Tom Rice must come clean about ethics vote

If, like me, you want to know how Rep. Tom Rice voted on the hastily abandoned proposal to gut the only independent ethics oversight there is in the U.S. Congress, don’t bother calling his office to ask him. His Florence staff will tell you it’s a “secret.”

His Washington staff will tell you, with a little more diplomacy, that he “hasn’t chosen to share his position.”

Wait. What? When did the government start doing the public’s business in private? When did it become a “choice” for an elected representative to reveal his vote to the people who elected him to represent them?

I hope Rice voted to retain independent oversight of congressional ethics. If he didn’t, I hope he has compelling reasons that he would be willing to stand behind in explaining his vote to his constituents.

Either way, South Carolinians deserve to know how he cast our vote.

This story was originally published January 6, 2017 at 5:08 AM with the headline "Tom Rice must come clean about ethics vote."