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Keller @ Large: Is Corruption Widespread On Beacon Hill?

BOSTON (CBS) - The folks over at the MassINC polling group have published the responses to a very interesting survey question they asked of Massachusetts voters:

How common do you think corruption is among our state legislators?

The results, according to Commonwealth Magazine:

52 percent think corruption is limited to a few isolated incidents and the work of corrupt individuals.

But 39 percent say it's widespread and a result of a corrupting political culture.

Only a tiny handful of the respondents shared the view of Gov. Patrick and other Beacon Hill big-wigs who have bristled at questions about what's polluting the water up there, that there's nothing wrong with the barrel that the removal of an occasional bad apple can't fix.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

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This is quite the indictment of our Legislature, and I certainly can't blame the vast majority of legislators - who most definitely do not have bribes stuffed in their underwear - for being upset or even outraged by the findings.

But to understand what people are really saying, consider the dictionary definitions of "corruption."

"Corrupt or dishonest proceedings," is in there, but also, "perversion of integrity."

And I believe that when it comes to the public sector and what it does with their tax dollars, many people would define "integrity" more broadly than just compliance with the law.

In this context, integrity means you are not in it for yourself, to pad your pension or take care of your relatives.

You are not sent there to kiss up to legislative leaders or cover your hindquarters when the tunnel lights start falling.

And even though we require you to seek re-election at regular intervals if you want to stay in power, you are not to prioritize your image and partisanship over the best interests of the broader community.

All too often, that's what we've seen folks on Beacon Hill doing - feathering their own nests and those of their cronies and flattering their egos rather than looking out for us.

Is that "corrupt" behavior?

Maybe not technically, but it's not statesmanship either.

Call it what you want, but until the local political class cleans up its act, they will continue to earn comparable levels of public contempt.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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