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THE
Gingrich
Speakership,
1995...
4
Ethics violations: Who cares?
Gingrich’s
mishandled
money does
not deserve
the
attention it
is getting
For everyone who got a little sick about
having to hear politicians squabble back
and forth over issues of political integrity
and ethics, here is a little bad news. It’s
about to get even worse. This is because the
hearings on Newt Gingrich’s status as House speaker
are under way and are likely to spark even more
debates on political ethics for months to come.
Most people probably secretly suspect that politics
and ethics have nothing to do with
each other these days. However,
politicians in Washington insist on
keeping up the facade that they are
dedicated to fighting corruption
and are prepared to punish any
OPINION
wrongdoers, De tney Kepublican or
Democrat. Enter the Newt
Gingrich situation.
For those people who don’t
know what is going on, Speaker
Gingrich has been charged with violating campaign
contribution rules and is now in jeopardy of being
forced to step down as speaker. Gingrich has
admitted to violating House rules concerning a
college course he taught using tax-deductable
contributions. Today, after years of tedious
investigation, the House will finally reach a decision
on what Gingrich’s fate will be.
Whatever the result of the vote is, one thing is
clear. People couldn’t care less. Illegal campaign
funds received from Honduras didn’t hamper
President Clinton’s bid for president, and it is
doubtful people care much more about the current
Gingrich situation.
The reason is quite simple. Years of political
scandals from Watergate to the Iran-Contra hearings
have taught Americans a plain fact of life. Politicians
are hard to trust. We know they lie, cheat and even
steal, so the news that Gingrich violated some
campaign contribution rule just doesn’t excite people
that much. Sure, if Gingrich had been in on the
Kennedy assassination or was hiding aliens in his
bedroom closet, people would care. But misusing
tax-deductable contributions? Who cares?
And further, who should care? Is how Gingrich
spent a couple million bucks really the most pressing
issue facing America today? I doubt very many
people elected their political leaders so those leaders
could spend their days investigating the financial
status of fellow congressmen.
With all the attention the Gingrich investigation is
getting, you would think it was the most pressing
issue facing America. More important than the
multi-trillion dollar debt we are running up every
year. More important than the fact that Social
Security is going bankrupt. Maybe even more
important than fixing our broken welfare system.
When you look at all the problems we have to
address, it seems pretty hard to justify spending so
much time and effort investigating the actions of one
man.
Sure, a lot of people would love to see Gingrich
step down as House Speaker, but not because of his
use of campaign funds. It is because of his political
ideology and agenda. After all, we elect our leaders
not just for what they stand for but what they are
planning to do. People care what Newt Gingrich
plans to do about welfare, how he plans on balancing
the budget and where he stands on the abortion
issue. They don't care what he did with such and
such amount of money that violated some rule that
most people don’t even understand.
In the end, these investigations have nothing to do
with ethics or integrity; they have to do with pure
politics. The Democrats want to weaken the
Republican majority in the House, and what better
way to do that then go after the head, Newt Gingrich.
It is the exact same thing the Republicans tried,
unsuccessfully, in attacking Clinton over Whitewater
and illegal campaign contributions. Not only are
most of these charges petty, they are in fact dishonest
because while they appear to be efforts to rid
Congress of corruption, they are really nothing more
than partisan politics at its worst.
This is certainly not to say we should just let
politicians get away with breaking finance rules left
and right. If we really are concerned with how
politicians are using their money, set up a non
partisan committee to evaluate the situation and
punish those in violation of the law. That way we
don’t get these political witch-hunts in which
politicians seek out dirt on their opponents in order
to discredit them and further their own political
agendas. Until this happens, situations like the
Gingrich fiasco will continue to bog down Congress
and annoy the rest of us.
Brian Diamond is an editorial editor for the Emerald.
His views do not necessarily represent those of the
newspaper.
Ail thumbs
To the U.S.
Supreme Court:
Rejecting anything
because it was 12
minutes late seems
too rigid. But when
that "thing” is a
legal petition
submitted to the
Supreme Court last
month regarding
the overdrawn
Skinner Butte cross
battle, then the
decision to reject is
definitely a mistake.
Now the war over
the cross’ existence
on public land will
surely go on in
litigation, and none
of us want that.
To a shorter
winter break:
After four-week
Christmas’ breaks
the last two years,
the three weeks we
had off this winter
seemed meager at
best. Here’s to a
return of the four
week vacation. After
the usual marathon
fall term, we all
need it.
To the men’s
basketball team:
The 17th-ranked
Ducks are 10-0 as
they enter Pac-10
play, their best
start in 22 years.
Led by steady
seniors like point
guard Kenya
Wilkins, the team
seems to have
more than just
momentum
behind them; they
also have
confidence. Newly
acquired attributes
like these can only
serve the Ducks
well against
upcoming
opponents like
Arizona and
Stanford.
To the Oregon
Legislature:
In a recent
Oregonian survey,
55 of 68
legislators who
responded said
they support Gov.
Kitzhaber’s plan to
freeze college
tuition. With signs j
like this, the future
may not be as
gloomy as it
seems.
! 4
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