A premature award for Hackney
Thanks to Ed Cone for pointing this out:
The National Conference of State Legislatures is giving its top award to N.C. House Speaker Joe Hackney for "restoring integrity in a chamber tarnished by the actions of its previous leader."
Wow.
From what I hear about Hackney, he is an honest public servant with a lot of personal and professional integrity. That cannot be said about his predecessor, Jim Black, who's heading for the federal pen for five years.
But this award is way premature.
The integrity of the House has not yet been restored. Not by a long shot.
Rep. David Almond resigned yesterday after he was accused of extremely improper behavior.
Rep. Thomas Wright is under criminal investigation.
Rep. Mary McAllister has just been fined by the State Board of Elections for campaign finance irregularities.
The Legislative Black Caucus Foundation has awarded scholarship money on behalf of members' relatives.
And who knows what might boil up next?
You can't blame Hackney for these problems, although I do wonder how he could not have known about Black's shenanigans for all these years.
Regardless, it will take a long time before North Carolinians can trust that the cloud of corruption has been ushered out of the state House of Representatives.
I hope Hackney truly will deserve this award sometime in the next few years, but no one could work fast enough to have earned it already.
Comments (9)
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I hope Hackney truly will deserve this award sometime in the next few years, but no one could work fast enough to have earned it already.* Doug
Yeah! Sure! Uh What! so forth! That award ranks right up there with the Bush Freedom of Medal award whenever a CIA Director retires or Scooty Liddy!
When the present house speaker bans or purposes a law that all lobbyists and political corporate donors off state property. He should receive a purple heart and most likely the protection of the State National Guard.
Posted on July 13, 2007 5:11 PM
Doug:
Talk about nursing a grievance! A national, bipartisan group recognizes the leader of the NC legislator, and you just can't let it pass. How sad and slanted.
Way to promote our state.
Posted on July 13, 2007 6:16 PM
The National Conference of State Legislatures is giving its top award to N.C. House Speaker Joe Hackney for "restoring integrity in a chamber tarnished by the actions of its previous leader."*Doug
Talk about nursing a grievance! A national, bipartisan group recognizes the leader of the NC legislator, and you just can't let it pass. How sad and slanted.
Way to promote our state.* Unknown political suck up fool
Now that one thinks about it! Getting this reward is like having the "Wolf Association Of Fine Foods" honor the Fox who is in charge of security at the Hen House for getting rid of the Rooster that rule the Hen house before the appearance of the Fox as the security chief.
" When another government body honors another government body, you can be assure those bodies of politics is still corrupt."* Minnsota Fats after taking Fast Eddie down for the 1 st time. [The Hustler]
Posted on July 13, 2007 8:17 PM
Doug:
It seems that the politicians in Raleigh are slowly adopting the Louisiana model of good government.
In your list, you didn't mention the lottery scandal. On March 30, 2007, the Raleigh News & Observer noted: "North Carolina's lottery, born of a scandal that led to criminal convictions of three people, turns one year old today."
The incarceration of former House Speaker Jim Black and former Representative Mike Decker are fresh on our minds. But, we shouldn't forget the recent imprisonment of Kevin Geddings that was a result of his involvement in the lottery scandal.
Is this the end or the beginning? Has pervasive corruption saturated the state legislature? Or, has the legislature purged itself of its unsavory past? We can only guess unless we demand a full and complete investigation of the lottery scandal that developed during the leadership of Rep. Black and Sen. Basnight.
Governor Easley should come out of his seclusion and appoint a bi-partisan commission of non-legislators to investigate the events that led to the passage of the state lottery and release the results to the public.
Unless we come clean, the stench of corruption will continue to permeate the air quality in Raleigh. And, the politicians from Louisiana might embark on a pilgrimage to Raleigh learn a few tricks.
Posted on July 14, 2007 12:00 AM
Wendell, sounds like you're also nursing a grievance according to the anonymous commenter's slant.
But I agree with you. The passage of the lottery stank to high heaven. Now we also have the issue of Black's $500,000 "loan," which insiders came from a source in the video poker industry. Then there's all the other Jim Black money -- millions -- which helped finance the campaigns of many, many legislators still serving. There's still quite a cloud over the legislative building -- and award from the Mational Conference of State Legislators can make it go away. That's going to require time and diligence.
Posted on July 14, 2007 7:54 AM
Doug:
The News & Observer published an interesting story about an exchange of emails on 8/30/05 between Kevin Geddings and his business partner, Alan Middleton, regarding the fate of the lottery bill in the N. C. Senate. Read it at:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/geddings/story/570539.html
This exchange between Geddings and Middleton becomes even more interesting when you consider that the lottery bill, just six days earlier, appeared on the surface to be dead for the 2005 legislative session.
On 8/24/05, the N & O reported: "The legislature pushed toward adjournment early Wednesday morning, with the state lottery once again having failed?" "Gov. Mike Easley and the Democratic Senate leadership gave up the fight for the lottery late Tuesday night when it became apparent that the votes could not be found."
The passage of the lottery bill, along with all of the surrounding controversy, smells as fishy as a Louisiana catfish.
Posted on July 14, 2007 3:49 PM
Makes you think the fix was in.
Posted on July 14, 2007 5:40 PM
Makes you think the fix was in.* Doug
Long before anybody even thought Tony Soprano had slip into North Carolina with the slots and Corporate Gaming interests.
Posted on July 14, 2007 6:19 PM
Governor Easley should come out of his seclusion and appoint a bi-partisan commission of non-legislators to investigate the events that led to the passage of the state lottery and release the results to the public.* Wendell
Good Grief! We can't let that happen! The Gov would have to pardon himself upon leaving office.
Posted on July 14, 2007 6:24 PM