Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder paid the state of Missouri back for the $35,050 of hotel and restaurant expenses he had charged to the state for his travels around the state on what appear to be political and personal business. Saying he wanted to "move the nimbus off the horizon", Kinder hoped to move beyond the controversy, although he denied he had done anything wrong- he is a republican after all (GOP rule 1: Never admit you made a mistake!). Oh, but he didn't pay the bill with his own money, his campaign fund paid the tab. Sweet! Problem solved. Get caught stealing from the boss, get your rich supporters to bail you out.
Now some of Kinder's trips were to attend Tea Party Rallys and events, so you would expect some criticism from these budget hawks right? After all, cutting government spending isn't just "a" priority for the Tea Party movement, it's the ONLY priority. So what did they say? Chuck MacNab, a tea party activist from St.Charles County said "in view of all the profligate spending in the trillions" he doesn't think it's a big deal for kinder to charge taxpayers for a few nights in a hotel. "He's the lieutenant governor," MacNab said. "He's not chopped liver."
Oh, I get it, Kinder is someone important and shouldn't have to pay for his own hotel rooms or dinners. So what does that make people like you and me who DO pay their own way? Chopped Liver!
To be fair, liberals, such as those at the Post-Dispatch, have been falling over themselves to defend U.S. Senator Caire McCaskill after she got caught in her own scandel.
McCaskill paid the U.S. government $88,000 for plane trips, taken on her private jet, that she had been charging to the government, at least one of which was for a political event. She paid with her own money. Oh, and then McCaskill realized that she hadn't paid property taxes on her jet and owed St.Louis County $287,273 in back taxes and penalties. She apologized- she's a democrat after all (Dem. rule 1: always apologize!) and then wrote a personal check for $287,273. Bam! Problem solved. Owe the government $375,000? Just write a few checks. To which I just have to say: 'Damn Claire, if you can pull a check for $287,000 out of your ass at a moments notice to pay off a delinquent tax bill, why don't you hire an accountant or a tax lawyer to make sure your shit's legal?' Come on, she was the Missouri state auditor for crying out loud, she knows better.
Don't get me wrong, while I have my problems with Sen. McCaskill's politics, I'd much rather have her as senator than some conservative wing nut like Ed Martin, but don't we have the right to be pissed at these people even if we agree with their general political views? We may be chopped liver, but do we have to be sheep?