Opinion:

Politicos Getting Away With Violations While SOS Heller Fiddles

Tickets To Rolling Stones Concert Just A Small Part Of Major Problem In Nevada

by Johnny Gunn

Recently Chuck Muth, president of Citizen Outreach, a Washington, D.C. based conservative organization sent a letter to Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller voicing a complaint about the many elected officials that had accepted tickets to a Las Vegas concert.  The tickets were provided by Ameriquest Mortgage Company that at the time was under investigation by the Attorney General, and later was found to be guilty of illegal mortgage business law.  The tickets ranged in price from $200 up.  Many of the elected officials did not claim the tickets as gifts on their financial disclosure forms as required by Nevada law.

Heller at the time wrote what amounted to a bit of a snotty reply indicating that Muth had gotten his information from news reports and Heller's office didn't believe news reports were justified to begin an investigation, and besides he didn't have the authority to investigate.  Muth continued his fight to get charges filed, and Heller in turn sent a much more congenial reply on April 4 in which he said, "...the Legislature provided my office with limited jurisdiction over the filing of financial disclosure forms.  This jurisdiction only extends to collecting and enforcing penalties due to late or non-filed reports, and does not include authority to investigate alleged omissions from such reports."

Heller cited Nevada Revised Statute Chapter 281 as his authority.  In NRS 281.581, Civil penalty for failure to disclose; Procedure; amount; Waiver, the Secretary of state clearly has that authority.  Here is what it looks like directly from the NRS:

What we are seeing is Secretary Heller once again attempting to evade what is his primary job, that of election officer of the State of Nevada.  For eight years he has said he has no authority and yet it is plainly written in Nevada law that he has that authority.  The same appears to be true in contributions and expenses (C&E) reports.  Heller has constantly asserted that he has no jurisdiction to investigate wrong doing by politicians and their C&E reports.

Chapter 294A cited by Heller in his recent letter to Muth is just as plain in its job description as Chapter 281.581 is.  This is what it looks like in the NRS:

The Ethics Commission has been investigating some election law violations, but it is the Secretary of State that is authorized to investigate and have charges filed in District Court.  Ethics violations are one thing, but with the C&E reports for instance, filing a false report is a felony, not an ethics violation.  Failure to disclose gifts in excess of $200 is a violation of Nevada law not an ethics violation. 

Whether or not Muth continues his battle isn't know at this time.  It's violations of this nature that have plagued the Secretary's office for years, it's violations of this type that have gone without consequence for years.  Many candidates and office holders have been cited but never brought to the bar.  One entire political party has not filled out the C&E reports at all.  They file them, but they are blank, a clear violation of Nevada Law, one punishable as a felony.

If Heller doesn't think the NRS as shown above is clear it should have been his responsibility to go to the legislature and have the law rewritten in such a manner that he could understand it.  Mr. Heller is in his last term as Secretary of State.  Whoever replaces him has an opportunity to make Nevada's election rules and laws viable, and opportunity to bring those out of bounds back to reality.  Nevadans have been hoodwinked in this matter and it's high time it ends.

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Where Do We Look For Root Of Current Political Treachery?

Selfish Arrogance Has Become What We See As Normal Behavior

by Johnny Gunn

Is the political corruption that we see, fraud, extortion, graft, and bribery simply signs of the times or is there a deeper problem that hasn't completely surfaced yet?  Public morals have deteriorated considerably over the last 25 years, the concept of public manners isn't fully understood by many, and it seems that it is generally acceptable practice to cheat if it means winning at any cost.  Why should someone in public office, that is holding a public trust be expected to have a higher plane of public image?  In corporate offices around the world, to get ahead one must not have the highest level of morality.

Two trials being conducted at this time pretty much spell out the problems.  The Enron trial in Texas and the Galardi fiasco in Las Vegas pinpoint this social decline in today's world.  Galardi says he "buys" people and services, former Enron executives accurse each other of treachery.  In the end we all lose, not just money, but a position in the world picture.  Remember the phrases such as "his handshake is his word," "he's as good as his word," "I trust a man with a firm handshake?"

It may have begun in the 1960s this thought that lying and cheating is OK as long as you win.  Parents of baby boomers molly-coddled their children dreadfully, did not instill in them the concept of honesty, moral turpitude, manners, or social graces.  A level of selfishness invaded the lives of those children, and we are faced with their lack of ethics today in politicians, in business, in daily life.  Only winning matters; not how you play the game.

To throw away a public life, a position of trust among peers for a three-minute lap-dance is a sign of complete personal disrespect.  If you have no more respect for yourself than that how can you possibly understand a public trust?  The IRS has recently been in the news saying there is more attempted tax fraud today than at any time in the history of the agency.  Political leaders have been jailed, fined, run-out-of-town for some of the most stupid acts of selfishness.  An ignorant person can learn.  A stupid person won't.

It seems when discussing politics and business the idea of taking personal responsibility for an act is beyond the thought of many.  Those former Clark County commissioners on trial for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes don't seem the least bit sorry for their alleged acts.  One is believed to have an off shore bank account filled with a couple of hundred thousand in dirty money and still manages a smile from the witness stand.

The politicians that are found guilty must face the most serious consequence.  Over the last two generations, being guilty of social and political offenses has drawn tiny little slaps on wrists (think Kathy Augustine) while corporate executives have simply found themselves with ankle bracelets living a profound lifestyle with oysters and champagne.  The idea of tar and feathers, of hanging judges, of long term rent free jail cells in real prisons needs to be addressed more often by our courts and judges.  When we as a society demand a return of such things as respect for our fellow man, the idea of taking personal responsibility for our actions, and manners and courtesy toward our fellow man and the society in which we live, possibly we'll find a better class of politician to lead us.

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Cartoon by Thomas Nast, April 12, 1874