Denouncing Colorado as a stomping ground for citizen initiatives, they have floated Referendum O seeking, for one thing, to sharply increase the number of signatures required to put initiated laws on the ballot. They want to fix it so that only the special interest groups (think tanks, unions, 501s) will be able to file initiatives because they will have the money and power to organize petition drives to collect signatures, no matter the number. If the news media want to promote participatory democracy, then disempowering the grassroots is not the way to go.

So they throw us a bone called “initiated statutes” which are good for five years. What a sham. They must be kidding.

Long ballot? County officials can speed up voting by setting up more polling places. People who intend to continue governing themselves must take the time to do so.
P.