Hightower Lowdown

ohn Boehner, the newly elected House majority leader, says he's a reformer. So we can rest easy now, knowing that he'll put a stop to all that corrupt coziness between Congress and corporate lobbyists, right?

Sure, Pollyannauntil you take a hard squint at the man known as "Suntan Johnny." This Ohio Congress critter maintains a perpetual tan as a result of spending an uncommon amount of time on Florida beaches and golf courses. Lobbyists line up corporate jets to fly him to the Sunshine State for lavish beach parties with corporate donors.

"Yes, I am cozy with lobbyists," John candidly confides, "but I have never done anything unethical." Oh? How about this? In the mid- 1990s, Boehner was caught doling out checks from tobacco lobbyists to lawmakers on the House floor while tobacco legislation was being considered!

Or this? His biggest campaign funder is SLM Corporation, the giant marketer of loans to college students. Guess who chairs the committee overseeing much of the legislation that benefits SLM? "Suntan Johnny," that's who! And guess who has been a frequent flyer on SLM's jet, going golfing in Florida with the chairman of SLM's board? Yep, that would be Mrs. Boehner's boy, John.

And how about this? Supersleeze lobbyist Jack Abramoff funneled $30,000 to our new "reformer"and Boehner has refused to return any of the tainted money, even as the Abramoff scandal spreads. Here's another one: Boehner rents his Washington apartment from a lobbyist whose clients need legislative favors from Boehner's committee.

Boehner says there should be no outright ban on lobbyists paying for trips and gifts for lawmakers. With "Suntan Johnny," it's going to be business as usual.

Meanwhile, Rick Santorum, the far-right-wing senator from Pennsylvania who shaped the Republicans' "KStreet Project" with Abramoff and Tom DeLay, has dressed himself up as the born-again Caped Crusader for Ethics Reform! Rick, you might have guessed, faces a tough reelection campaign. When Democrats proposed a reform package just like Rick's last year, Santorum showed no interest in it at all. For the record, Rick the Reformer received more campaign money from lobbyists in this election cycle than any other member of Congress.