Senator's aides defend $22,000 daytrip

Posted on Tue, Jun. 06, 2006
Senator's aides defend $22,000 daytrip
BY TODD J. GILLMAN
The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON - Aides to Sen. John Cornyn on Tuesday defended a $22,000 daytrip he took last year to attend a South Texas dinner in his honor - an excursion that ranked as one of the costliest privately-funded trips any lawmaker took in recent years.

Cornyn spokesman Don Stewart said the senator didn't want to disappoint the Hidalgo Chamber of Commerce by missing its Borderfest dinner, at which he received the Border Texan of the Year award, but he wanted to minimize time away from Senate business. A commercial flight wasn't feasible, and organizers agreed to charter a jet.

"The event was in his honor. He thought he should be there," Stewart said.

Christy Setzer, spokeswoman for the Senate Majority Project, a Democratic group, said the trip's cost was unusual.

"This is a little crazy. We just haven't seen anything of this magnitude," she said.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14755495.htm
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is second with 450K +

Even in $3000 suits you can be a crook you know. I am starting to think that most of the people in prison just did not think big enough. We are getting to be like a third world power but just a big one.

but serving yourself under the guise of serving your country is a gold mine.

It ain't just people that are corrupt...

Oh, GMAFB!

You can't tell me there aren't plenty of flights between TX and DC, and regardless where Hidalgo is -- I'm not a Texan, so I don't know and don't claim to -- I'm sure Cornyn didn't like land right in their backyard.

C'mon, DUers, let's do some fun research on the Hidalgo CofC and find out where they get $22K to ferry in a senator for an award. Is Hidalgo a big, rich border town that has lots of $$$ in its CofC treasury? Or is there some sigle deep-pocketed contributor???


goddess, but I hate these evil GOP rat bastards.


Tansy Gold

check out the demographics for Hidalgo, Texas

http://www.city-data.com/city/Hidalgo-Texas.html

I don't understand :shrug:

Hidalgo is a port of entry, by McAllen. $22,000 is likely nothing compared to the federal money they get for their port and homeland security money.

It was one of the teacher job fairs, and the Texas people were roaming the halls handing out applications like candy. I decided to get one more interview under my belt for experience, and it was with the Hidalgo school district. Weird interview--offered me a job with almost no interview and then offered my mom, a teacher at the time, a job, too. I turned it down, explaining (again) that I was there for the interview experience and all. It's weird to see it involved in something like this.

$22K for one day, though? Seriously--how do you blow that much money in one day? That takes hard work.

Something tells me the 22k went to make SURE it was in his honor. Cornyn - slimeball, shitbag of epic proportions!

give Texas back to Mexico, and the curse will go away.

the people in the Alamo. Nobody gets away with that kinda stuff. What Texas needs to do is call in a Priest do perform an exorcism on the Crawford Haunted Pigfarm! Texas was doing just great without the Bush klan.