Most of our politicians and certainly the majority of lobbyists have been to law school or have legal training. I can’t say whether it is a good thing or bad. However, one would hope that it at least exposes politicians and lobbyists to ethics. Hopefully, we trust 
that when we elect our officials that they have a sense of right and wrong. After all, we elect them because we believe in them. Apparently, South Carolina Rep. Rick Quinn Jr., did not get the memo that his voters believed in him.
Buying off the politician
Rick Quinn was accused of not reporting up to $4 million in money from lobbyists. Politicians, of course, must report such “gifts.” Why? Because it constitutes a bribe that is used to influence political and legal decisions. Why would a lobby for any cause slip a check for millions of dollars under the table? Because it influences voting and policy decisions. A $4 million “gift” may seem like a lot of money but over time it really isn’t. For example, if a politician (and this is theoretical) was given money to lower taxes on gasoline in a state and the taxes were lowered by even a penny a gallon, the money would be well spent after just months.
Bottom line, getting lobby money and not reporting it, is just good old-fashioned corruption. Rick Quinn, who is in his early 50s faces at least a year in jail and it could increase as new charges come in to play. Rep. Quinn is hardly a political neophyte. He was once South Carolina’s House Majority leader and was in government for more than 21 years. If he has any consolation as he heads off to jail it is that he has company. Also caught in the ethics sweep was
Former House Majority Leader Jim Merrill and former House Speaker Bobby Harrell.
As the ethics investigation had begun (it started with Bobby Harrell), the Attorney General, Alan Wilson, had to excuse himself as the probe expanded as Quinn’s father is his political consultant! The entire investigation became a pit of seething snakes.
The men who have been charged are all Republicans. Naturally, they are accusing the prosecutor, Solicitor David Pascoe of politically motivated behavior. Of course, there can be no other reason (and of course, I am being sarcastic). By the way, State Sen. John Courson, former House Judiciary Committee, chairman Jim Harrison and former state Rep. Tracy Edge still face charges. I might add that the lobbying firm also faces penalties, but to them it is merely the nickel and dime costs of doing business.
Political Motivations?
One of the major flaws of these scandals is that they always descend into politics, and not where they belong, which is ethics. If I, as a lawmaker and representative of the people, know that I must report any money used to potentially influence my office – and I don’t, I am clearly in violation of ethics laws. It makes no difference whether I am a Republican, Democrat or Independent. It is simply unethical. Though politicians and lawyers are masters at obfuscation, it smells fishy when $4 million in bribe money goes unreported.
Under most situations the money doesn’t go directly into a politician’s pockets, of course. There exists no bag of money with a note attached that said, “Happy Holidays, Rick Quinn!” The money shows up in re-election coffers or other seemingly benign pools of funding. The money can then be quietly transferred to other, more “personal” accounts or laundered in some way to “cash.” It is not political, it is greed.
After more than 20 years, working the corridors of political power, South Carolina Rep. Rick Quinn Jr., knew the system and knew his way around ethical behavior. When the charges were about to come in against him, rather than face the onslaught of publicity as an elected politician, he claimed partisan politics and resigned.
Had he been in the right, had he no doubt that ethically he was above reproach, Quinn would have stood the fire and challenged the accusations. It did not happen. He was tempted, took the money and fell from grace. Unethical behavior has a way of humbling those who are caught. Invariably, they are caught.
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