Dessert can cost ya.

Maybe Mary Jo Kilroy is still trying to get the hang of it.

Or maybe her office staff doesn't know how to read.

If they did, they would have paid more attention to this section of the House ethics manual.


Why? Because of what showed up on the Progress Ohio website this week.

Namely, these pics....


They thank her for her yes vote by providing assorted desserts.

The House Ethics Manual plainly states...

"Never accept a gift that is linked to any official action you have taken..."

As the above pictures show, these health care reform advocates are doing exactly that.

Is that getting awfully strict? Yes.
Is it following the rules as they are plainly stated? Yes.

Now, I'm sure nothing will happen to Kilroy's office. But they should be more careful about the gifts they accept.

UPDATE: I've been informed that Progress Ohio is defending this action by stating that the desserts were meant to thank Kilroy and her staff for "their hard work over the past year", and not specifically for her vote on health care. Yeah, right.

But, either way, Nancy Pelosi's ethics manual plainly states "never accept a gift that is linked to any official action".

Since when is "work" not an official action of a Congresswoman?

Now don't get me wrong. They can thank them for their hard work or they can give them cupcakes. But they CANNOT accept a gift linked to any official action. Work is an official action, therefore they can not receive cupcakes for their hard work. They could have just received cupcakes for no reason, that's fine.

But at the end of the day, it's just cupcakes. Whoopty-friggin'-do. It's simply 3BP's recommendation that Kilroy's office be a little more careful next time.

But hey, if you want to turn it into "Cupcakegate", that's fine with me.