What a gig!
Minority Leader John A. Boehner has collected more than $1.4 million from business interests this election cycle for a committee he says he created to help fellow Republican lawmakers. But Boehner's committee has spent only about a third of its money helping other candidates.
About two-thirds of its expenditures have gone instead to costs the committee describes as necessary to raise money, including fine meals and trips to luxurious resorts where the congressman mingles with corporate-directed groups and lobbyists. Boehner (Ohio) has spent more than $182,000 through the committee on frequent travel with donors to Florida and similar vacation spots, according to Federal Election Commission records, including $70,403 at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples and more than $30,000 at Disney Resort Destinations.
It's quite the scam -- get corporate lobbyists to fund a lavish lifestyle, and reward them with favorable legislation and votes.
And in a year in which Republicans lag financially, and could benefit from cash to take advantage of a difficult political climate for Democrats, it's telling where Boehner's priorities lie -- himself and his lobbyist pals über alles.