Another Elected Official Misses the Chance to Teach the Country About Government Ethics
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.<br>
<br>
The official is Texas Governor Rick Perry who, according to <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/09/13/2011-09-13_rick_per…; target="”_blank”">an
article in yesterday's New York <i>Daily News</i></a>, 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.<br>
<br>
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."<br>
<br>
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."<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
203-859-1959