Coleman On Cheap DC Rent: Minnesotans Are Glad I Live So HumblyNorm Coleman took some tough questions today from the press back in Minnesota about his interesting housing deal in Washington, which involves him renting a studio apartment on Capitol Hill from a political contributor for only $600 per month.
For months, the senator had no written lease and paid no utility bills.
Coleman’s answer: People appreciate that he’s living so humbly. Here’s a tracking video from the Minnesota Democrats:
Coleman said this really isn’t a big deal — it’s just a nine-and-a-half feet by nine-and-a-half feet bedroom. “It’s not not paying taxes on millions and millions of dollars in income. It’s a shoebox that I spend a couple waking hours in.”
“And as I travel the state,” Coleman added, “I gotta tell you, people of Minnesota actually appreciate the fact that I live humbly as a senator — that I’m not living the way some people think senators live.”
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.