This past Tuesday, we witnessed a pivotal election in American history. Call it a referendum on Obama, a Republican insurgency or a political realignment; one thing is clear: It was a call for a new type of leadership in America.
In 2006, Nancy Pelosi, in a celebratory tone, announced victory for her party after Democrats won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years. She said that she would help create the “most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history.” After all, Democrats had won Congress partially by campaigning against a “Republican Culture of Corruption.”
Four years later, the Republicans are back in power with the largest majority they have had in nearly 70 years. Why?
Because Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, forgot their pledge. They forgot that they were elected partially in response to Republican ethical abuses; they forgot that they committed themselves to creating a more open and ethical Congress.
Many have interpreted this victory to be a referendum against President Obama’s policies – the stimulus, health care reform, financial regulation, increased domestic spending and carbon trading to reduce the use of fuels that contribute to global warming. That may be true.
However, voters have been most offended by the secretive deal making that has gone on to make most of that legislation become a reality. The final cap-and-trade bill, which never passed the Senate, ended up giving away most carbon permits for free in order to accommodate utilities and attract votes from congressmen representing swing districts.
The initial Senate health care bill excluded seniors in Florida from Medicare cuts in order to get the support of Florida senator Bill Nelson. It also gave extra money to Nebraska and Louisiana for Medicaid in order to buy the votes of their moderate senators, Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu, respectively.
Voters sent President Obama to the White House on his promise to change Washington, and then watched as he and his legislative allies cut special deals on every major piece of legislation.
They heard him say he opposed earmark spending in the campaign, and then watched him sign pork-laden discretionary spending bills. Voters heard Obama pledge to draft a health care bill on C-SPAN, but watched as lawmakers dealt with the issue in backrooms.
So on Tuesday, voters sent Barack Obama, and all of our elected leaders, a message: They really do want change in Washington. Not just changes in policy, like health care reform, but changes in the way Washington does business.
Americans want ethical leadership. They also want candidates to keep their promises.
So far, newly empowered Republicans have gotten off on a good start responding to this charge from the American people. Speaker-to-be John Boehner did not claim victory, dance on stage, or lecture the American people on why they just voted for him; instead, he cried for the newfound hope he felt for America. He spoke about the “real work” that must be done; especially when “one in ten of our fellow citizens are out of work.” Not once did he use the words “transparent,” “integrity” or “ethical,” but through the plans he has put forward for the ethical management of the House, he has indicated those values will be priorities.
Hopefully, empowered Republicans will not forget to take these reforms seriously just because they are now in the majority, as Democrats did four years ago and as Republicans did after they were elected to the majority in 1994.
Another soon-to-be-speaker, Mike Hubbard, who built the 2010 Alabama GOP campaign to control the Alabama legislature, has left no doubt that ethics will be a top priority for him. He spoke of ethical leadership following the indictment of four state legislators on allegations of corruption in dealings with state gambling operations, telling reporters that the first business he will take up is ethics reform. Alabama voters responded by giving the Republicans a majority for the first time in a 134 years, sending a clear message that they are tired of a legislature dominated by the AEA and gambling interests that have repeatedly failed to pass ethics reform or ban PAC-to-PAC transfers.
The blueprint for what Americans want their government to look like was laid out on Tuesday. Americans, and Alabamians especially, want honest and ethical leadership. As students at the University of Alabama, these lessons should not be lost on us.
College is a time when we make the affiliations and develop the leadership skills that we will maintain for generations. The type of leaders we are here is a very good indicator of the type of leaders we will be in the future. It is very important, then, that all of our student leaders here at the Capstone recognize the message of this election and remember the importance of ethics in leadership.
Ryan Flamerich is a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering.
