Ethics case raises public trust issue

Gazette Editorial Board

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We think it's a very bad idea for Iowa elected officials to take cash in exchange for using their influence to help presidential candidates compete in our first-in-the-nation caucuses.

We understand that many Iowa activists earn a paycheck for doing the time-consuming, shoe-leather organizing that's critical to success on caucus night. For them, politics is a job.

But we believe elected officials are different. Their job is public service. And their endorsements of White House hopefuls convey a special seal of approval to their partisan constituents. They loan a measure of their own public trust to a person seeking to be the next president.

Those endorsements are highly coveted. But we don't believe they should be for sale.

That's why we're troubled by the case of state Sen. Kent Sorenson, R-Milo, who is the subject of a complaint before the Senate Ethics Committee. Sorenson is accused of violating ethics rules by being paid in exchange for leading Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign in Iowa.

In a sworn affidavit released this week, former Bachmann chief of staff Andy Parrish said that Sorenson agreed to receive $7,500 per month from a fundraising firm affiliated with Bachmann's campaign.

“Sorenson indicated to me that he would like to be paid for his efforts supporting the Congresswoman. We both knew that Iowa Senate ethics prevented any presidential campaign from paying a senator for his or her efforts on a candidate's behalf,” said Parrish, who recruited Sorenson, a prominent social conservative. Just before the caucuses, Sorenson bolted to the campaign of former Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

Sorenson will get a chance to respond to the affidavit. And we're anxious to hear his explanation. It's possible that the six-member Ethics Committee, split evenly between the parties, will find a route to excuse Sorenson's arrangement.

That would, in our view, call into question why the Senate even bothers to have an Ethics Committee. And if it finds what Sorenson did is OK, the Senate should move swiftly to make sure it's not acceptable in the future.

The caucuses already are taking a beating from outside critics. Cash for endorsements will do even more damage.

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