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Ethics Reform Doesn’t Work for Criminals

Advocating ethics reform legislation to solve the problem of criminality among our elected officials is just foolishness. It’s a blatant bait and switch tactic by politicians who don’t have the backbone to blow the whistle on their own:

The state Democratic Party’s vice chair, Annadelle Sanchez, declined to talk about the potential political fallout from the corruption scandals, but released this statement:

“The people of New Mexico deserve a government that is open, honest and transparent. Good government is not a partisan issue, so instead of pointing fingers, Democrats and Republicans should work together to bring about the type of reform our system needs. I’m proud of Democrats like Diane Denish and (state Auditor) Hector Balderas that are leading that fight.”

Richardson has not released a statement about the indictments. Denish on Wednesday renewed calls for ethics reform, but her office said the Democrats’ likely 2010 gubernatorial nominee was not available for comment Thursday on the political aspect of the indictments.

First things first, Hector Balderas, our State Auditor, is leading the fight to get criminals behind bars. He seems to be doing his job well and with little concern whether the elected criminals have an R or D attached to their name.

As much as I personally think Lt. Governor Diane Denish is a nice lady who has done a lot for New Mexico through her association with the Daniels Fund and other not-for-profit organizations, when it comes to leading the charge for rooting out corrupt politicians, she gets an “F” on her report card.

Let’s face the facts:

  • She was the Chairman of the Democratic Party at a time when many corrupt political criminals were at their strongest.
  • She has been silent about the rampant pay-to-play of the Richardson administration
  • She has not stepped and asked for an investigation into a single incident of corruption

Do I think Lt. Governor Denish has been robbing New Mexicans like many of her colleagues? No. But, nor do I think she has stood up for us either. “Renewed calls for ethics reforms” is nothing but smoke and mirrors designed to take our eye off the ball.