Shining light on wrong done in the shadows
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”
The great writer C. S. Lewis could have been scolding congressman Tom Rice and 118 other Republicans in the House on New Year’s Day when they voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after bribery and corruption scandals sent several members to prison. Instead, the Republicans essentially said, “Oh, don’t bother, we’ll handle this ethics thingy ourselves, without anyone else looking.”
After public outrage, the GOP backed down. Even ethics-challenged President Donald Trump saw it as a PR nightmare. But it took five tries to get Congressman Rice’s office to admit how he voted. I don’t blame him. I would be ashamed of it, too.
Danny R. Kuhn, Myrtle Beach
This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 9:02 PM with the headline "Shining light on wrong done in the shadows."