One of the best dialogue exchanges from one of the best movies goes like this:
Rick (the club owner): How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Captain Renault (police chief): I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on here!
Casino manager (to Renault): Your winnings, sir.
Why did this jump to mind when I heard of Oregon Governor Kitzhaber’s resignation this afternoon? The contexts certainly aren’t glaringly analogous. I think it has to do with the cynicism that so often comes with the reasons given for holding public people to account. So am I saying Rick’s cafe should have been shut down? No, the reasons were a pretext. How about the Governor? Is the hue and cry just a pretext? No, the guy’s gotta go.
I am not the Governor’s best friend as can be divined from my blog. Neither am I shocked and appalled that a public official could allow himself to so egregiously betray the public trust. I’ve seen far more sordid examples of public disgrace. On a scale of one to ten, failing to keep his girlfriend on a shorter leash isn’t even on the radar compared to the execrable behavior of any number of mighty personages who have fallen.
So why hang the poor guy out to dry? Don’t take it so hard, John. It’s not you. But in government, ethics matters. Not to say that ethics is - or ever was - the absolute touchstone of government. But when the fault is obvious, glaring, and fundamentally contrary to the public interest, the latitude for lenience narrows to about zero. A corrupt government can not serve the people. It’s not a question of relatively how dirty the Governor’s hands are. This is a seasoned political operative who knows. He knew the conflict of interest and he knew what Cylvia was doing. Instead of being a steward of the public interest, Kitzhaber was a party to using personal power illegally for personal gain. Sounds extreme: wasn’t he abetting the looting of the treasury?
So, good call, John. The resignation takes effect 10 a.m., February 18, 2015.
What’s the aftermath? Well, it’s never good when the President, Governor, Mayor, CEO etc. is booted out of office. Political capital and prestige also matter for the parent country/state/city/corporation, etc. Such a disaster certainly slows momentum or unseats one from the high ground. I imagine it plays hell with bond ratings and stock values.
But we have a constitution so even a high-profile and popular governor is not irreplaceable. In Oregon, succession to the governorship goes to the Secretary of State and that is Kate Brown. I voted for her for that office. She’s been proficient and effective in a low-profile job. I wish her the best in her new position.
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