I didn't find it in the data base and haven't heard anything since, but one of Pelosi's staff members, who was very vocal about criticizing DeLay, took eleven vacation trips paid for by lobbyists. And yes, Pelosi is responsible for knowing how many vacations her staff is getting from lobbyists. Eleven trips? Did they ever show up for work? Were these paid vacations?

When Pelosi has cleared up why her staff is taking so many paid vacations, she can resume her post.

This is an impressive list:

MOST TRIPS  

From 2000 to winter 2005, the Members taking the most privately-funded trips were:

  Member of Congress               # of Trips  

1. FORD, HAROLD E JR                    62
   
2. BREAUX, JOHN B                         61
   
3. WATERS, MAXINE                        61
   
4. JONES, STEPHANIE TUBBS          59
   
5. BIDEN, JOSEPH R JR                    56

There needs to be stringent oversight of all types of freebies that any Democrat, from City Council to President, is allowed to accept. There also should be 100% transparancy. If that's a problem, they can become Republicans.

One thing you can say for Corzine is that he is not, nor has he ever been, a machine politician. He jumped into the race because he was the guy who could tamp down the machinations of the machine bosses. Yes, we have them in NJ and both parties, to boot.

At the end of the day there has not been a lot slung at Corzine about his ethics. He can address the ethics issue and a lot more, credibly and believably.

He can and will beat Forrester.

Oh and Freedc:

Corzine having only a 7 point lead is horrible, his name ID,etc. plus NJ's blue status mean he should be at least polling at 50%. Its safe to say its ok to be worried about this race,

This will probably be scoffed at, or worse. It is as legit as bizarre. Corzine's facial hair is a monumental disadvantage in a statewide race. It will cost him 3-4 points minimum. He could save milions of dollars with the purchase and utilization of a 5 cent Bic razor. There is absolutely zero chance Corzine will match his final poll number. I wrote that elsewhere before his 2000 senate race and it applies in the governors race as well.

Women do not prefer facial hair on a man, perhaps subconsciously, and will not vote for a candidate who features it, as least not in typical number. Jimmy The Greek Snyder understood that in 1948 and it was the key rationale behind his huge bet on Truman over Dewey. The theory still holds up in statewide races or higher. Beside the 2000 New Jersey senate race, the theory was also perfect in 2002. Every major candidate with facial hair lost and did not come close to his poll number. I made a large wager against Tom Strickland in Colorado due to that theory. It also held up in the Texas senate race (Ron Kirk), Wyoming gov race (big upset) and one other governors race, Ithink in Kansas.