Scandals Show the Difference Between Democrats and Republicans

Bad Actors

Jesse Berney

February 9, 2015

The Democratic governor and first lady of Oregon, John Kitzhaber and Cylvia Hayes, are in hot water. It appears Hayes may have pushed the state to officially adopt a new measure of economic well-being while being paid by a think tank to promote that measure.

KPTV – FOX 12

There have been calls–including among Kitzhaber’s fellow Democrats–for the governor to resign or be recalled. Make no mistake, this is a real scandal. Hayes was being paid by a private organization to promote a policy that she was pushing in her official (though unpaid) role as an adviser to the governor. Her actions could cost Kitzhaber his job.

But it also reminded me of another recent scandal involving the first lady of a state: former governor and first lady of Virginia Bob and Maureen McDonnell’s recent convictions for accepting gifts and favors from businessman Johnnie Williams.

In both scandals, the first lady received some form of payment (money in Oregon, gifts in Virginia) to use their official roles to benefit someone.

But the two cases provide a striking example of the difference between the Democratic and Republican parties.

In Oregon, Hayes was paid by left-leaning think tank Demos to push the “Genuine Progress Indicator,” a proposed replacement for Gross Domestic Product that does a better job of measuring the overall economic health of a state. GDP is just the value of all services and goods produced in a state or nation; GPI takes into account factors like environmental and social cost.

But in Virginia, the first lady and the governor were pushing a product their friend Williams was selling: Anatabloc, a snake-oil supplement made from tobacco by-products.

Can you think of a better way to demonstrate what it means to be a Democrat vs. a Republican? Even in scandal, the first lady of Oregon was pushing a policy that could have a real benefit to Oregon’s citizens. In Virginia, they were pushing pills that don’t do anything to help make their rich friend richer.

Kitzhaber and Hayes have to answer for their unethical actions. But I’ll take a first lady selling a progressive economic indicator over one selling a tobacco-based supplement any day.

H/T: Washington Post