Rotten to the decor

27 Mar 2006 // Former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Rancho Santa Fe, just got eight years in prison for accepting $2.4 million in bribes and evading $1 million in taxes. It's one of the biggest scandals in congressional history.

But just for a moment, let's forget Cunningham's poor ethical decisions. Let's talk about his poor choices in home decor.

The IRS held a public auction of some of Cunningham's ill-gotten gains last week. The government will walk away with $94,625 worth of proceeds, and the participants will walk away with ... Cunningham's idea of elegant furnishings.

But why not pay $1,150 for cobalt-blue candlesticks when you can have a piece of history?

Some buyers, who came out strictly for the purpose of taking "back" what Cunningham never owned, were willing to do just that. If it makes them feel better to snap up the possessions of a man who showed us bad faith, then more power to them.

Besides, it's not as if Cunningham had bad taste -- there were lovely Persian rugs and 19th-century French provincial pieces. But just like his career, he didn't know when too much was too much.

So good luck to you, Duke, in Butner prison. And good luck to you, buyer of his art deco lingerie cabinet.