Serious question–good for them if they don’t, but it’s a bit hard to take The Blagorgeous to task if they are taking it too.
Call It A Comeback
Serious question–good for them if they don’t, but it’s a bit hard to take The Blagorgeous to task if they are taking it too.
We’re not extending contracts to anyone like the chief executive of the state. We work policy, not patronage.
Exactly. How many state contracts do the House Republicans get to award? I imagine their influence is just about nil.
Do we have such a short memory of Lee Daniels?
Heh.
Reform minded Republicans might suggest this. Wall off state contracting from the Governor’s office and the General Assembly. Think it silly? That’s what the Feds do and it works. I’ve seen it first hand.
Not the President, not Congress, or any official inbetween can influence contracting officers. The guidelines and contract/procurement provisions are drafted and the agencies accept bids on approved contractors. The contracting officer enforces the contract for the agency purchasing the service. Their decisions are completely free of political interference and decisions are based measurable critieria such as best value and price.
Hell, why do you think the Halliburton charges don’t stick? They don’t stick because everyone who could look into such a charge knows that it is impossible under the system. The system, in a sense, serves to protect politicians as much as the taxpayer.
Is it cumbersome? You bet. But it works and the Feds saved money in the longterm. With this state’s history, I think something like this would be a vote getter.
or maybe just prohibit state contractors from making campaign contributions, and making campaign contributors ineligible for state contracts…
just a thought.
Reform-minded Republicans might consider becoming Democrats instead.
If Blago’s way is the “New Way” or the Democratic way, then we may as well have G. Ryan.