|
Laurie Roberts gives a high five to Arizona's crooked politicians - well kind of!!!
Arizona's leaders, you've got to love them We pause this weekend to pay tribute to some of our leaders who have answered the call to public service, sacrificial sorts willing to step forward and give of themselves in the hope of making Arizona a better place. Today, we give a hand to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, under investigation by the Justice Department for racial profiling, and to ex-County Attorney Andrew Thomas, disbarred for wielding his prosecutorial powers with a pair of brass knuckles. To Supervisors Mary Rose Wilcox and Don Stapley, a couple of victims intent upon easing their pain with a pots full of money. Our money, that is. To ex-Sen. Scott Bundgaard and ex-Rep. Daniel Patterson, who resigned just ahead of being thrown out of the Legislature for their, let’s just say, less than gentlemanly treatment of their girlfriends. To Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, who, when not posing in his undies, is facing questions from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, to determine whether he and top aides destroyed public records and misused government resources for his campaign. Big high fives to ex-Rep. Richard Miranda, due to be sentenced in federal court next month for looting a charity dedicated to helping farmworkers. To recalled Sen. Russell Pearce, chief among the Fiesta Bowl junketeers, with nearly $40,000 in fabulous free weekend getaways. To Sen. Linda Lopez, the runner-up with nearly $17,000 worth of free trips for her and her various relatives. And of course, to the king of free tickets, Rep. Ben Arredondo -- not only a junketeer but quite possibly an out-and-out crook. Arredondo was indicted last week on five federal counts including, bribery, mail fraud, extortion and lying in a freebies-for-favors sting. Given that I doubt the feds went fishing for guppies, we wait now to see what else wriggles into public view at the end of an FBI hook. While we wait, it seems appropriate to ponder a few questions. Like how did we land such an astonishing collection of public servants, people who cut corners, ignore rules, break laws and/or look to line their pockets (or fund their itineraries)? And why aren’t we shocked anymore? “I think we have all become so accustomed and numbed to politicians being such lowlifes and liars that people are just accepting of it,” said Bill Rice of Prescott. “What a shame. But hey, the election system being what it is, where pandering, spin, distortion and outright lying -- oh they are just politicians -- is accepted, what else can we expect?” Something more, surely. The question is, how do we get it? How do we attract a better class of leaders? People who will dedicate themselves not just to following the law but maybe even to fixing a few things around here, like the economy and the woeful state of our schools. Would better pay help? I’ve often opposed pay raises, on the theory that we wind up with the same old leaders, just dressed in nicer duds. Then again, you do get what you pay for and public service shouldn’t require a vow of poverty. So maybe we do need to raise their pay, or at least lower our weapons. Bob Grossfeld, a Democratic political strategist, says the political climate needs to change. Between a general lack of respect anymore for public officers and the meat grinder we feed candidates through, Grossfeld believes that good people shy away, saying, ‘Who needs it?’. For that, he blames his profession and mine. “We all bear some responsibility,” he said. “Hired guns typically don’t care how we get somebody elected, how we win at campaigns as long as we win. It’s the Lombardi approach to politics. Even in football they’re starting to crack down on concussions. Well, in politics concussions are being handed out right and left every single day.” Republican strategist Chuck Coughlin says businesses and universities used to, in essence, loan out their employees, continuing to pay them while they served in the Legislature. But no more. “What’s changed is blogs, 24-hour news cycles and companies are a lot less open to having their people participate in what now is, at least perceived (as) … this blood sport of blogosphere politics.” Still Coughlin reminds me that far more of our leaders haven’t been indicted, investigated or otherwise immersed in hot water. “Misbehavior is what makes the news,” he said. “It’s what gets covered. Everybody you named to me is an anecdotal example of politics. I would call them the exceptions, not the rules.” I would call them, lately, an almost weekly occurrence. |