California congress members gone wild; but they will likely remain in office

Richardson is foreclosed on; Lungren loves the beach on lobbyist money

It is no wonder that Americans have so little esteem for members of Congress. California has two great current examples of congressional hubris.

First there is the case of Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach. Seems Richardson has had default notices field on her properties at least six times. Additionally, Richardson lost her home in Sacramento's Curtis Park to foreclosure a month ago without, she claims, her knowledge.

As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, one of Richardson's neighbors in Sacramento said:

Neighbors in the upper middle-class Curtis Park neighborhood said she neglected the property.

Sean Padovan, a retired Sacramento police sergeant who lives three doors away from the three-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath house, grew concerned when the grass grew nearly a foot high.

"I finally went down there and said, 'Would you mind if I mowed your lawn for you?' She said, 'I've been awful busy. Sure.'"


Richardson's Craftsman-style house has also fallen into disrepair. The beige paint is peeling, a garage window is broken, and the grass has turned brown.

Meanwhile a little closer to home, congressman Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, has taken a real shine to beach bumming in Hawaii compliments of lobbyist.


Watch the video.

Lungren's rationale is laughable. At least Lungren did show have a bit of honesty:

“Organizations have their conventions usually at nice places,” Rep. Lungren told ABC News. “I’ll admit I like to go to that particular one.”

Lungren, a member of a key committee that oversees airport security issues, insisted he carried out important discussions with airport executives while at the pool. “I’m a California kid,” Rep. Lungren told ABC News. “I grew up around pools. We do a lot of business around pools.” Asked if he would have attended if the January conference were held in Pittsburgh, Lungren said, “Do I look like I go to Pittsburgh in January?”

It was Lungren after all who said when running for California Governor in '98 that character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

The sad part is the neither will suffer anything more than a bruised ego. Voters usually rate every member of congress bad except their own.

Or to paraphrase the late Molly Ivins, they may be bum's, but they are our bums!