Udall Opposes Corruption; McInnis Exemplifies Corruption

Some afternoon reading:

Colorado: Rep. Mark Udall signs on to a bipartisan anti-corruption campaign reform bill:

Rep. Mark Udall fired a warning shot in the 2008 U.S. Senate race on Thursday by co-sponsoring "anti-corruption" legislation that reminds people of a past controversy surrounding one of his potential Republican rivals, former congressman Scott McInnis.

Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, agreed to co-sponsor a bill by Rep. Phil English, R-Pa., to prohibit candidates or their immediate family members from drawing salaries from campaign committees for campaign-related work.

McInnis drew media scrutiny and complaints from Democrats in 2004 and 2005 over the tens of thousands of dollars his campaign has paid his wife, Lori, to work as campaign manager — including after he announced he would leave Congress to become a lobbyist. ...

Still, none of the other Colorado cases comes close to the more than $145,000 that Lori McInnis was paid from 2001 to 2005.

$145,000 is a nice chunk of change. Reminds me of a certain mugshot-superstar whose name rhymes with Tom DeLay.

Also, Political Insider looks at Presidential candidates who may also run for re-election to their current jobs. Long story short, with the primaries so front-loaded and party nominees to be largely certain by mid-February, those who face re-election to their current jobs in 2008 will be able to decide with certainty whether to depart from the Presidential race.