Legislative Ethics

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s week started with a bad case of foot-in-mouth during his three-day trip to England, and went downhill from there, reaching new lows for ethics and good, open government – even for New Jersey. But his woes are about more than the Governor; they’re a reminder of the the yawning gap between the political machinations America gets and the democracy it deserves.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today his support for important ethics and campaign finance changes proposed by Common Cause New York and other public interest allies in the wake of the arrest of New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Then-Representative (and now Senator) Chris Murphy (D-Conn) penned an op-ed with this title in 2008 lamenting the vast amounts of time Members of Congress have to spend fundraising. If he thought things were bad then, he had no idea how awful the permanent money chase would be now. The Citizens United decision in 2010 opened the door for corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections, and the SpeechNow decision shortly after paved the way for super PACs, both creating the need for Members of Congress to do more fundraising.

I, ____________, solemnly pledge to devote each session day of the month of February 2015 to the official duties of my office as a member of the United States House of Representatives, without the distraction of electoral fundraising or other political campaign-related activities.

In a shocking, but not unexpected development, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested today and indicted in federal court on bribery and corruption charges. The Speaker Silver’s arrest further reveals the crucial role the Moreland Commission played in bringing corruption in New York State government to light, a role which Common Cause/NY helped to encourage through our Moreland Monday series of reports .

The legal system has delivered justice to Bob McDonnell; Virginians should now insist that the political system deliver for them – in the form of tough, sensible campaign finance laws -- Common Cause said today.