The price you pay

Nearly $30,000 - that's what it costs to pull the Legislature into session for a mid-summer encore that lasts one day.

Wonder how much we'd have to pay them not to meet?

Earlier this week, there was talk of making former state Treasurer Thomas Ravenel pay the cost of that special session, which was called to select his replacement, on account of he caused it all by getting caught with cocaine.

That suggestion came from John Crangle of Common Cause - you know, the guy The State newspaper gets to criticize when they can't find anyone else opposed to whatever they don't like this week.

Crangle has an interesting idea, one that, if considered (don't count on it), could set an amazingly amusing precedent in this country.

If the judge in the Ravenel case goes along with that idea, why not make former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert pay for the recent special election he prompted. Hastert lost the speaker's chair because too many of the guys in his party were on the take, or taking a very un-Republican like interest in teenage boys. Sitting in the cheap seats, he found, wasn't too much fun

Poor guy. All he had to do was stick it out as a normal congressman, pulling down an abnormally large salary, for another year, and the folks in his suburban Chicago district would have saved a boatload of money - about $500,000 for a special election they will have to do all over again in about eight months.

If he shouldn't pay, no one should.

Same with the chuckleheads in the Florida Democratic Party. They moved their primary up, against the national party's wishes, so that their constituents would have a greater say in the process.

Not even considering the fact that Florida and Ohio voters probably shouldn't be allowed to vote until they prove they can do it right, they should be forced to sit this one out.

The broke the rules, and were told their vote wouldn't count if they moved the primary. If they want to do it again, let the giant brains who made the first bad decision pony up the $10 million to $12 million it'll cost to tally a few gazillion more hanging chads.

But what about Ravenel? Surely the Charleston developer, who pleaded guilty to using cocaine and distributing it free of charge to friends, could afford a paltry $30,000. These days, you can't even get a kilo for that.

But Ravenel isn't in the same category with Hastert or the Florida Democrats, or any number of state lawmakers who have cut bait or broke the rules.

If you're going to make people pay for special elections they cause, you have to prove premeditation. Target the guys who run for another office while holding the safety net of their old seat. Or the ones who quit to take a lucrative job in the exciting career of lobbying.

If you don't have health problems, or are forced to take a vacation at the nearest prison, honor your commitment to voters - or pay for the do-over.

Under those circumstances, Ravenel shouldn't be required to pay for the Midsummer Night's meeting of the General Assembly. After all, it wasn't his idea to get caught with cocaine and be forced to step down. He had every intention of remaining in office.

Maybe the state could bill the feds, Charleston police and SLED, who thoughtlessly circumvented the desires of voters by catching him.