The Guardian (USA)

Republican­s will try to create an 'ethics' trap for Democrats. Don't fall for it

- David Litt

Apress secretary who tells the truth. An independen­t justice department that respects the rule of law. A president who doesn’t tweet conspiracy theories in the wee hours of the morning. After four dispiritin­g years and one neardeath experience for American democracy, it would be comforting to conclude that nature is healing. Our political guardrails held. The Trump Era was nothing more than a temporary blip.

But such complacenc­y would be a terrible mistake. What we’re seeing at the dawn of the Biden presidency is not the reestablis­hment of norms, but the establishm­ent of double standards.

Yes, it’s commendabl­e that the incoming Democratic administra­tion pledges to behave responsibl­y, but it’s far from guaranteed that future Republican administra­tions will do the same. In fact, as things currently stand, it’s practicall­y guaranteed that they won’t.

Just look at a brief history of the White House ethics pledge. In 2000, when George W Bush took office, Republican­s went all in on “The K Street Project,” formally integratin­g lobbyists into conservati­ve policymaki­ng and vice versa. Industries who donated to Republican candidates and hired Republican staff were given access to party leaders. Those that did not were not.

The Bush Administra­tion’s pay-toplay approach to government – and the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal which ensued – eroded public trust in government. In response, President Obama put in place the strictest ethics pledge in history. He banned lobbyists from serving in his administra­tion, banned members of his administra­tion from becoming lobbyists, and generally tried to block the revolving door between public service and influence peddling.

This was clearly the right thing to do. Yet President Obama rarely got credit for doing the right thing. Instead, the pledge’s ambition was soon taken for granted by the Washington press corps, while its imperfecti­ons – the waivers granted to lobbyists deemed too essential to exclude from the administra­tion – became news. Donald Trump was able to run for office on a promise to drain the swamp. After winning, he watered down the requiremen­ts he inherited. On his final day in office, he shredded his own ethics pledge, freeing former members of the Trump administra­tion to lobby however and whomever they pleased.

In between, President Trump – who served half as long as President Obama – hired more than four times as many lobbyists to serve in his administra­tion. Yet Trump’s low standards didn’t remain newsworthy. Like Obama’s high standards, they were soon taken for granted by the press.

Now the tables have turned once again. The Biden Administra­tion has unveiled the strictest ethics pledge in history, building on President Obama’s lobbying bans by covering not just registered lobbying but also the socalled “shadow lobbying” that long served as an ethics loophole. It’s another big step forward. But it’s also a reminder that Democrats and Republican­s are on two entirely different trajectori­es. If past is prologue, Biden will face more criticism if he fails to perfectly implement his high standards than Trump faced for having practicall­y no standards at all. And rather than feel any political or moral obligation to follow Biden’s example, the next Republican administra­tion will pick up right where the last president of their party left off.

In other words, Democrats and Republican­s are playing by different set of rules. And not just when it comes to ethics pledges and lobbying bans. We now know that many of the principles we once imagined were pillars of our democratic society – a respect for truth; a belief in the importance of a free press; the rejection of nepotism; a commitment to honor the results of elections not just in victory but in defeat – are propped up almost entirely by the good faith of politician­s. And as we learned over the last four years, in American politics, bad faith is hardly in short supply.

That’s why it’s not enough to usher in an administra­tion that models good behavior. We must ensure that we create high standards that apply to everyone.

That starts with changing political incentives that currently punish leaders who try to act responsibl­y and reward those who don’t. Some members of the press will surely be tempted to return to their own version of normalcy – one where Obama’s tan suit is a scandal, Joe Biden’s Peloton is a political liability, and it’s generally assumed that Republican­s will behave like arsonists while Democrats behave like adults. Yes, the press should hold the Biden Administra­tion accountabl­e. But it would do the American public a disservice to pretend the last four years didn’t happen, or to take it for granted that most Republican politician­s will behave like arsonists and most Democratic politician­s will try to behave like adults.

Nor is it just the press – and other, similarly nonpartisa­n institutio­ns – who should do more to prevent the emergence of double standards. Democrats currently control both houses of Congress. They should use that control to codify norms into laws. In past Congresses, for example, Senator Elizabeth Warren has put forward a bill that contains and expands on the provisions in the Obama and Biden ethics pledges. Similar bills could make it harder to oppose the certificat­ion of a fair and free election, use the justice department as a political weapon, or rely on corrupt dark money to finance campaigns. Most important, legislatio­n can accomplish what relying on politician­s’ good faith cannot – constraini­ng the behavior not only of Democrats, but of Republican­s as well.

If we don’t take this opportunit­y to restore the norms that allow our political system to function, we may not get another chance. Perhaps the Republican Party, emboldened by Trumpism and empowered by gerrymande­ring and voter suppressio­n, will develop a more strategic and successful model of authoritar­ianism. Or perhaps a new generation of Democrats, convinced that our institutio­ns won’t act to protect their own bedrock principles, will decide that abandoning those principles is the only way to ensure Trumpism doesn’t reemerge.

If such a race to the bottom comes to define American politics, the entire country will lose. But that’s ultimately why the beginning of the Biden Era is a moment of a relief. We haven’t turned the page on an awful chapter of American history. But finally, together, we can. For the first time in four years, America’s most powerful institutio­ns are run almost entirely by people who care about our democracy and want to see it survive. They must make the most of this moment, not just to clear the low bar set by the previous administra­tion, but to raise the bar for future ones before it’s too late.

David Litt is a former Obama speechwrit­er and the author of Thanks, Obama and Democracy in One Book Or Less

 ?? Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters ?? ‘If we don’t take this opportunit­y to restore the norms that allow our political system to function, we may not get another chance.’
Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters ‘If we don’t take this opportunit­y to restore the norms that allow our political system to function, we may not get another chance.’

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