Oh right, you did. You wept like a little baby at your press conference. Though, for some reason we aren't feeling any pity for you. The entire time you were taking bribes, you knew what you were doing. What you were doing to your own reputation, the desecration of the political office you held, and what you did to your family.

Well boys and girls - one down... and 120 to go.

An old foe of mine fell yesterday, and I'm trying pre' hard not to giggle about it.

Now FORMER Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham-one of the 121 co-sponsors of the Federal Marriage Amendment, fell in a blaze of glory, much like he did at the end of the Vietnam War in his often bragged about "Top Gun" days. But just like those days, it's was kind of hard to tell if he was shot down like he says, or if he merely got careless and ran out of gas. But now we know that he has pled guilty to tax evasion, accepting bribes, and conspiracy to commit fraud.

I watched his press coverage yesterday and remembered one time at Alvarado Hospital when he said in front of a group of elderly cancer patients that no man would enjoy prostate cancer treatment, "unless he was Barney Frank."

And then I remembered the time he got into a fight with a Virginia Democratic Representative and police had to break it up. Or the time he challenged another representative to a fist fight on the House floor. Or the time he said Vietnam protesters should have been shot.

Or when he said the same about Bill Clinton.

Or when he said the same about "liberal leadership".

And the times he has voted against family leave, yet he is furiously pro-life. (Just have the babies, ma'am, who cares that you can't stay home and take care of them.) And of course there's the scandals about Cindy Legan and the other female interns that he loved to have around. (Don't tell his wife!!) No wonder he opposed efforts to combat sexual harassment and discrimination in the Army, calling it "BS". And finally, let's not forget another time when he explained that "homos" in the military would "degrade the national security."

Perhaps it is my inner mortgage banker, that understands what happens to a neighborhood when the value of a property is artificially inflated. After all, I had to move from San Diego when I could no longer afford housing there. So there is a part of me that will savor this outcome. (As opposed to the part of me that would prefer he had never been elected in the first place... for eight #*@%& terms. But try getting North County to vote Democrat - sheesh!!)

But still - He could get 10 years! And his political career is finished. Its good to know that this guy won't be polluting my home town quite as badly any more.

Guest Column by Tanya DeCharles, NE Portland

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 at 1:45 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.