08/01/13: What will McDonnell scandal produce?

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

FORMER U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Jr. died Tuesday. Obituary after obituary paid homage to the man and his family, whose involvement in Virginia politics dates back to the earliest days of its founding.

One obituary mentions that three successive generations of Byrds — including “Little Harry,” as he was known —“represented more than a century of continuous public service to Virginia.”

Not all of that public service was favorable. The Byrd machine, started by his father, Harry F. Byrd Sr., dominated Virginia politics for more than 40 years.

The machine supported Massive Resistance, as Virginia’s opposition to the desegregation of public schools was known. As a member of the state Senate, it was “Little Harry” who helped craft the policy that resulted in the closing of several school systems, including those in Norfolk.

Despite this and other stains on its legacy, there was one overriding positive of the Byrd machine: the complete lack of scandal. Single party rule — or, rather, single family rule — today tends to follow the axiom that absolute power corrupts absolutely. I have strong disagreements with much of what the Byrd machine stood for, but its commitment to integrity is not among them.

That’s what makes the scandal surrounding Gov. Bob McDonnell so maddening.

Yes, Virginia has lax financial disclosure laws, now considered among the weakest in the nation. But except for the Phil Hamilton saga, there have been no scandals in nearly 30 years.

In fact, the last major scandal, in 1985 involving state Sen. Peter Babalas of Norfolk, prompted the laws we now have on the books. At the time, the new laws were considered so strict that they prompted resignations from about a dozen elected and appointed officials.

The argument against any law then and changing the laws now remains the same: Virginia’s public officials are an ethical group, knowing innately the difference between right and wrong. That obviously is not the case.

Over the last 30 years, nearly every profession has codified ethical standards. No doubt McDonnell, an attorney, is familiar with Virginia’s Rules of Professional Conduct, an adoption of the American Bar Association’s model rules. Ethics, though, cannot be completely reduced to a list of rules, because there are those who will follow just the rules and claim that they have done nothing wrong.

Sound familiar? That’s the exact excuse McDonnell has given for his behavior. He said he has followed the letter of the law. His apology, repayment of the loans and plan to return the gifts, though, are an admission that just following the law isn’t necessarily ethical.

As a candidate, McDonnell proposed an independent ethics commission. To date, no such commission exists.

Candidate McDonnell also proposed a ban on gifts to members of the executive branch during the procurement process. The ban he signed exempts contracts under $5 million — nearly all contracts — and does not include gifts to the lieutenant governor or the attorney general.

The Byrd machine lost most of its power in the late 1960s. It is a shame that, with so much of its legacy still with us, the integrity piece has been all but lost.

The Babalas incident spurred major changes to Virginia’s disclosure laws; the Hamilton one less so. In the wake of the McDonnell scandal, which will we see in the legislature come January?

With all 100 seats in the House of Delegates, as well as the three statewide offices, on the ballot this fall, voters have a hand in shaping the answer.