Reid Demonstrates Two-Step Doesy-Doe on Ethics

Always hilarious to read Dem bloggers claim that it was okay for Reid to take thousand dollar ringside seats from a boxing commission he might have to vote on---and slam Repubs for making a big deal out of Dem corruption. At least McCain had the good sense to reimburse for his ticket, but Minority Leader Reid thought he was above such venal considerations, given his exalted national status.

The AP's John Solomon busts him again and describes his climbdown after making a complete fool of himself. He and Pelosi will make a terrific tag team---maybe wrestling befits them more than boxing! They could take instructions from ethically-challenged Dennis Hastert!

Here's a short description of this girlie-man's wriggling and squirming:

AP reported Monday that Reid accepted the free seats to three fights from the Nevada Athletic Commission as it was trying to influence his support for legislation to create a federal boxing commission. The state agency feared the legislation would usurp its authority to regulate fights and wanted to convince Reid there was no need for a federal body. Reid continued to support the federal body.

Reid told Las Vegas reporters on Tuesday he would continue to accept such tickets and did not believe he did anything wrong even though a fellow senator, John McCain, R-Ariz., who joined him for one of the fights, decided to reimburse $1,400 for his seat.

Reid said he believed it was appropriate to accept the free tickets because the gifts were from his home state and that McCain had to reimburse because he was from out of state.

Senate ethics rules generally allow senators to take gifts from any state, not just their home state. But they specifically warn against taking normally permissible gifts if the giver may be trying to influence official action.

Manley said Wednesday night that Reid "misspoke when he said the rule applies only to senators who represent the state agency." But he added he believes Reid still could ethically accept the tickets.

"It was therefore entirely permissible for Senator Reid - a senator from Nevada - to have attended a major Nevada sporting event as a guest of Nevada officials," Manley said.

Several ethics experts disagreed, criticizing Reid's justification during his Las Vegas news conference that he felt an "obligation" to take the tickets to ensure boxing was being conducted properly in his home state.

"He is no more obligated to go to boxing matches than he is to a Celine Dion concert in Vegas," said Melanie Sloan, a former Justice Department prosecutor and head of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Fred Wertheimer, a longtime ethics watchdog, agreed.

"The test under congressional ethics rules in these circumstances is not what state a member is from but whether the gift creates the appearance that the gift is motivated by a desire to influence the member or gain favorable official action," said Wertheimer, president of the nonpartisan Democracy 21 ground that advocates campaign finance, ethics and lobbying reforms. "If the gift creates such an appearance, it should not be accepted."

Reid told AP the free tickets did not influence his position, noting he voted for the legislation when it passed the Senate.

Here is the punchline and why one should always read the fine print:

However, Reid had forced a change in the bill that let the federal commission regulate the TV networks when they promoted fights. After the change, the House never approved the legislation.

Much ado about not much, but appearances always matter, especially when one preaches about moral probity on the other side of the aisle.