By Paul Jacob

Sometimes the best of the story comes at the tail end, twitching like the tail of a cat on the prowl.

You've heard about how manipulative lobbyists are, making congressmen do things they just wouldn't ordinarily do. Congress pretends the whole solution is to ban gifts or increase reporting requirements and the like.

But the leopard is not going to advocate removal of his own spots.

A recent Washington Post story, entitled "Senators Vote to Forgo Lobbyist-Bought Meals," reports how congressmen will buy their own lunches from now on. Okay. Anyway, way at the end of the article, in the last paragraph, we learn something utterly bizarre: "Separately, the Senate approved by voice vote an amendment by Senator James M. Inhofe . . . that would deny to any lawmaker a pay increase that he votes against but that eventually becomes law."

Cute, eh? A principled lawmaker might return a pay raise he voted against anyway. But thanks to Inhofe we have a built-in penalty against voting your conscience . . . or maybe just the way your constituents might want you to. Fence-sitters who might have at least reluctantly voted against a pay raise now have an extra reason to cave.

You might notice I don't ask you to write your congressman and plead with him or her to pass reforms. We can't trust these bozos for a second. Even when they pretend to be reforming themselves, they further corrupt the system.

Common Sense is published by Americans for Limited Government. Their website can be visited at www.limitedgov.org.