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Lie-detector tests for politicians? Georgia Democrat Horlacher takes the first step
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An Atlanta attorney and political player Gary Horlacher, a Democrat who’s running for Georgia Secretary of State next year, decided to answer some questions he might face on the campaign trail while hooked up to a polygraph equipment for a lie – detector test. He was questioned about his sexual activities, marriage, drug use, tax filing, and lobbying. According to the polygraph examiner, Horlacher passed with flying colors. If elected to office, Horlacher said he’d take lie-detector tests if any ethical issues surfaced during his term. He also swore in an affidavit that his answers were true.
“We need a much sharper focus on ethics,” Horlacher explained. “We need more clarity, not less – a government that functions with openness, honesty, efficiency and transparency.” (So many oxymorons (or oxymora) in one little sentence….)
In the past few months there has been a surge in ethical problems among high profile Democrats, from the presidential candidate John Edwards who was cheating on his cancer-stricken wife while campaigning for president, to Bill Richardson who had to forgo his post as Secretary of Commerce in Obama administration because of allegations of pay-to-play dealings, to now a number of Obama appointees who didn’t pay their taxes, not even mentioning the Rod Blagojevich fiasco.
Democrats definitely need to clean up their image in ethics department, and perhaps Horlacher’s polygraph testing at the very least shines some light onto the path democrats should be taking.
“If the state requires voters to prove their legitimacy with picture IDs and proofs of birth, why should it not also require candidates to prove their honesty and morality,” writes Bill Shipp, a columnist for The Marietta Daily Journal.”
It should be noted that Horlacher has one blemish on his record: he was arrested for DUI in 1999, the charge that was later reduced to reckless driving. The situation forced him to resign as Gov. Roy Barnes’ press secretary, but by 2001 he was involved with Shirley Franklin’s successful election for Atlanta mayor.
Needles to say, if this approach of lie-detector testing gained popularity (doubtful), it would be smart to get into the “how to lie on your polygraph test and still pass” industry, because it would be one of the most financially rewarding careers in just a few months.
Sources:
Politics by Tom Crawford, To tell the truth, June 2009 issue of Georgia Trend
Bill Shipp’s article
To find out more about Gary Horlacher visit his “Gary for secretary” website
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