From the Department of Will They Never Learn? we get this little item: Rep. John Doolittle has disclosed $45,000 in payments to his wife, Julie, in the last quarter for "fundraising work." Incidentally, Doolittle's fundraising has faltered recently due to the investigation surrounding his relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and his fundraising activities -- including the commission system he worked out with his wife.

In an arrangement most professional fundraisers view as unethical, Julie Doolittle takes a percentage of every dollar raised for John as a commission -- she's banked 30% of the money she's raised for his campaign in the last quarter.

Concerns over these kinds of arrangements where a candidate's spouse or family member benefits directly from funds raised for the campaign spurred debate in the House over legislation to ban this practice.

I guess the fact that his reelection chances are imperiled due to a sprawling investigation of his ethics violations isn't sufficient to convince Rep. Doolittle to change his ways.