How much can Ryun lie?

Back in May, Jim Ryun, Mark Foley and a couple of their neighbors hosted a block party. As you see, entrance to each party cost $1,000, and the gang of Republican House members served various tasty beverages.

Back when Mark Foley and his predilection for young Congressional pages became known, Jim Ryun was asked what he knew about his neighbor. "I've met him, but I don't spend any time with him," he told the Capital Journal.

Confronted with abundant reports about the D Street Block Party that Ryun and Foley, along with 3 other Republican House members, had thrown last May, Ryun claimed the events weren't jointly planned.

Then the invitation (shown here) started circulating. It shows that the events were jointly planned, and that a single invitation went out for all of them.

In response, Ryun's spokesman "stressed [that] the fundraiser was put together by campaign staff members, not Ryun." Indeed, the spokesman explained "Jim didn't speak to Congressman Foley or any of the other Congress members about this."

As you can see in the expanded part of the invitation, the contact for the event is not the Congressman himself. But it also isn't just any old campaign staff. Ned Ryun is Jim's son, as well as the head of a DC-area PAC. And yes, he happens to be on his father's campaign payroll as well.

This appears to be the moral equivalent of hiring a spouse as a campaign worker, making the campaign a family business, rather than a public service.

We can do better.