The Commissioner of Politics

Sen. John Ensign cheats on his wife with a staffer, and then allegedly pays hush money to keep things quiet.  Sen. Larry Craig taps his feet in an airport restroom stall to solicit gay sex.  Illinois Senate candidate Mark Kirk embellishes his military service record…OK, he lied about it.  John Edwards never fathered a love child with Ms. Hunter…until he did.  This is not an exhaustive list, and it grows with each successive news cycle.  Everyone is sorry, it should be noted – sorry for getting caught.

A co-worker of mine had a novel idea, and one that deserves serious consideration.  He believes that we should have a Commissioner of Politics, modeled after the commissioners of the major sports leagues.  The Commissioner of Politics would have the authority to suspend or ban politicians from the profession for “the good of the game”.  Perhaps it’s time to protect the profession of politics from falling further down the list of least respected professions.

Love child?  2 year ban from campaigning.  Lie about your credentials?    6 months for the first offense, unless you lie about combat experience, in which case the suspension is doubled.  Knowing and willful tax evasion?  Vacate election victories for the past 2 election cycles, and remove your legislative votes from the record books.  Yes, passed legislation could fall off the books as vote totals are recounted, but what a powerful incentive for lawmakers to keep their noses clean for a change.  This is an idea that has legs.  Maybe the Governator…

It’s too bad that we’ve come to the point where a Commissioner is needed.  A knowledgeable citizenry and a tenacious and honest press corps should be able to handle the functions of the imaginary Commissioner.  Alas, the seedy and the tawdry sells space on cable, and Americans love the fall from grace equally as much as the story of redemption over personal failings.  The Commissioner idea might not come to fruition, but maybe each of us could enforce some of our own penalties on our elected officials and candidates where it hurts most – at the ballot box.

Political accountability requires a longer memory than most of us have time to cultivate, but we could try.

Editor's Note:  Things are looking up - as of last week, Sen Ensign had only collected $10 in the fund he established for his legal expenses....and the $10 was contributed by...wait for it...Sen. John Ensign.