Prelude to a mugshot
Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Deadbeat)
In never ceases to amaze me, the sort of people that the tea party
looks to as heroes:
A judge in Chicago issued a preliminary ruling Wednesday against U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) in the Tea Party favorite’s child-support dispute with his ex-wife, ordering Walsh to explain why he appears to be $100,000 behind on his child-support payments.
Cook County Circuit Judge Raul Vega also wanted to know why Walsh wasn’t in court for the hearing — the McHenry Republican’s ex-wife, Laura Walsh was — and said he expects him to show up at the next hearing, in November.
Walsh’s new attorney, Janet Boyle, asked Vega “for what purpose” he wanted the congressman in court.
Vega gave her a puzzled look.
To which Boyle responded: “Mr. Walsh is a U.S. congressman.”
“Well, he’s no different than anyone else,” the judge said.
The issue remains Walsh's apparent refusal to pay $100,000 in overdue child support, while at the same time somehow scrounging up enough money to cut himself $35,000 checks for his own reelection. It is now up to Walsh to tell the court why he didn't pay the previously court-ordered amount (or produce evidence that he did pay it) or face contempt.
You would think that if Walsh wanted to get reelected, it might be worth paying his child support just to keep papers from constantly reporting on how he's not paying is child support. Apart from the whole "maybe you should support your own damn kids" part, of course. Also remember that this is the guy that got his driver's license suspended for not paying his car insurance. This guy is lecturing everyone on government responsibility, but he seems to have a hell of a lax attitude when it comes to his own financial obligations.
But it's nice to know that even congressmen are maybe expected to show up for their own court hearings, right? Even tea party congressmen, no less.
