Speaking of Republican corruption ...

You can dress up a Republican like a moderate if you like, but at the end of the day, you've still got a Republican.

Exhibit A: Gov. Charlie Crist. Many consider him more moderate than his predecessor, Jeb! Bush, but it turns out he's just as likely to be corrupt as any other Florida Republican.

You know how Florida's in a fiscal crisis, pretty much like the rest of the country? It apparently doesn't matter to Crist, who charged $430,000 to the taxpayers' tab for his European vacation:

The business development trip to London, Paris, St. Petersburg and Madrid was supposed to cost taxpayers $255,000. The actual tab was far higher — in excess of $430,000, the Sun Sentinel found in a detailed review of the July trip's costs.

Taxpayers paid for more than two dozen people to accompany Crist, including a photographer, a spokeswoman, four aides, two agency heads and nine bodyguards. The bodyguards alone spent more than $148,000 on meals, hotels, transportation and incidentals, including nearly $630 in dry cleaning.

Their boss, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey, went along to sign a crime-solving agreement with British police, billing taxpayers $5,135 for less than 12 hours of official duties over four days. Bailey stayed an extra week at his own expense and brought his wife. His spokeswoman said he was on call around the clock and complied with state travel and vacation policies.

Heckuva job, Charlie. But the kicker is that his own expenses were paid by private businesses ... i.e., lobbyists.

Crist, a Republican who calls himself the people's governor, chose to lessen the burden on taxpayers by having businesses pay his expenses.

But that kind of arrangement can pose conflicts, said Nova Southeastern University law professor Bob Jarvis, a public policy expert.

"It looks like you're buying influence and access to the governor, or to any elected official, when any part of the trip is paid for by outside interests," Jarvis said. "If the trip is important enough to do, then it should be built into the government budget."

This is, in short, ludicrous. Gov. Crist styles himself a populist and fiscally responsible, but he's really nothing more than a prima donna.

And he ought to pay for the privilege of being pampered:

"This news comes at the same time you are calling on Floridians to make sacrifices and ordering government agencies to cut spending," former congresswoman Karen L. Thurman, Florida Democratic Party chair, wrote in a letter to Crist. "With tours of Buckingham Palace and visits to the Eiffel Tower on your agenda, it was clear at the time that your trip served as a taxpayer-financed vacation. While some positive results may come from the trip, the lavish accommodations and first class travel were beyond excessive."

Crist's office did not comment on the repayment demand.

As of June 30, the governor's net worth was $457,262, according to financial records filed with the state Ethics Commission. A Democratic Party spokesman said that if Crist cannot pay the tab, the Republican Party should.

Damn skippy they should. Hell, I don't really care who pays, as long as it's not Florida taxpayers. Shame on Charlie Crist ... what's next, taxpayers paying for his wedding?

Actually, his soon-to-be bride is a millionaire. Let her pick up the tab for the vacation -- after all, she took the trip, too.