April 14, 2005

FAMILY BUSINESS:

Political Payrolls Include Families: Dozens of members of Congress have paid relatives for campaign work, records show. The practice, though legal, is coming under scrutiny. (Richard Simon, Chuck Neubauer and Rone Tempest, April 14, 2005, LA Times)

At least 39 members of Congress have engaged in the controversial practice of paying their spouses, children or other relatives out of campaign funds, or have hired companies in which a family member had a financial interest, records and interviews show.

House campaign funds have paid more than $3 million to lawmakers' relatives over the last two election cycles, records show.

The practice is not illegal but has come under new scrutiny following reports that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's wife and daughter had received hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2001 from his political action and congressional campaign committees.


If they didn't hate Tom DeLay would a common legal practice be "controversial"?

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 14, 2005 6:44 AM
Comments

Why can't Bush see that standing firmly behind other Republicans can only do all of us a lot of good? He should issue a statement supporting Delay unconditionally. That would go far toward stopping liberals from trying to slime Republicans one by one.

I can't wait until Delay's majority leader. It's about time Democrats get an opponent who knows how to be in charge. Another Texan in the LBJ mode.

Posted by: erp at April 14, 2005 9:40 AM

A strong statement by Bush would of course only drive the media to greater lengths of insanity, but it might also force the stories about Pelosi and Reid (and their similar issues) to the fore, thereby diluting the whole "kerfuffle".

And the NYT has no room to speak about nepotism, with Pinchy at the top.

DeLay will never be Speaker. He is more effective as Majority Leader.

Posted by: jim hamlen at April 14, 2005 10:24 AM

Harry doesn't have to put his sons on the political gravy train. He has, through their law firms, managed to insure that the Reid family takes a cut of everything that moves in Vegas. Staff or campaign salaries would be small potatoes for the progeny of the Minority Leader.

Posted by: ed at April 14, 2005 1:18 PM

Man, I hope this doesn't blow over before Teddy K makes a statement...

Posted by: Timothy at April 14, 2005 2:04 PM

Doesn't it seem that the Senator (Gerraty?) in The Godfather, Part 2 and Reid are interchangeable? Or is Reid using him as his role model?

Posted by: Raoul Ortega at April 14, 2005 4:34 PM

Senator Geary was so much cooler than Reid. Do you think Geary would have told that dopey story about little Timmy back in wherever after the State of the Union? They're both corrupt, sure, but Geary actually had charisma too.

Posted by: Governor Breck at April 14, 2005 5:35 PM

This whole thing is ridiculous. What kind of man, wouldn't look out for his family? Anybody who would act like that shouldn't be in public service.

Posted by: h-man at April 14, 2005 6:22 PM
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