July 31, 2013 11:07 AM UTC

In Which Doug Lamborn Pushes The Limits of "IOKIYAR"*

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

As the Denver Post's Allison Sherry reported yesterday:

Since 2011, the Colorado Springs Republican's wife, Jean Lamborn, has collected more than $37,000 in salary for working for her husband's campaign — a practice allowed by the Federal Election Commission but one raising eyebrows among government watchdog groups.

Jean Lamborn makes $38 an hour and does everything from book-keeping to organizing the fundraising, Lamborn's spokeswoman Catherine Mortensen said.

The fourth-term congressman did not grant an interview for this story, but Mortensen said via e-mail that Jean Lamborn is a critical member of her husband's campaign team.

This isn't a new variety of scandal for Colorado. Former gubernatorial candidate Scott "McPlagiarist" McInnis, now considering a run for the Mesa County Commission, took significant damage for having his wife on his congressional campaign payroll–even cutting checks to her after he announced he wasn't running for another term. Doug Lamborn is running again, of course, but his ultra-safe seat makes it highly unlikely that Mrs. Lamborn is doing anything for his congressional campaign that couldn't be handled by someone else.

As in, anyone else? The question here is, how would this not be seen as a problem? Once again, we're left baffled by Lamborn's arrogance, or cluelessness, or whatever particular combination of the two makes him such a bumbling poster child for safe-seat incompetence time and time again. At a certain level, it isn't about partisan smack talk–it's a recognition that Lamborn embarrasses us all, regardless of party.

But barring a miracle, only one party can rid this state of Doug Lamborn.

*IOKIYAR: "It's Okay If You're a Republican."