San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Corruption in Texas is corrosive; democracy demands changes
Paying bribes didn’t seem like a big deal when I was younger; I often thought I was doing a good deed.
Government salaries in Africa rarely cover grocery bills, let alone the rent. Tipping an official for expediting a press pass or paying a traffic fine directly to a police officer helped a long-suffering bureaucrat or public servant with a little “chai na mandazi,” Swahili for hot tea and a doughnut.
Then I heard how Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Seko dealt with a mutiny in his army. He basically said: I’ve given you a uniform and a gun; if you don’t know how to get money, I cannot help you.
No matter how small or banal, corruption corrodes societies as rust eats away steel. Payoffs encourage an evil form of entrepreneurship that unofficially taxes individuals and businesses, and creates barriers to competition.
Worst of all, corruption eats away at citizens’ faith in their government, society and culture. When trust in government fades, nations fail.
I’ve seen it happen in the Middle East and Africa. A group decides justice is only possible through violence. Stable nations see insurgencies rise and civil wars begin. The critical problem is that even though not all corrupt practices are illegal, that doesn’t mean citizens don’t feel the injustice from them.
Americans look down on less wealthy countries for their corruption, but we should know that others look at our campaign finance system with disgust. They see the enormous sums involved, the barely disguised payments for favors, and worry about American democracy.
The race between Gov. Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke topped $220 million last week, the most expensive in state history. Texas does not cap campaign donations, so rich and powerful people write million-dollar checks. You better believe that when donors want to discuss their businesses and policy, Texas politicos jump.
Like Pavlov, political donors have trained politicians well.
Abbott acted swiftly when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick questioned whether natural gas companies should pay back some of the billions they raked in during the 2021 freeze that collapsed Texas’ electric grid. His Public Utility Commission chair appointee made sure the money was irrevocably disbursed.
Abbott subsequently received $4.6 million from oil, gas and broader energy interests. Kelcy Warren, a co-founder of Energy Transfer, wrote a check for a cool million after his pipeline company made $2.4 billion off the storm.
Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian faced a similar test in 2020 when his agency’s scientists recommended he reject a permit application from one of his hometown’s wealthiest companies. Instead, he overruled the staff and approved the nine-story landfill for oil field waste near Midland.
Three days later, the company’s political action committee gave him $100,000.
No one knows the importance of cash to a campaign more than a political consultant. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s top campaign aide, Todd Smith, allegedly told a hemp company executive that part of the “consulting fee” he wanted in return for a growing license would go toward election campaigns, according to a state indictment.
Texas Rangers and the Travis County district attorney think that crossed the line, and the case is pending. Smith’s mistake, I guess, was demanding the money upfront?
Investigators, journalists and opposition researchers rely on campaign finance records to make these connections. The Legislature makes sure it’s not easy by underfunding the Texas Ethics Commission, but the data is usually available if you look hard enough.
Under Attorney General Ken Paxton, that’s no longer certain.
Three times in the past year, Paxton’s campaign has failed to obey campaign finance laws and fully disclose his donors. He is also under investigation by the
FBI after his top aides accused him of corruption in late 2020.
Enforcing campaign finance laws falls to — you guessed it — the attorney general. But Paxton doesn’t just give himself a pass; he doesn’t enforce the law when others break it either.
In the last three years, Paxton has not enforced fines imposed by the Ethics Commission on candidates. Nor has he defended the commission in court, which is his legal duty.
Paxton’s spokesman was less than clear, but he implied Paxton doesn’t think the commission and its rules are constitutional. But that’s not his call to make. Paxton’s job is to enforce Texas law.
Some readers have complained that I’m too hard on Republicans. But it’s not about partisanship; it’s about a culture of corruption in our politics in a single-party state.
Would Democrats behave similarly if they gained and retained power? Experience in New York and Illinois suggests yes.
Gov. Greg Abbott and the rest of the
Texas leadership are
Republican. When one party
holds all the power, a culture of corruption
can thrive.
Chris Tomlinson, named 2021 columnist of the year by the Texas Managing Editors, writes commentary about money, politics and life in Texas. Sign up for his “Tomlinson’s Take” newsletter at HoustonChronicle.com/TomlinsonNewsletter. chris.tomlinson@chron.com twitter.com/cltomlinson