More Republican Problems With Ethics

The perception that government officials are acting ethically and properly representing the voters is an essential ingredient to our democracy, both at the state and federal level.

Unfortunately, a study released Tuesday by Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, Inc. does not bode well:

There are no demographic groups in Wisconsin who believe the ethics in Madison have improved over the last decade. One of the major problems, looking at the total results, is that ourelected officials and citizens are moving further apart. Wisconsin residents seem to have muchless confidence in their elected officials and are questioning the ethics of their government institutions.

[snip]

The most stunning number was that there were no Blacks who believed their elected officials put constituents' interests first.

The numbers are staggering, to say the least.




This, of course, leads to the question of why the trend has changed so dramatically since 2002, while remaining fairly steady for the previous decade. Perhaps the table below (Full report here)can shed some light on the matter:




Quite a fascinating correlation, isn't it? After the Republicans take control of the Senate and increase their majority in the Assembly to the largest since 1991 in 2002, the belief of Wisconsin citizens that their government officials are representing them plummets. Looking at bills like the Conscience Clause, sponsored by Pro-Life Across Wisconsin and the Concealed Carry bill, of which the NRA received an advanced vetting opportunity, it's not difficult to see exactly whom the Republicans of Wisconsin are representing.

Clearly, the ethical troubles of the Republican party do not end at the state level, either. One only need look at Tom Delay, Karl Rove, "Scooter" Libby, Bill Bennett, or Bill Frist, just to name a few, to see that the conservative ideology is ethically challenged across the board. It's time for the American "values voters" to wake up, and realize that they are not getting the representation the Republicans promised them in 2002 and 2004. Any party that denigrates the role of government cannot be trusted to run that same government. The examples are crystal clear, time after time. Conservative Republican ideology harms more people than it helps. It weakens our country both economically and security-wise, and does nothing to address the real social concerns of the American people.

Time to give the reins back to the party that knows how to govern. The Democrats are not perfect by any stretch. But they have acommitmentt to making the United States a better nation for more than just the wealthiest and most well-connected. 2006 needs to be the year that the 98% of us that are not wealthy enough to benefit from the Republican agenda take our country back!