We Can't Afford to Send Fiscally Irresponsible People to the Nation's Capitol

Is it just my imagination or are a rather large number of House races around the country being run by Republicans who spout about the deficit (which they never say was created by the Bush War machine, which it was) yet have proven to be outrageously financially irresponsible, or possibly downright criminal, in their personal lives?

First case in point - Christine O'Donnell. She is a professional candidate, accused of misappropriation, and she apparently lies about her educational background. She is neither responsible nor trustworthy. Even The Moderate Voice details all her "baggage."

More typical is a Republican rich guy trying to say he lost a couple hundred thousand bucks when he actually made 13+ million. The Dayton Daily News reports "Renacci, of Wadsworth, has made his success as a businessman and proponent of fiscal discipline a linchpin of his campaign" The problem: "Republican Jim Renacci and his wife, Tina, filed adjusted gross income in 2000 of negative $247,000 but a state audit calculated the sum at $13.7 million, according to an Associated Press review of public documents."

And New Hampshire's Republican Frank Guinta failed to disclose a bank account, and where the money in that account came from, that he is using as a slush fund. The Concord Monitor reports that "The New Hampshire Democratic Party filed formal complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the clerk of the U.S. House about Guinta amending his financial disclosure form in July to include a Bank of America account worth between $250,001 and $500,000."

And closer to our own homes and hearts here in Arizona, according to the NY Times: "In Arizona, Representative Harry E. Mitchell accused his opponent David Schweikert of being “a predatory real estate speculator who snatched up nearly 300 foreclosed homes, been cited for neglect and evicted a homeowner on the verge of saving his house, just to make a buck.”

Then there is Arkansas' First District GOP Congressional candidate Rick Crawford's stonewalling about his bankruptcy.

And of course there is also moral irresponsibility -- perhaps a topic for another entry -- but for now, here is one example:

Massachusetts Republican candidate Rick Perry faces re-examination of strip searches of underage girls by officers in his command.