If state representatives Gary Odom, Curry Todd and Ulysses Jones don't believe their vote can be purchase for the price of a free lunch, why are they try to hard why are they working so hard to avoid picking up the tab?
Todd is working on a bill that would allow lobbyists and others to spend up to $1,000 a year per legislator. The state's current ethics law prohibits lawmakers from taking free meals.
The legislators say the current law is too restrictive and makes it difficult to meet with constituents. That's rubbish. The law doesn't mean a legislator can't have lunch with people -- it's just that the legislator has to pick up his or her own bill.
Is it awkward. Certainly. I spent many years as a reporter working for newspapers that prohibited the acceptance of any gifts -- including food. When I insisted that I pay for a lunch, people thought it was overly restrictive, but they also appreciated that an effort was being made to do the right thing.
Most legislators can't be bought for the price of a free lunch, but acting in a responsible, ethical way sets the right tone for how the public's business should be conducted. Lawmakers must always keep in mind that it's the people they are representing, not the special interest across the table seeking their vote. A little awkwardness is a small price to pay for honest government.
- Jim Grinstead
Jim, You are right on target with this. Voters understand when a lawmaker pays his/her own way at a lunch or dinner gathering. We should expect nothing less.
Posted by: Tom Guleff | January 30, 2008 at 04:54 PM
Here is a priceless YouTube video on TN Lobbyists and Politicians : Booze It or Lose It !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIn-WF4Hf28
Posted by: Tom Guleff | February 05, 2008 at 03:03 PM