The Ballad of Jim Traficant

As many of us have known for years, nothing can keep the Honorable James A. Traficant, Jr. down. Not being convicted on a 10-count federal indictment, not even calls from the Democratic House leadership to resign. His response to the Minority Leader: "As for Dick Gephardt, I meant it when I told him to go f--- himself. I didn't ask for him to resign as a result of him being an impotent leader and for having screwed up the party." There's the Traficant I love. The good news is that he is not resigning his House seat, and is going ahead with plans to run for re-election as an independent. For those new to the Traficant story, David Grann's New Republic profile on the man and his colorful hometown is required reading.