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February 21, 2006
Why Should You Care About the Tennessee Waltz?
[Cross-posted from the February 15, 2006 Pulse -- click the link to see the article with pictures and published citizen reactions]
Front-page illustration
Rebuilding Trust: A lesson in triple meter
REMEMBER THE NIGHT
A two-year investigation by Federal and state law enforcement personnel culminated in shocking arrests last May that jolted many to attention. In less than a year’s time, that attention has waned, and was only somewhat rekindled by the special legislative session on ethics. The 2006 election cycle is well underway, and chances are ominously good that a typical number of Tennesseans will amble to the polls and mindlessly pull for Mr. or Ms. Same-Old without a look back at Operation Tennessee Waltz.
State lawmakers being handcuffed and taken into custody at the start of a legislative workday made for big news. The ensuing buzz about “more arrests coming” held some inquisitive types’ interest until those arrests did surely come. By the time that Shelby County Commission Chairman Michael Hooks, Sr., was indicted, Waltz news was generally greeted with a group yawn. If one of the aforementioned inquisitive types broaches the subject now, reactions can vary from quizzical looks to signs of faint recognition to blank stares.
It’s understandable that people decline to dwell on the subject. For one thing, the state song – a beautifully plaintive, bittersweet tune that embodies most of what’s wrong and all of what’s right with country music – has been sullied. How dare they? For another, the story has garnered mention in the national press, and that’s embarrassing for some. One local elected official, Signal Mountain Council member Bob Linehart, says that he believes the arrests contributed to cynicism in a lasting way. Could it be that for most, though, it is the habitual lack of any involvement in their government that leads to apathy on this one rather grave topic?
WHO ALL WERE DANCIN’?
Citizens with official involvement in their government likely have a much higher WAQ factor (Waltz Awareness Quotient). The Operation’s aftershocks surely contained many a nail-biting moment behind closed doors of certain offices. For whatever reasons, some were passed over. It would be difficult, to say the least, to convince any but the most gullible that the FBI sting rounded up all of the bad officials and left a purified government behind. Investigators say they were called in as a result of formal complaints from several General Assembly members. History might suggest that the situation has to have become fairly foul for something that akin to tattling to occur.
One visible reaction to the spate of federal indictments started at the top. Governor Phil Bredesen appointed an advisory board and charged it with collecting a list of reform measures from citizens and subject matter experts. Meanwhile, a joint legislative committee was named by House and Senate leaders. The Legislative Ethics Committee would be responsible for receiving the advisory group’s proposals and crafting legislation from them. The Governor called the General Assembly into special session in January; the bickering began; the bickering continued; a totally new ethics package was introduced at the last minute; and this replacement bill was tweaked and quickly approved by both chambers. Many said that the revision bore a seal of approval from lobbyists and special interests. Still, the compromise creates an independent ethics commission and some new disclosure requirements, among other reforms.
Disclosure improvements and campaign finance strictures are not fresh ideas in Winter 2006. Some provisions included in the new ethics bill were proposed during the 2005 session and in previous years, but were never enacted. Rep. Frank Buck, a Democrat from DeKalb County, sponsored several ethics-related bills that got killed in subcommittee last year. The subcommittee’s chairman is Rep. Ulysses Jones of Memphis. Jones is one of several legislators who met with supposed E-Cycle representatives or their “bagmen” on one or more occasions and who accepted cash from them, but who have not been charged with any wrongdoing.
MY FRIEND STOLE…FROM ME
While several of the impending criminal court proceedings have been postponed for some months, at least one is underway. Hamilton County Commissioner William Cotton’s trial on extortion charges was set to begin on Tuesday. The trials themselves present an opportunity for restoring some of the awareness that has faded. Tennesseans ought to care enough to watch over the process of administering justice.
Another aspect to keep in focus is a “what-if” exercise concerning the verdicts. All three of the money couriers have admitted to passing bribes: one (Tim Willis) was consciously working with the FBI, and the other two (Charles Love and Barry Myers) entered guilty pleas. Former Representative Chris Newton pleaded guilty to accepting bribes. It is easily surmised that exoneration for the remaining accused legislators under such circumstances is a long shot at best, but such a surmising undermines the foundation of our legal system. The onus is on the prosecution to present the evidence of guilt with unquestionable clarity.
In addition to meting out the appropriate punishment to perpetrators, it is good to recognize the potential deterrent effect the Tennessee Waltz trials will generate. Bribes for legislative favor weren’t the only breaches of public trust committed in Tennessee last year. There were several resignations in the executive branch, most notably from the Department of Safety as scandal after scandal bubbled up from the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The special election to replace the lead target in Operation Tennessee Waltz, former Senator John Ford, was wrought with fraud – dead people’s names on ballots – and inexplicable behavior by election officials. The Mayor of Clarksville has been under attack for allegedly unethical business dealings. Several Chattanooga employees were recently accused of stealing from taxpayers.
All of these unconnected events are nonetheless unified by the trust theme, and if it becomes clear that the citizens will not tolerate their trust being toyed with, perhaps additional crimes will be avoided.
KNOW JUST HOW MUCH WE’VE LOST (AND WORK HARD TO GET IT BACK)
Merely keeping up with the trials, and remembering the infamous acts from which they stem, are not sufficient to qualify as citizen actions. There are two crucial items that define a just response: the more critical and simpler one is casting an informed vote, and the not-so-simple-but-ever-important one is volunteering to serve in public elected office. Bob Linehart thinks it “important for people to sacrifice some personal time to serve in public office and on commissions to serve their communities. The work [government officials] do for the public may be somewhat mundane, but it is essential work that does enrich the lives of people within the community.”
A well-known sound byte from last year’s developments is that the exchange of money for undemocratic advantage in the people’s business had been “business as usual.” If or when Tennesseans absorb and understand the probability that there remain potential criminals in office, surely they will rectify the situation by using the most powerful cleaning agent in the world (if used properly): the free, fair vote.
How does the voter know when to join in the ouster of an incumbent? Councilman Linehart proposes a formula: “[pay] attention to their public servant’s character, their actions, and their words. If [these] aren’t consistent, they should vote them out of office…I hope the public does pay close attention to the Waltz trials, condemn the guilty for what they are, and then are able to move on to the truly important work our current public servants and the ones who will be elected in 2006 have to do on our behalf.”
No amount of ethics legislation will work if there are untrustworthy persons in office. The Tennessee government’s response to the apparent crisis heralded by Operation Tennessee Waltz was fairly expected, but some question just how necessary. The situation will only change as the voters instruct, and only if those voters elicit quality candidates from among themselves to choose.
Pulsations | By joe lance | 04:20 PM