AP CORRECTLY LABELS CONGRESSMAN ‘D-S.C.’ FOR LAVISH TRIPS

A pair of luxurious, taxpayer-funded trips to the Galapagos Islands and the South Pole in 2008 are once again creating a major headache for Congressman Bob Inglis.

A story on the front page of Sunday’s Wall Street Journal questioned Inglis’ use of public funds to vacation around the world on a $70 million VIP luxury jet.

One of Inglis’ trip mates, Rep. Brian Baird of Washington, made matters worse by publicly responding. Baird whined to the Associated Press that media coverage of the Congressional waste is “scaring members away” from taking such lavish trips and that he has “a responsibility to know about the oceans, for the good of our country.”

But when Inside Edition broke news of the Galapagos trip last fall, they noted that “the group stayed in plush seaside suites at the Red Mangrove Inn, one of the most expensive resorts on the island.

“From breakfast to dinner, the hotel staff catered to their every need. At night when the torches were lit, the group dined on fresh sushi and fine wine … [and] ran up more than $21,000 of charges for their 3-night stay,” Inside Edition reported.

In fact, the most “fact-finding” the group did on that vacation was when Inglis and his wife went for a relaxing bike ride around the island.

The trip to the South Pole was even worse, though.

Inglis and nine others sent taxpayers an impressive $103,000 tab over 11 days — not including, of course, the cost of the Air Force planes they used to get there.

And getting there included a stop at the Great Barrier Reef for some snorkeling, a swing through the Australian rain forest for a cable car ride, and a brief visit to Hawaii. All of those things, however, were “for the good of our country.”

Not ironically, the AP story about Baird’s response labeled Inglis “D-S.C.” And with his love of wasting taxpayer money to fund his personal vacations, there’s no doubt the typo is very fitting.