Gov. Jay Nixon's renewed his call for ethics legislation this week was predicated on a weak link to the recent resignations of two lawmakers.
The ethics package that repeatedly has withered in legislative sessions traditionally has focused on campaign contributions, lobbyists' gifts and ex-lawmakers becoming lobbyists.
The resignations of a state senator and the House speaker followed allegations of inappropriate advances toward student interns at the Capitol. Workplace guidelines on sexual harassment already prohibit such behavior.
Even in a less-than-ideal world, one would hope Missouri could field 197 ethical, moral candidates who the voters would elect to the 163 seats in state's House of Representatives and 34 Senate seats.
The continuing clamor for ethics legislation, however, suggests prohibitions, restrictions and/or requirements remain desirable.
Regarding campaign contributions and lobbyists' gifts, our preference is quick and comprehensive disclosure of both.
In this forum on Wednesday, we referenced dark money, defined by Wikipedia as "a term that refers to funds used to pay for an election campaign that are not disclosed to voters prior to voting."
In this day and age of instant, widespread digital communication, we see no reason full disclosure and transparency cannot be attained.
Prohibitions and restrictions on campaign contributions and lobbyists' gifts invariably get tangled up in First Amendment issues; advocacy is an exercise in free speech.
Concerning lawmakers and interns, we are aware of the adage, "You can't legislate morality," but discrimination and harassment policies can prohibit actions and behaviors deemed inappropriate.
Ethics and morals are intertwined, but lapses and violations take many forms.
The allegations that prompted the resignations are very different from the influence peddling recent ethic proposals have addressed.
The governor erred when he attempted to use one as leverage to address the other.