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Another Elected Official Misses the Chance to Teach the Country About Government Ethics
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
Robert Wechsler
Once again, an elected official in the national eye took an
opportunity to teach the public about government ethics and used it
solely to distort government ethics and defend himself.
The official is Texas Governor Rick Perry who, according to an article in yesterday's New York Daily News, was accused of having taken money from the pharmaceutical company Merck and then made an executive order requiring all junior high girls in the state to take a Merck HPV vaccine.
Perry's response was all too typical: "It was a $5,000 contribution that I had received from them. I raised about $30 million. And if you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended."
What should Perry have said? He should have said, "I really ought to have returned that contribution, because the public could have thought I'd been bought, even though I know I wasn't. In government ethics, appearance is what matters most. And I should also have realized that an executive order was not appropriate, because Merck's lobbyist was a former chief of staff of mine. I should have realized that it would look like I was helping out a friend, and let the legislature decide what to do. Whether or not what I did was legal or not, it was wrong, and I apologize to the people of Texas for what I did and did not do."
What's so ironic, and damning as well, is that requiring girls to take a vaccine goes against Perry's political philosophy, and he is being attacked for it by members of his own party, who agree with his philosophy. The more a decision goes against an official's political philosophy, the more it looks like it was done not for the public good, but for his own benefit or for the benefit of someone close to him. The fact that the Merck lobbyist has co-founded a Super-PAC that will support Perry's presidential run makes their relationship look that much more like a mutual benefit society. And although a lot of the talk in government ethics is about money, it is much more about relationships.
Perry could have taken the high road, and used the fact that the nation's eye was upon him to teach, through his own misconduct, how officials should deal with their conflicts. But he failed, once again, to deal responsibly with a government ethics situation.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
203-859-1959
The official is Texas Governor Rick Perry who, according to an article in yesterday's New York Daily News, was accused of having taken money from the pharmaceutical company Merck and then made an executive order requiring all junior high girls in the state to take a Merck HPV vaccine.
Perry's response was all too typical: "It was a $5,000 contribution that I had received from them. I raised about $30 million. And if you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended."
What should Perry have said? He should have said, "I really ought to have returned that contribution, because the public could have thought I'd been bought, even though I know I wasn't. In government ethics, appearance is what matters most. And I should also have realized that an executive order was not appropriate, because Merck's lobbyist was a former chief of staff of mine. I should have realized that it would look like I was helping out a friend, and let the legislature decide what to do. Whether or not what I did was legal or not, it was wrong, and I apologize to the people of Texas for what I did and did not do."
What's so ironic, and damning as well, is that requiring girls to take a vaccine goes against Perry's political philosophy, and he is being attacked for it by members of his own party, who agree with his philosophy. The more a decision goes against an official's political philosophy, the more it looks like it was done not for the public good, but for his own benefit or for the benefit of someone close to him. The fact that the Merck lobbyist has co-founded a Super-PAC that will support Perry's presidential run makes their relationship look that much more like a mutual benefit society. And although a lot of the talk in government ethics is about money, it is much more about relationships.
Perry could have taken the high road, and used the fact that the nation's eye was upon him to teach, through his own misconduct, how officials should deal with their conflicts. But he failed, once again, to deal responsibly with a government ethics situation.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
203-859-1959
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