Character and moral standing matter. We rely on our political process to probe and publicize candidates' history to expose these qualities. There is little protection against a politician who is willing to run on one set of principles and behave in office on something different, other than to endure the situation until the next election …
Character and moral standing matter. We rely on our political process to probe and publicize candidates' history to expose these qualities. There is little protection against a politician who is willing to run on one set of principles and behave in office on something different, other than to endure the situation until the next election and toss the rascal out. We also rely on the electorate to appropriately assess these qualities and vote accordingly, which is equally impossible to predict or control. When this is happening serially and in parallel in multiple places across the nation, the defense against it becomes a game of whack-a-mole. It never ends. One is eliminated and three more pop up vying to replace the one. And, when the official happens to be a candidate for appointment to a high federal court without term limits or mandatory retirement, then one has to wait out the remaining lifespan of the confirmed justice or seek impeachment, a high bar to cross. Term limits, mandatory retirement are reasonable reforms, but are extraordinarily difficult to achieve. Swift justice in the case of crimes committed is a decent deterrent, provided it is in fact swift, not hopelessly delayed, mired in procedural maneuvering, followed by token penalties.
Character and moral standing matter. We rely on our political process to probe and publicize candidates' history to expose these qualities. There is little protection against a politician who is willing to run on one set of principles and behave in office on something different, other than to endure the situation until the next election and toss the rascal out. We also rely on the electorate to appropriately assess these qualities and vote accordingly, which is equally impossible to predict or control. When this is happening serially and in parallel in multiple places across the nation, the defense against it becomes a game of whack-a-mole. It never ends. One is eliminated and three more pop up vying to replace the one. And, when the official happens to be a candidate for appointment to a high federal court without term limits or mandatory retirement, then one has to wait out the remaining lifespan of the confirmed justice or seek impeachment, a high bar to cross. Term limits, mandatory retirement are reasonable reforms, but are extraordinarily difficult to achieve. Swift justice in the case of crimes committed is a decent deterrent, provided it is in fact swift, not hopelessly delayed, mired in procedural maneuvering, followed by token penalties.