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Ethics heat turned up on U.S. Rep. James
“Jim” Clyburn, D-S.C. over travel Edgefielddaily.com web posted May 9, 2005 As partisan politics go, when one side ratchets up the heat so does the other side. However, the House Minority has pushed ethics violation accusations at House leader Tom Delay only to have the very same accusations leveled back at Democrats with surprising figures. Democrats, the records show, are far more controversial in their trips, spending, and lobbying than Delay. Among the top 1% of those who accepted paid travel from questionable sources is none other than Edgefield County U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. Clyburn, according to records provided by Political Money Line.com and TRKC Inc. shows he ranks 11th in the nation for privately funded trips. All total their value is reported to be $146,000. As Edgefield Daily.com reported earlier, Rep. Jim Clyburn has been placed in the national hot seat as one of the most outstanding focal points of the Democratic Party leadership’s hypocrisy in its media trial of House Leader Rep Tom Delay, R-TX. Clyburn’s office has refused comment twice to our requests. According to records Clyburn has taken at least 45 trips compared to most S.C. representatives in the comparative time frame, since 2000, which have taken three to five. According to The State, Clyburn claims a “trip” would include his travel to Monks Corner, just 35 minutes away from his home in Santee. However, the mass of his trips and their costs are not for such “local” visits. According to The State, “Clyburn also has taken eight trips in little more than five years sponsored by the Association of American Railroads. On the association’s tab, Clyburn visited Palm Springs, Calif.; Kiawah; Chicago; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Columbia; West Palm Beach, Fla; and Orlando, Fla.” That Association of American Railroads spent a total of $32,932,378 in lobbying fees, and of that $393,312 for travel, a large portion going to Rep. Clyburn. In the face of national scrutiny Rep Clyburn has produced “letters” in defense of his travels. Letters have proven to be little in the way of explanation for most observers. Mark Glaze, director of the government ethics program at the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based nonprofit is quoted as saying it was a good thing for lawmakers to see the world they operate in, but, "On the other hand, it serves no public purpose to have them eating shrimp cocktails and playing golf with officers of corporations who have business before Congress." That seems to be why there is such a focus on Clyburn. “You could very well see the national stage turn from (House Majority Leader Tom) Delay to (S.C. Rep) Jim Clyburn pretty quickly,” said one Republican Party member from Columbia who spoke on condition of anonymity. Somehow Edgefield County is caught up in yet another scandal by its elected bodies. With the recent arrest and statements by Solicitor Donnie Myers, and the soon to come chronicling of cover-ups in local politics by Edgefield Daily.com it seems even in the death of the late great Sen. Strom Thurmond Edgefield still remains a focal point of a long history of colorful, and shady, political happenings. Edgefield Daily.com will continue coverage of this story as it unfolds Return to Main Page
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