Ghost
of Jack Abramoff Dogs Ross Miller’s Campaign
By Chuck Muth
July 31, 2014
If you want to know how to protect your home from a
break-in, consult a burglar. If you want
to know how to stop influence peddling and corruption in government, consult
America’s most notorious lobbyist.
Branded by TIME magazine as “The Man Who Bought
Washington,” Jack Abramoff went to prison for four years. But the system Abramoff so expertly exploited
for years really hasn’t changed. In
fact, the Philadelphia Inquirer opined in 2011 that “the lobbying that’s
happening now makes Jack Abramoff look like Mahatma Gandhi.”
The Inquirer wasn’t specifically talking about Nevada
Secretary of State Ross Miller. But it
could have been.
The problem - as pointed out recently by Adam
Laxalt, Miller’s Republican opponent in the attorney general race - is that
Miller, over the years, has accepted more than $70,000 worth of gifts from lobbyists
and others who are also now contributing big money to his campaign.
Yes, Miller reported the gifts. But that’s not the point.
The point is the Rule of Reciprocity, as explained
in Prof. Robert Cialdini’s excellent book on human nature titled, Influence:
The Psychology of Persuasion. An
excerpt…
“The rule says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. If a woman does us a favor, we should do one in return; if a man sends us a birthday present, we should remember his birthday with a gift of our own; if a couple invites us to a party, we should be sure to invite them to one of ours. By virtue of the reciprocity rule, then, we are OBLIGATED to the future repayment of favors, gifts, invitations, and the like.”
This is why many charitable organizations send out
those gummed address labels with your name and address pre-printed on them as a
“gift” along with their request for donations. Because no matter how small the
gift, the human urge to reciprocate is darned near irresistible.
And if you don’t think lobbyists and other influence
peddlers know all about the Rule of Reciprocity, I have a nice lakeside cabin
up on Yucca Mountain to sell you.
To avoid even the appearance of corruption, Abramoff
rightly proposed in his autobiography that “Not only should lobbyists be banned
from contributing to officials’ organizations and campaigns, they should be
banned from gift-giving as well.” Any
gift. Of any size. Disclosed or not.
To his credit, Laxalt has publicly declared that if
elected he will refuse to accept any and all gifts; not because anyone who accepts
a gift is necessarily corrupt, but because at the very least it presents “a
perception problem.” As such, Mr.
Miller should adopt the exact same policy.
Consider this advice just a little “gift” from me to
him.
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