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What is it with Republicans from Idaho and bathrooms?
By Eric Epstein
1/26/2009 - 10:56:16 AM


Turns out one federal agency is flush with case: the U.S. Department of the Interior.


Folks in Pennsylvania have enough corruption, "pay to play" and indictment stories that they can be excused if they missed another political crapper.


Outgoing Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, a conservative and former governor of Idaho, charged taxpayers $236,000 to refurbish the bathroom in his office.


The "refurbishment" was completed several months before Dirk was scheduled to exit stage right. It's not all bad: The asbestos abatement was necessary before the department changed the rules to make the carcinogen a party favor. However, the new shower, refrigerator, freezer and wainscot for the guy charged with preserving nature may be a wee bit over the top.


Heck, the Minneapolis airport bathroom stall where former Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was caught tap dancing only cost $500 to "refurbish."


The Interior Department decorator's defense was downright Perzelian: Shane Wolfe, a department spokesman, argued the purchases were "reasonable" because Interior secretaries hold meetings in the office and could potentially serve guests a cold beverage, such as "Diet Coke." The only thing missing is an ATM machine for TARP pay outs.


For those of you keeping track, the Interior Department is the same place where the inspector general reported "a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" in the Minerals Management Service (MMS). The MMS runs a royalty-in-kind program, which collects about $4 billion a year in oil and gas.


Throw in Craig and Eliot Spitzer, and the bathroom at the Interior Department could be the scene of a stag party that would make Larry Flynt jealous.


OK, time for some restroom perspective, Idaho style.


The average cost for a home in Boise (with bathrooms) is $187,300. The per capita income is $31,197. And, unemployment was 6.6 percent in December.


Kempthorne is not sitting on his behind, nor is he in the proverbial political outhouse. The Interior Department decorator is considering a run for president in 2012. If he chooses Joe the Plumber to be his running mate, I know he'll get my vote.


But it will cost him: How much do you suppose it would cost to spend a night in the Lincoln Bathroom in a Kempthorne administration?


Eric Epstein is a watchdog and advocate for consumers, good government and safe energy. For more about Epstein, click here.


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