RALEIGH – Why?
On several occasions in the past few weeks, I’ve heard this question come up during conversations about former Gov. Mike Easley, former First Lady Mary Easley, and other characters in the sordid drama now unfolding on the pages of The News & Observer of Raleigh and, reportedly, in front of a federal grand jury.
Why would the governor demand or accept thousands of dollars worth of free plane trips from major campaign donors and political appointees, in apparent violation of campaign-finance laws and basic ethical safeguards? Why would his wife think it wise to accept a job at N.C. State University offered without any apparent job search, with a sky-high salary, and while a close Easley friend and campaign donor chaired the university board of trustees? Why would the Easleys drive cars for years that were given to them by campaign donors, again in apparent contravention of legal and ethical rules?
Many Raleigh political and media elites can’t comprehend how all this happened – because they’ve known and liked the Easleys for a long time, and can’t fathom why they would do it. The first couple already lived a comfortable lifestyle, largely at taxpayer expense. While accepting donated air travel far in excess of campaign limits, the governor still had hundreds of thousands of dollars in his campaign account, more than enough to pay for his own travel.
But these questions aren’t really all that hard to answer. It’s one of the oldest political stories in the book. The Easleys did all this because they thought they were entitled. They thought they could get away with it. They did it because they could.
Other politicians have stumbled for pretty much the same reason. They include former House Speaker Jim Black, former U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance, and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, all Democrats like Easley. But they also include the likes of former Republican Gov. John Rowland of Connecticut and several former members of the GOP majority in Congress – the former majority party, that is, partly because of the electoral consequences.
Political corruption knows no party. It is a creature of power, especially the power created by longtime incumbency, insularity, and lack of competition. Obviously, not every longtime incumbent succumbs to the temptation. Most politicians are not personally corrupt. But it is also true that the longer politicians are in power, accumulating power over deep-pocketed institutions and individuals, the more subject they are to the temptation to accept gifts, ask for gifts, condition favorable government decisions on gifts, and live luxuriously on someone else’s dime.
The N&O’s two-part investigation of Easley’s travel practices and political connections that ran Saturday and Sunday is only the latest entry in the paper’s “Executive Privilege” series. The entire collection of articles is well worth a read, as are Carolina Journal’s own investigative pieces into Easley’s misuse of taxpayer-funded aircraft, the Cannonsgate case, and earlier allegations of improper mingling of the governor’s personal, political, and governmental affairs.
This is investigative journalism at its finest – the result of a meticulous process of assessing tips, gathering documentary evidence, studying governmental and business records, conducting interviews, and giving the investigated parties ample opportunity to respond to the allegations. It’s the kind of work that demonstrates the critical role of a free press in holding public officials accountable for their actions and ensuring that governmental power isn’t abused.
It’s also the kind of work that some fear may be imperiled as the news media’s traditional advertising model unravels and major metropolitan newspapers go through rounds of painful layoffs. The good news is that, despite its woes, North Carolina’s capital city daily is still investing significant resources in its investigative journalism team.
We’re doing the same at Carolina Journal. We’re expanding, not shrinking. I hope other media outlets and watchdog groups do the same. The more the merrier, I say, because plenty of political-corruption stories are still waiting to be told.
As for the incredulous political class in Raleigh, who seemed similarly puzzled by the previous misdeeds of the Black & Decker conspiracy, I have a question in return. Why do you keep mistaking celebrity for character and wit for wisdom?
Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation