ethics

"There was something slightly hypocritical in Ruth Marcus's column on the ethics cases pending before Congress ["House of entitlement," op-ed, Aug. 4]. She acknowledged the public "misperception" that "most lawmakers" are "heedless of ethics rules." Yet The Post and others in the media perpetuate that myth."

In a May 11, 2010 guest column in Roll Call, titled "Mistrust Unavoidable in Grass-Roots Efforts," (subscription required) Amy Showalter and Kelton Rhoads asserted that efforts among grassroots practitioners to develop a "code of ethics" or "code of conduct" were unnecessary.

CMF has been working on this issue for several years. Through extensive research, we believe that it is possible for grassroots advocacy campaigns that adhere to a voluntary code of ethics to engender the trust that the vast majority of them deserve. Perhaps the biggest benefit of a code of ethics would be the ability for ethical, best-practice practitioners to distinguish themselves and their campaigns from those that seek to influence policy at any cost, ethical or not.