Norm Coleman: The Best Things In Life Are Free

...like his apartment, his utilities, his vacations, and now, the clothes on his back too. Ken Silverstein at the Harper's Magazine blog reports:

Coleman also has a close relationship with Minnesota businessman Nasser Kazeminy, a big donor to the G.O.P. and to Coleman. In 2005, the senator and his daughter jetted down to the Bahamas on a private plane owned by Kazeminy, a trip valued at $3,960. In 2004, he and his wife flew to Paris on Kazeminy’s plane, a $2,870 value.

I’ve been told by two sources that Kazeminy has in the past covered the bills for Coleman’s lavish clothing purchases at Nieman Marcus in Minneapolis. The sources were not certain of the dates of the purchases; if they were made before Coleman joined the Senate in 2003, he obviously would not be required to report it under senate rules. But having a private businessman pay for your clothing is never a good idea if you’re a public official (Coleman was mayor of St. Paul from 1994 to 2002).

When asked by Pioneer Press reporter Dave Orrick about who pays for his suits, Coleman responded thusly:

"First of all, every gift I've ever received has been reported, ok. But the idea of responding to the things bloggers throw out is something I'm not going to get into. There are very awful things that are said about people on the blogs," he said.

Orrick then asked for a simple yes or no answer on the suit question.

"That's the answer, period. You can read it in the answer," he said.

Awww, the mean bloggers are saying bad things about Normie! And here I'd thought that Sarah Palin had cornered the market for arrogant snark. Norm simply has to go.