Legislative Ethics

"The fact that Amendment 4 was overwhelmingly supported by Floridians let them know that Floridians have an interest in the way they're being governed," said Anjenys Gonzalez-Eilert, Florida executive director of Common Cause, the nonpartisan democracy watchdog.. "Citizens don't want to have their voices silenced, they want to participate. If you want to be the sole source of power, that would rub you the wrong way."

However, this offensive language and loss of civility in politics goes far beyond Trump. The increased lack of civility in politics and public discourse seems to be more of a symptom of a broken system than a cause. Endless money in politics, hyperpartisan gerrymandering and social media without accountability are largely responsible for the decreasing civility we see today.

Americans deserved the truth, but they got a ham-handed coverup instead. The Republican majority in the United States Senate denied the American people the truth and violated their oaths of office in a fruitless attempt to sweep Donald Trump’s illegal acts under the rug. In a cowardly and disgraceful final act to their show trial, Senate Republicans – with the notable exception of Mitt Romney - buried their heads in the sand and voted to condone President Trump’s blatant abuse of the powers of the presidency. Make no mistake about it, this was nothing more than an attempted partisan coverup for the shameless and illegal conduct of Donald Trump.

Joanne Antoine, executive director of Common Cause Maryland said Hogan “is in compliance with the law” and “is always disclosing these business dealings.” But, she added, “The concerns that the [Democratic] Party and public may have about whether he’s benefiting from these transportation policies are valid.”

“Bob Phillips is what’s good about politics,” Dennis Wicker told The News & Observer in an interview. Wicker, a Democrat, served as lieutenant governor from 1993 to 2000 and considered Phillips a trusted advisor, then and now. “He understands public service starts with fair elections and open elections,” Wicker said. “He’s a true believer that great public service is born from a strong and fair democracy.”

“The narrowly-tailored questions seem to provide plenty of opportunity to shield relationships, say by routing funds through an intermediary,” said Jay Young, executive director of Common Cause Illinois.