Does Georgia have a state house, a frat house or a whore house?

If you are a resident of the state of Georgia and you have not had the opportunity to read the article, “Coziness between lobbyists and lawmakers a longstanding practice,” I would strongly encourage you to read it today. Writers Alan Judd and Nancy Badertscher chronicle the out of control relationship that some state representatives and senators have with lobbyists in the state:

If members of the Georgia General Assembly get hungry, a lobbyist will feed them.

If they are thirsty, a lobbyist will buy drinks.

If they’re bored, a lobbyist will score tickets to a concert, a football game, or maybe a NASCAR race.

And if they need a friend — or a friend with benefits — a lobbyist might take care of that, too.

The Georgia legislature is all about “sex, lies and lobbyists,” according to Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate, Karen Handel.

State representative Alisha Morgan (D-Austell) told the AJC that adultery is “accepted behavior” at the capital, saying:

“It’s just common knowledge. It is hypocrisy when you talk about family values when this is what you’re doing in your own lives to your families.”

Yes, Ms. Morgan, it is hypocrisy. The article notes unsubstantiated stories about

lobbyists who supposedly bore children out of wedlock with legislators, about sex in Capitol offices, even about lobbyists who slept with multiple lawmakers as their bills advanced through the Legislature.

Frankly, it’s getting difficult to tell whether more whores are sent to the capitol via lobbying groups or via ballot boxes.

Judd and Badertscher write:

Lawmakers concerned about the coziness between their colleagues and lobbyists have tried to impose restrictions in past years: in 2005 and even a year ago, when Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs) introduced a bill limiting gifts to $100. The bill was ‘dead on arrival,’ Willard said recently, blocked by House leaders.

‘They didn’t want anything that applied stronger ethics rules to them.’

With the recent and ongoing hoolah surrounding Harry Reid’s “negro dialect” remarks, Republicans at the national level are claiming moral high ground (or at least even treatment) in demanding Reid step down. It’s worth noting, however, that the current mess in Georgia comes as Republicans have been the majority for several years. It seems the moral high ground is getting lower all the time.

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