Gotta give it up to the Alabama Democrats in the Legislature for being a-holes when comes to ethics reform

Well, apparently ethics reforms has been blocked by the foolishness of the Alabama Senatorial Democrats when it came to the bill that will have strengthen the ethics codes for teachers.  Now I know the controversy includes the requirement of teachers reporting another teacher if they curse while at school (which is stupid and could be amended out of the new policy).  However, I have to give it up to the Senatorial Republicans for wanting to push the new education policy code anyways in Legislative Council to passage, but it was blocked by Joe Turnham and the Senatorial Democrats because Alabama Education Association (AEA) and its president Paul Hubbard fought to block it.

Both of the Democratically-controlled chambers of Alabama Legislature wanted anything to do with the strong ethics proposal pushed this year by Bob Riley, a Republican that would give the Ethics Commission subpoena power, tighten the legal restrictions on gifts for public officials, impose limits on how much lobbyists can spend while they wine and dine public officials, and mandate more disclosure of that spending.  They also avoided passing a Republican-sponsored bill that would expand the definition of lobbyists to include those who lobby the executive branch of state government, require more precise financial reports from public officials and allow the Ethics Commission to initiate a complaint with just four of its members instead of all five.

Ironically, most of the officials indicted in the past 18 months have all been Democrats on the state level including former state legislator Sue Schmitz and the fools involved in the two-year college system corruption.  Yet, I guess partisanship overcomes rationality and prevention of further foolishness. 

Man, this are the times and reasons why I'm an Independent because Democrats have their severe flaws as well as Republicans, but they should know better when it comes to ethics.  2010 is going to be election year for the State Legislature so they better remember that some of us doesn't have such a short memory when it comes to ethics laws. 

Shame, shame, shame!