Pressure is mounting for ethics reform in state and federal governments. Politicians will ignore this at their peril.

A Rasmussen poll released last Friday shows that 84 percent of voters rated ethics and corruption in government as the most important issue - edging out the economy, viewed by 81 percent as heading the list. Next came health care at 72 percent.

But the political elite are so arrogant they believe they can keep playing cynical games with the people by talking the talk and then doing the opposite. Witness the way Barack Obama and his Democratic leaders forced their health care plan through Congress in the very teeth of opposition from most Americans.

Democratic leaders trash the tea party movement. Yet a late March survey by Rasmussen showed 52 percent of voters believe the average tea party member better understands the issues facing the country than does the average member of Congress.

Georgia citizens have been kicked in the teeth instead of getting the ethics reform promised by a full-throated chorus of legislators and their leaders - right after Glenn Richardson had to resign as House Speaker for trysting with a female lobbyist while supporting her employer's bill.

The chorus quietly died. Late in the General Assembly session, ethics-promising Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) labored mightily and brought forth a "reform" bill that failed to limit gifts to legislators at all, never mind banning them.

"Sadly, as the cast changes, the plot remains the same," said watchdog Common Cause Georgia, citing first-quarter campaign finance reports. They confirm that Ralston and his team "are continuing the fundraising practices of former Speaker Richardson and the Democratic Speakers before him.

"That explains the strong resistance to proposed 2010 reforms that would curb the use of campaign dollars that flow into the accounts of powerful legislative leaders who seldom have competitive races."

The watchdog group pointed to the unreformed modus operandi in which "legislators solicit campaign donations from parties with interests before the General Assembly." The leaders and key committee chairs get the most.

Ex-Speaker Richardson, running unopposed in his last campaign, built up a "$397,000 war chest to help other candidates, donate to the party, and for other expenditures unrelated to gaining office. On his last day in office, Richardson transferred over $200,000 to a PAC controlled by him.

"Fast forward to 2010. Members of the General Assembly cannot receive contributions during the session. However, they can raise money the first few days of January. In that 10-day period, Ralston brought in $131,000, Speaker Pro-Tem Jan Jones $46,000, and Majority Whip Edward Lindsey $52,000. ... (They) will use this money for purposes of maintaining the power base."

The conclusion: "This money has a corrosive effect on the entire legislative process, and it is at the heart of what needs to change if we are to learn from the Richardson scandal."

Apparently, what the ruling class in the legislature has learned is to keep playing the same cynical game - and playing the voters for suckers.

dmckee9613@aol.com