Our local newspaper was congratulating the Tennessee state representatives for saying they favor Ethics Rules...

Corrupt, dishonest, immoral, and unethical behavior has been in government at all levels ever since there has been government. Look at all the people who leave government offices or jobs and take high paying positions with companies and countries doing business with their old employer. You think it is coincidence? Many of the people in senior positions in the current Federal government came out of the oil business and look how those companies are doing. But government is not alone. Businesses have their problems also. Tremendous bonuses for failing; large golden parachutes for the CEO while the people who trusted them lose their jobs; large bonuses to the CEO to send jobs overseas are examples of such behavior. It is just the nature of the beast that those in power take advantage of those not in power and asking the foxes to watch the chicken house is a losing idea.

Government folks get mighty rich when they leave office, especially when you consider their government salaries. Are we to not think the big book deals they know they will get when they leave office doesn't affect their decisions while they are in office? Knowing they will be on the "cold chicken dinner circuit" when they leave office and be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for an hour or so of bragging about themselves doesn't affect decisions? You know, a friend of a friend of a friend type thing. Word gets back to a President that a foreign government will give him many millions of dollars for a speech or two, and we don’t expect him to help that government if he can? Look at the "pardons" every president gives, especially those close to the end of their time in office. Knowing they can go into consulting or join a “think-tank” partially funded by a foreign government doesn't affect decisions they make? If you knew a person high in government would appreciate it, wouldn’t you help his son to get out of trouble? This goes without being asked so everyone can deny collusion.

The electorate is at fault here. Will Rogers is alleged to have said “we should elect the local thief and send him to rob Washington.” As our government representatives achieve seniority they have more opportunities to give something to us, and we don’t care how they do it, so we elect them again and again and again. The situation is similar as with lawyers. We make jokes about lawyers but when we are in trouble we want the lawyer who can get us out of that trouble and we don’t care how. The idea of a professional representative was foreign to the men who began this country.

Priorities in public office are: first: take care of ones self; second: take care of the people who provided money; and last, if it does not negatively affect the other two priorities, help the voter. Who amongst us would do otherwise?

If our representative is unethical, dishonest, immoral, not doing the job to which we voted them, we, the people, should vote them out of office and stop our complaining