Georgia Gov. Nathan DealCommon Cause, the nonprofit advocacy organization that promotes honest, open and accountable government, and the tea party, which has a narrower agenda, rarely find themselves on the same side of an issue. When they do, the public should pay attention.
That's certainly the case at the moment in Georgia. Both say Gov. Nathan Deal was wrong to accept valuable perks from Delta shortly after he signed legislation to give the airline a two-year, $30 million tax break. Deal, of course, disagrees.
His spokesman says the gift from Delta - a free upgrade to "Diamond" medallion status that the airline values at about $8,000 - had nothing to do with the tax break. "It was Delta's effort to contribute to an economic development mission," the spokesman claimed. The upgrade, it is true, came just in time for Deal to use its benefits while on an economic trade mission to Europe in May. Still, that's a facile explanation that misses the point.
The truth is that the value of the Delta upgrade far exceeds the $25 gift limit that is included in an executive order Deal signed that covers ethics for his office and others under the governor's authority. Deal's claims that the Delta upgrade was not a personal gift and does not fall under the ethics rule, and a pledge that neither the governor nor his wife would use the perks for personal travel in the future, are moot.
However it is defined, the value of the Delta gift exceeds the legal limit. An organizer for the Georgia Tea Party Patriots said Deal's acceptance of the gift was "extremely disappointing." A Common Cause spokesman said, "This [the free upgrade] was obviously a thank you for signing that [tax] bill." It's hard to argue with either statement.
Deal should know better than to accept gifts. He ran for governor under an ethical cloud. He resigned from Congress last year shortly before a committee was to release a report on possible ethics violations against him. The resignation ended the inquiry, but not questions about Deal's conduct.
Given that, you'd think that the governor would instinctively run from any event that raised any question about ethics. Apparently not.
For Delta, gift-giving is business as usual. The airline has provided similar gifts to other state officials. Last year, according to mandated lobbyist and campaign reports, Delta gave at least 10 state politicians or their campaigns upgrades or other perks worth about $20,000. Only the naive would assume those gifts were given out of the kindness of Delta's corporate heart. The airline expected something in return.
It apparently got it this year when the $30 million tax break was approved despite spirited opposition.
The Delta-Deal episode illustrates why Georgia desperately needs gift-and-ethics reform. A bill to provide it was introduced in the legislature this year. The GOP majority there promptly buried it. Deal did not object. Georgians deserve better from a governor and from legislators who seem content to let the state remain in ethical limbo.