November 12, 2005

Ethics Update

The Tennessean endorses the creation of an independent ethics commission to police the state legislature, saying, "The next time a state lawmaker insists that the legislature is capable of investigating its own members for ethics violations, remember Sen. Jerry Cooper." That's because the Senate Ethics Committee has done its best to not investigate Cooper's land deal in which Cooper, it appears, used his political contacts, connections and influence to get a rail spur funded with state tax dollars, inflating the price he could charge for the land. The Tennessean:

Cooper may or may not deserve sanction for an ethics violation, but Tennessee certainly deserves a legislature that is serious about ethics probes. Whether due to mutual back-scratching, fear of retaliation or simple friendship, lawmakers are inept at meting out discipline to one of their own. Bring on an independent ethics commission.