MISSOURI WATCH: FREE LUNCH, ETHICAL INDIGESTION

The good news is: Jefferson City legislators appear poised to outlaw that widely perceived threat to the democratic process known variously as the free lunch, the steak-and-lobster dinner, the freebie martini and the useless, inexpensive trinket. In other words, the cost of doing business for some 3,000 lobbyists is about to go down.

The bad news is: Outlawing every publicly perceived method employed by lobbyists to besmirch the honor and reputation of 197 members of the Missouri General Assembly will do nothing to improve the ethical standards or the voting virtue of public officials. In other words, the cost of doing business for some 3,000 lobbyists is not in providing free sandwiches or trinkets to greedy governmental employees.

If every free meal, every box of cigars, every box of chocolates, every bourbon and branch drink, every fifth of Scotch whiskey were outlawed, -removed and prohibited, the ethics in our state Capitol would neither be improved nor compromised.

Despite what the public earnestly and sincerely believes, the ethical sin is not in the acceptance of a lobster dinner at the Jefferson City Country Club or a filet mignon banquet at the Capitol Plaza Hotel. While most citizens believe lawmakers are corrupted each and every day by some free-spending lobbyist anxious to force his will on gullible elected officials, the truth is something quite distant and remote. A lawmaker willing to sell his vote on any matter, small or large, in exchange for a free lunch will have a record of dishonesty that would have long ago resulted in his indictment and conviction. The average lunch in Cole County costs less than $10 and an evening meal, without alcohol, seldom costs more than $25.

There isn't a legislator in the Missouri 'Capitol who can be bought for $10 or $25. That's pocket change, particularly if the official has a campaign account containing several thousand dollars drawing interest each and every day.

We grant the perception of lobbyist-financed dinners is less than reassuring, but hard-working legislators feel a sense of entitlement to such rewards, without regarding them as bribes. Many elected officials work far harder than the general public believes, and most also put in more hours than the average professional worker. When a legislator is treated to a free ham and cheese sandwich, the offer is received more in recognition of his devotion to duty than as any obligation to the person picking up the check.

The real ethical lapse in government service is not the lunch or dinner freebie or the holiday gift. The real culprit is the one act which has already been declared legal and constitutional by both the Missouri and U.S. Supreme Courts. The great ethical tempter is the campaign contribution, which is legal, above-board and legitimate under the laws of both state and federal governments. And it is through this process that the public's will can be compromised, and often is.

The exchange of the campaign dollar for the legislative vote is the single, most important corrupting factor in today's American, and Missouri, politics. The lobbyist who buys neither free lunch nor free dinner, but who contributes $500, $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000 to a money-poor candidate owns that public official lock, stock and barrel. The Big Macs mean zip.

If lobbyists need to curry influence with legislators, political candidates need to curry influence with the special interests willing to contribute to their treasuries. It takes several thousand dollars these days to run for the Missouri House of Representatives. Campaigns for the Senate can go as high as $100,000 and above. To run as a successful candidate for governor requires millions of dollars. If you're planning a candidacy for the U.S. Senate, plan on raising $5,000 each and every day for the next four to six years.

Where does all this money come from? Much of it comes not from wealthy individuals but from large companies, special interests, labor unions and any business enterprise that believes it may someday require a friend in public office. The average donation from an individual for a state campaign is $100 or $250 or $500, depending on the affluence of the contributor. The average contribution from the traditional special interest is measured in thousands of dollars. And when it comes to decision time, which donor gets first consideration? You know the answer to that, and so do I.

We can cut out every free meal and it will not improve the ethical standards of a single politician. Cut his or her campaign contributions and you end the public official's sense of obligation to outsiders. And nothing will change until this is accomplished. In the meantime, we're wasting our breath.

~Jack Stapleton of Kennett is the editor of the Missouri News and Editorial Service.