Demanding Accountability: Ending the Spitzer-Craig Legacy

Since proposing that the U.S. political parties implement codes of conduct to provide their officials a disincentive for engaging in corrupt and illegal behaviors, I’ve taken the question of politicians’ sense of immunity around Washington. My formulation of the question usually goes sort of like this:

“Recently, we’ve seen a number of U.S. politicians get into trouble – and even ruin their political careers – by having sex with people other than their spouses and getting caught in the cover-up. How can we put an end to this practice? These acts – and I’m talking about the cover-ups – fuel the perception of the power-hungry politician serving his own interests at the expense of his constituents. And yet, the true victims in this game are the political parties and the political system, which become the target of the people’s frustration and despair. Meanwhile, ‘legal’ law has done little to deter politicians from this type of conduct. [This is where the question deviates depending on the intended respondent]. So what can the political parties do to prevent their officials and operatives from engaging in such behaviors? Can they provide a credible disincentive by enacting and enforcing codes of conduct to withdraw party support from those who hurt the party? What is the role of the primary/campaign system in recruiting people who seem time-and-again to make the same mistake? Does our political system attract certain personality types? Where does responsibility lie for the persistence of this phenomenon?”

DNC Chair Howard Dean thought a code of conduct unnecessary. He argued that Nancy Pelosi had established a credible threat by pulling Representative William J. Jefferson from the Ways and Means Committee after he was investigated by the FBI for corruption. I intervened stating that such disciplining may have some effect, but that it did little to institutionalize such standards within the fabric of the party. Moreover, I suggested, there could be an electoral benefit for the party that takes concrete steps toward ending the sense of impunity that characterizes the political culture. Dean retorted that codes of conduct need teeth and that the Republicans’ Contract with America failed because it was unenforceable. My Democracy & Governance colleagues then protested that establishing enforcement would require hurting the party in the process. Indeed, this would be an unfortunate but necessary consequence; although one that could pay off in the long run.

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