I'm sorry, but the president of the Florida League of Women Voters doesn't get to brag about the organization's "integrity and credibility."
Not this president. And, frankly, no longer the organization as a whole.
If you saw Marc Caputo's story in Politico Tuesday -- "Murphy, Rubio agree to two debates -- as sparks fly over more debates" -- you probably know what I'm talking about.
Caputo wrote that FLWV President Pamela Goodman personally donated $1,250 to Democrat Patrick Murphy's campaign. That, folks, is one heck of a revelation.
Yet, Goodman is appalled Marco Rubio, Murphy's Republican opponent, doesn't trust the League to conduct a fair senatorial debate.
Run, Marco, run. As fast and as far away from this organization as you can.
"My contribution to Murphy was made when he was running for Congress," Goodman said in an email to Caputo. "Certainly not in this election. I have made NO candidate contributions since my post as President of LWV Florida in May 2015. I repeat again the proven integrity and credibility of our organization in sponsoring and administering candidate debates and forums for almost 100 years, is unsurpassed.”
Come on, Pam, you were a Murphy donor, your donation was a clear violation of LWV rules.
Goodman, 60, was elected to a two-year term as president of the Florida League on May 16, 2015. But before that, she was a six-year first vice president of the state league. And before that a four-year president of the Palm Beach County LWV.
Murphy ran for Congress while Goodman was serving as first vice president. That would make her a board member.
According to the League of Women Voters' Nonpartisan Policy, Rule No. 4: "A Board member shall not make campaign contributions to campaigns or candidates for any federal office or to political parties or other entities contributing to such federal races."
From where I'm sitting, Goodman's donation makes her ineligible as a judge of the League's character. It means she's out of the game. Red-carded. She leaves the field.
OK, an ethics breach doesn't work for the League of Women Voters like it does in soccer. But it should.
Certainly the political class the country over knows the League of Women Voters is far more political than its reputation as a neutral champion of good government. I've watched it change over the last 25 years, written about it on several occasions.
Now, look. The League's claims of nonpartisanship have gone beyond the laughable. It's sunk so low it is no longer trusted to run a fair and even political debate -- a voter education activity once among its most important roles.
"We call them the League of Women Democrats. They're not even slightly left of center. They're far left," said Sid Dinerstein, former chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. "It's sad they hide behind their name."
Dinerstein told the Sun-Sentinel he's known Goodman for years, dating to the 2008 election when they joined forces to tackle problems during the tenure of a former Palm Beach County supervisor of elections. He said Goodman is smart, and sounds good. But, he added, "she has an agenda she pushes," and noted that she's considered running for office as a Democrat.
The bottom line for me is this: Rubio wanted six debates, Democratic senatorial candidate Murphy has agreed to three and a forum. Now Rubio says no dice to two of the Murphy-approved events because he claims both would be in the Democrats' hands, staffed by those who donate to Democrats -- a Forum Club of the Palm Beaches forum, and, of course, the League of Women Voters debate.
This is a testy year with a great deal at stake. Murphy and Rubio are both entitled to feel comfortable with the venue and the organizers of the debates ahead, the more the merrier for the voters of Florida.
It's just a sad reality that the once venerable Florida League of Women Voters -- even without its liberal activism -- is not, and probably never will again -- be an organization both major parties can trust to run a baggage-free debate.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
