State legislators have finally seen the light.
After one of the dirtiest elections in history, Democrats and Republicans jointly released a plan today that will reform Wisconsin's ailing ethics rules.
Gov. Jim Doyle introduced a similar plan last January, but GOP lawmakers withheld their support, quietly killing a proposal that would have done much to minimize the wild accusations that muddied the race for governor. Doyle's plan proposed to:
- Ban all fundraising between the time the budget is introduced and signed into law.
- Ban former state politicians and gubernatorial appointees from lobbying for one year after they leave their positions.
- Merge the state ethics and elections boards.
- Prohibit using campaign contributions to defend against ethics charges.
These were common sense suggestions that, if written by citizens rather than politicians, likely would have been even more stringent. For example, fundraising should have been restricted to a tighter time period, and lobbying privileges should have been banned altogether for state officials convicted of ethics violations. But this was a good start.
Given the many questions Republicans raised about contributions to Doyle's campaign, it's hard to understand why the GOP didn't support reform. But both parties had many campaign dollars and legislative seats to gain through the lack of a strong policy, so the proposal languished.
That must change during the new legislative session.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lawmakers are encouraged to support the toughest rules possible. Wisconsin once was highly respected for its ethical politicians. In recent years, however, our political integrity has dropped to the level of disgraced states such as Illinois, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Residents expect not only change, but strong enforcement. Without pristine ethics, democracy can't survive.
