Staff Reports
Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-St. Louis, is under the ethics microscope, but folks in the Show-Me State are justifiably questioning if this is all just another boring rerun of the “Politicians Behaving Badly” show. His alleged shenanigans sound like they’re barely worth a yawn when compared to the ongoing drama in Illinois, where former Speaker Mike Madigan is facing a laundry list of charges straight out of a crime novel. The folks in Missouri may want to grab some popcorn and take notes on what a real scandal looks like.
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee shot down a report that threw shade on Plocher by a vote of 6-2. The first allegation involved some cash flow confusion, where Plocher supposedly dipped into his campaign funds to cover some expenses. But hold the phone – he coughed up the dough before anyone even filed a complaint. The second allegation centered around a proposed contract deal that supposedly got all tangled up in ethical red tape. Come on, guys, let’s be real – this isn’t exactly Watergate-level stuff here.
Ethics investigations of speakers in Missouri, Illinois show need for possible reformshttps://t.co/mwgwJB2BYB
— The Center Square (@thecentersquare) April 22, 2024
Over in the Land of Lincoln, Madigan is staring down the barrel of 23 counts of racketeering, bribery, and official misconduct. That’s a full buffet of charges right there. He held the speaker scepter for a whopping 38 years, so you can bet there’s some serious ammo in his scandal arsenal. The comparison is like pitting a goldfish against a great white shark.
Anita Manion, a political science professor from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, thinks these ethical hiccups leave people feeling like they can’t trust the government. Sure, it’s a bummer when politicians mess up, but let’s not pretend these minor slip-ups hold a candle to the blazing dumpster fire happening in Illinois.
The ethics committee is still playing detective, trying to figure out if Plocher’s hands are clean. But let’s be real – it’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack when the guy ends press conferences faster than a kid scarfing down broccoli. Manion goes on and on about how these politicians can dance their way around the rules, but come on – hasn’t she heard the phrase “innocent until proven guilty”?
Plocher, who’s vying for his party’s nomination for secretary of state and is bound by term limits, hasn’t been singing like a canary about the investigation. He’s been griping about how long the whole shebang is taking. But can you really blame the guy? Who wouldn’t want to fast track through a snooze-fest of an investigation?
At the end of the day, it’s clear that the Missouri and Illinois political games are just that – games. Sure, there may be some flubs here and there, but when push comes to shove, it’s all just a big ol’ circus. And hey, when the two parties actually ganged up on Republican Gov. Eric Greitens over some sketchy business, it looked like they could play nice. So maybe, just maybe, they’ll figure things out. But until then, grab the popcorn and enjoy the show.
