Aug. 6, 2010
EDITORIAL: Did the Goodwins Buy Carte's Senate Seat?
A recently released financial report conducted by the National Institute on Money in
State Politics is quite revealing. The study shows that Goodwin and Goodwin, the
law practice belonging to the family of newly-minted U.S. Senator Carte Goodwin,
didn't just donate to Manchin's various campaigns: they made Manchin's Top Ten donor
list, along with such big wheels as Mylan Puskar.
So did the Goodwins essentially buy young Carte his U.S. Senate seat?
That may seem unfair at first. After all, Carte Goodwin worked in the Governor's office as a lawyer any may well have impressed the Governor, maybe even enough to name him his stand-in U.S. Senator.
But even the Democratic-friendly Charleston Gazette opined at the time of Carte Goodwin's appointment that it seemed strange that a more weighty, seasoned individual would be a more suitable replacement for Senator Byrd. So again, the eyes turn again to Joe Manchin as to why he really appointed Carte Goodwin instead of someone more worthy and effective during this important interim period.
This is the problem with Manchin and his crowd--they have no sensitivity towards
the public's ethical concerns. Whether or not Manchin factored in the Goodwin
and Goodwin law firm's contributions into his apppointment deliberations,
the result is that it just looks bad. And that hurts West Virginia's image.
Any Governor looking out for the reputation of his own state should avoid the
appearance of impropriety, especially in high-profile appointments like this one.
Now, no matter how hard Carte Goodwin tries to do his job in Washington, D.C., the fact that his family has contributed multiple thousands of dollars to Manchin's campaigns compromises his work. Manchin comes out looking tainted, too.
But ethical taints don't seem to bother Manchin, as evidenced by his transparent attempts to hurry along the special election to replace Byrd, his shameless behavior during the whole Heather Manchin Bresch scandal at WVU, and his embrace of expanded gambling across West Virginia.
West Virginians deserve better from their Chief Executive. He certainly doesn't deserve promotion to the U.S. Senate, where his kind of cronyism is absolutely not what we need for represenation in Washington, D.C.
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EDITORIAL: Did the Goodwins Buy Carte's Senate Seat?
A recently released financial report conducted by the National Institute on Money in
State Politics is quite revealing. The study shows that Goodwin and Goodwin, the
law practice belonging to the family of newly-minted U.S. Senator Carte Goodwin,
didn't just donate to Manchin's various campaigns: they made Manchin's Top Ten donor
list, along with such big wheels as Mylan Puskar.
So did the Goodwins essentially buy young Carte his U.S. Senate seat?
That may seem unfair at first. After all, Carte Goodwin worked in the Governor's office as a lawyer any may well have impressed the Governor, maybe even enough to name him his stand-in U.S. Senator.
But even the Democratic-friendly Charleston Gazette opined at the time of Carte Goodwin's appointment that it seemed strange that a more weighty, seasoned individual would be a more suitable replacement for Senator Byrd. So again, the eyes turn again to Joe Manchin as to why he really appointed Carte Goodwin instead of someone more worthy and effective during this important interim period.
This is the problem with Manchin and his crowd--they have no sensitivity towards
the public's ethical concerns. Whether or not Manchin factored in the Goodwin
and Goodwin law firm's contributions into his apppointment deliberations,
the result is that it just looks bad. And that hurts West Virginia's image.
Any Governor looking out for the reputation of his own state should avoid the
appearance of impropriety, especially in high-profile appointments like this one.
Now, no matter how hard Carte Goodwin tries to do his job in Washington, D.C., the fact that his family has contributed multiple thousands of dollars to Manchin's campaigns compromises his work. Manchin comes out looking tainted, too.
But ethical taints don't seem to bother Manchin, as evidenced by his transparent attempts to hurry along the special election to replace Byrd, his shameless behavior during the whole Heather Manchin Bresch scandal at WVU, and his embrace of expanded gambling across West Virginia.
West Virginians deserve better from their Chief Executive. He certainly doesn't deserve promotion to the U.S. Senate, where his kind of cronyism is absolutely not what we need for represenation in Washington, D.C.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
