Actually, upon further reflection, I'm pretty sure everyone on this train today has already sold their soul.
MMmmmmm.... I love the smell of corruption in the morning! Congressman Joe Barton embarks today on what his re-election staff has dubbed "Joe Barton's 2006 Texas Train Ride". We prefer to call it what it is: a Gravy Train.
For the low, low price of $2000, individual donors can hobnob with Chairman Barton (as the invitation flyer emphasises) for several hours. Entertainment includes a Saturday brunch, an "after hours tour of the Alamo", "cocktails", and an old GOP favorite: gambling (quick, someone call Jack Ambramoff!). The invitation promises that "During the ride, we'll have lots of time to talk". Even better, if you're a PAC representative, all this access can be yours for the bargain bin price of $5000.
Hmm... I wonder... What in the world would top-dollar donors and PACs want to discuss with Chairman Barton? Perhaps some pending legislation that they're trying to shuffle past Barton's House Energy and Commerce Committee (you know, the one that Tom Delay attends regularly via conference call), which oversees everything from energy legislation to pro baseball to enviromental regulation.
The coffee I'm drinking may not be strong enough.
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