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Yo, Rob

Congressman Andrews offers a posh thank-you

Times certainly aren't tough for U.S. Rep. Robert E. Andrews, D-NJ.

After two decades in Congress, the onetime blue-collar guy from Bellmawr is now able to jet off to Scotland with the wife and kids for a weekend wedding, enjoy five-star accommodations, and then charge the hotel,  a $463 wedding gift and $1,000 worth of miscellaneous to his campaign!

And here's the most fabulous part: Andrews seems to think this is absolutely, totally, perfectly ... peachy.

He tells my colleague Joelle Farrell it's all ok because his attendance at the wedding was political, not personal.

The bridegroom was a donor and volunteer campaign advisor, and "we believe in saying thank-you to our donors," says the 11-term Congressman from Haddon Heights.

(Yo, Rob: Ever hear of thank-you notes?).

Doing a bit of "donor maintenance" by flying to Europe is necessary because, alas, "I don't have the kind of organization where I can throw a dinner and raise $300,000 in one dinner."

(Yo, Rob: You're breaking my heart!).

As people who live in places like Bellmawr know, only a privileged denizen of that magical realm known as the United States House of Representatives could rationalize charging a posh outing to his campaign by … crying poverty.

Particularly when his seat in Congress, helpfully maintained for him at one point by his wife, and otherwise his for life thanks to an overwhelming edge in Democratic voter registration, gives him the kind  of job security the rest of us can only read about in a fairy tale.