There’s an apocryphal story about the penultimate political Insider, Tony Rand, debating Jim Gardner during the Lt. Governor’s race in 1988;–in the middle of the debate Gardner was giving Rand (and the other Democratic insiders in Raleigh) the blazes for negotiating secret budget deals behind closed doors, saying, The whole state budget was written in secret in a backroom by eight Democratic legislators;–then it came Rand’s turn to speak. He looked back across the podium at Gardner, frowned, and said, You’re wrong – there weren’t eight people in that room there were four.

It took twenty years for another Democrat to top Rand, but last week House Speaker Joe Hackney did it.

Tom Fetzer was giving Hackney the blazes for taking off in the middle of the budget meltdown to jet to Philadelphia for a legislative conference where the activities included a baseball game, a bike ride through ‘old Philadelphia’ and a photo-op on the steps Rocky Balboa made famous.

“That’s not right,” Hackney shot back, “I have no plans to be there all week.”

That’s like the time W.C. Fields denied he had a drinking problem then added, “What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork to my lunch?”